Bassam Al-Aayan's house had one of the most beautiful views of the bay stretching between Sour and Naqoura, in southern Lebanon. All that remains of the 350-square-meter white stone and red tile building is a pile of stones. It took the 53-year-old farmer 35 years to build it. It was pulverized in an instant by an Israeli strike in late September 2024. "I'll only rebuild a small house. The most urgent thing is my agricultural machinery," said the Teir Harfa farmer, pointing to his orange and banana plantations.

Hezbollah, whose yellow banners and photos of martyrs are displayed in the village center, allocated him $8,000 to rent an apartment with his wife and three children. Al-Aayan is nonetheless exasperated that the compensation promised by the Shiite party for reconstruction is taking so long to materialize. "The Hezbollah representative in the village is out of his depth. The destruction is extensive and the party doesn't have enough cash. They have twice postponed the payment of cheques in the village and elsewhere," the farmer said.

The same anger is growing among the 20 or so residents of Teir Harfa who returned at the end of January after being authorized to do so by the Lebanese army. "Our lives have been reduced to nothing. I need $25,000 for the renovation work. I don't even have enough to feed my family," said Salim Al-Aayan, a 52-year-old farm worker. The second floor of his house was set on fire. Israeli soldiers left inscriptions in Hebrew on the walls, games of hangman and guard duty schedules.

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