Israeli soldiers celebrate as they dynamite historic southern Lebanese village of Mhaibib to rubble

Israeli forces have wiped out a historic southern Lebanese border village, the first operation of its kind. Videos showed a series of massive explosions in Mhaibib, home to the shrine of Prophet Benjamin, and were widely shared online.

They were supposedly filmed by Israeli soldiers from a distance, who are seen celebrating as the village was reduced to rubble and pillars of smoke filled the air amid the sounds of loud explosions. Mhaibib sits very close to the Blue Line and neighbours Blida and Mays al-Jabal, other villages which have seen heavy Israeli bombardment and fighting between intruding Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters.

Located in the Marjaayoun district, Mhaibib houses the 2,100-year-old shrine of Prophet Benjamin, son of the Prophet Jacob. Mhaibib’s mayor Qassem Jaber said he was still unable to assess the extent of the destruction in the village as a result of the explosions, as locals have been unable to return to the village.

While Israeli forces have already demolished some buildings like mosques, this is the first time a detonation of this magnitude has taken place. The Israeli army – without providing evidence – says tunnels belonging to Hezbollah which ran underneath the village were blown up.