Die alone or with family

The Israeli military allegedly threatened a man in his home in South Lebanon, as their drones circled overhead. They gave him an ultimatum: die alone or with your family. He left his home. Then they killed him.

Israel drone-bombed Ahmed Turmus in his stationary car. His death was reported on X and by Lebanese citizen news agencies:

South Lebanon media is siloed off from official and corporate media. Grassroots outlet Lebanon Debate reported details of the alleged killing:

On Monday, an Israeli raid targeted a car parked near a residential house in the town of Taloussa – Marjayoun district, killing Ahmed Turmus.

Tallouseh is close to Lebanon’s southern-eastern border with Israel.

Lebanon Debate said a family member has told them Turmus had insisted on staying in the area despite previous Israeli threats.

Ahmed Turmus, 60, was one of the sons of the land who did not leave their village despite all the circumstances. During the war of support, while most of the people of the border strip left their villages, he remained in Taloussa, refusing to leave it.

Turmus was one of the last men standing, it appears.

Israel told residents of Taloussa and 13 other villages to leave in 2024.

Middle East Eye reported:

Israel’s military has told the residents of 14 villages in southern Lebanon to leave their homes ahead of Israeli military operations in the areas.

The villages include Chaqra, Hula, Majdal Selem, Taloussa, Meiss el-Jabal, as-Sawana, Qabrikha, Yahmour, Arnoun, Blida, Muhaibib, Barashit, Fron and Ghandouriya, Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said.

“For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move to the north of the Awali River. To ensure your safety, you must evacuate without delay,” Adraee wrote on X.

Killed in his car

Lebanon Direct said Turmus had lost a son in the 2024 war against Israel:

The sources added that “the tragedy was not new to the family, as his son Hassan was martyred during the war of support in January 2024,” noting that “Ahmed Turmus was the one who personally took the initiative to retrieve his son’s body from the Saluki Valley.”

The alleged details of Turmus’ death are harrowing. Lebanon Direct said:

As for the moment of targeting, the sources reported that Ahmed Turmus’s phone received a call minutes before the raid, where the caller identified himself as an Israeli soldier, and he was given two options: either to [die] with those around him, or to [die] alone.

Sources told the outlet:

The martyr did not hesitate for a moment, he chose to be alone. He made his decision to keep the danger away from those who were with him, and asked them to stay indoors. He said goodbye to them quietly, then headed to his car and drove away from the residential house.

After he stopped the car nearby, only a few seconds passed before the drone fired two missiles that hit the vehicle directly, killing Ahmed Turmus, who chose to face his fate alone.

Israeli expansionism in Lebanon

Israel regularly attacks southern Lebanon. Israel sprayed Lebanese territory with a cancer-causing chemical on 6 February. Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said the “deeply alarming” attack may constitute a war crime:

The deliberate targeting of civilian farmland violates international humanitarian law, particularly the prohibition on attacking or destroying objects indispensable to civilian survival.

They added:

Large-scale destruction of private property without specific military necessity amounts to a war crime and undermines food security and basic livelihoods in the affected areas.

Extremist Zionist settlers — the vanguard of Israeli colonialism — crept over the border to plant trees around the 13th of February.

One said:

We came here today, to plant trees and put down roots in the soil of our country, regardless of the fences. The State of Israel must renew the settlement in Lebanon, this is historically correct, it is right from a security point of view, and it is right from a moral point of view.

Israel is still unswayed by worldwide condemnation for their genocide campaign in Gaza. Through a Zionist lens the entire region is theirs by ancient right. Back on Planet Earth, this is old fashioned settler-colonialism writ large. Israel will take out anybody who stands in its way.

Featured image via the Canary