Satellite images of the extent of the widespread destruction in the town of Aita al-Shaab, southern Lebanon news

Satellite images taken on April 16 revealed the extent of the widespread destruction inflicted on the town of Aita al-Shaab in southern Lebanon as a result of Israeli attacks, in a scene showing that the town was subjected to widespread destruction that affected residential neighborhoods, civilian facilities, and infrastructure.

According to the visual comparison and image analysis conducted by the Al Jazeera Network’s Open Source Unit between reference images dating back to February 21 and recent images taken on April 16, large parts of the town appear to have been subjected to violent destruction ranging from complete obliteration to severe damage to a large number of homes and residential buildings, with only a limited number of buildings remaining without major destruction, making large areas of the town uninhabitable.

Image analysis indicates that the destruction affected a number of vital, civilian places and infrastructure, including a number of public mosques.

The pictures also show that a number of schools and service facilities were damaged or destroyed, including the Aita al-Shaab Public Secondary School, the Aita al-Shaab municipality building, a gas station, and the main cemetery in the town.

The pictures also reveal that the main roads in the town were affected, including the Aita al-Shaab Road and the Naqoura-Rmeish Road, which reflects the expansion of the scope of the destruction to include the internal traffic network and the town’s surroundings.

This comes despite the ceasefire agreement entering into force since midnight last Friday, as southern Lebanon continues to witness repeated violations, coinciding with preparations for a new round of discussions between Lebanon and Israel about 10 days after the first round, according to what a US State Department official said.

Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz threatened the Lebanese government to continue military operations if it “continues not to fulfill its obligations,” as he put it, and said: “We will act in the same way in the face of any fire” from Lebanese territory.

For his part, the Israeli army spokesman in Arabic, Avichai Adraee, yesterday warned residents of about 80 villages in southern Lebanon against returning there, claiming that Hezbollah’s activities there are “continuing” despite the ceasefire agreement.