In Nabatieh al-Fawqa, unexploded ordnance keeps the danger alive

Report by Lara El Hachem, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian

Nabatieh al-Fawqa remains a tense war zone, where the quiet belies the danger. Since the ceasefire took effect, the area around what is known locally as the Teachers’ House has become a frontline, with a red zone imposed by Israel beginning beyond it.

Mohammad Ghandour and his brother, accompanied by the Lebanese army, traveled in a pickup truck to Hayy al-Hariq, east of the Teachers’ House, to retrieve a quantity of tobacco from his warehouse.

As the pickup truck and the army vehicle passed the army checkpoint at the entrance to Hayy al-Hariq, a suspicious object exploded, according to an army statement. The army did not specify whether it was a land mine or an unexploded shell left over from the war.

The explosion seriously wounded Ghandour, the warehouse owner, his brother, the pickup truck driver, and a Lebanese army serviceman.

As a result, Nabatieh al-Fawqa has effectively become a war zone, even though it is not within the Yellow Line, as Israel has imposed an indirect occupation on the area in various forms.

The area west of the Teachers’ House is considered relatively safe. Residents enter the neighborhood to check on their properties and livelihoods but do not stay there because of Israeli airstrikes at night.

According to the town’s mayor, 10 strikes have been recorded since the Ghandour Hospital was targeted in early September.

East of the Teachers’ House, meanwhile, the area extends toward Kfar Tebnit
and Ali al-Taher. Israel therefore controls its neighborhoods through fire, making it a military zone.

For this reason, Nabatieh al-Fawqa is calling for a state presence and the deployment of the army, particularly since there are no Israeli troops stationed inside the town.

Beyond the developments on the ground, what happened Wednesday morning highlights the risks left behind by the war, even outside active areas of fighting. It is not the first time unexploded ordnance has claimed victims.

Between July and September 2026, one serviceman was killed and seven others were wounded, while at least one civilian was killed and others were injured in explosions involving suspicious objects.