Goodbyes on hold: In south Lebanon, war forces even the dead into exile - L'Orient Today

Farewell rituals in southern Lebanon have changed as war makes it impossible to return the dead to their home villages.

During the war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2024, and again with the resumption of fighting in March 2026, residents of border villages discussed a new reality: transferring the bodies to bombed and destroyed border towns has become impossible.

A temporary cemetery in Sour shows how graves are used differently during the conflict.

When the return of bodies is blocked, residents confront a solution called provisional burial, or wadiaa in Arabic.

The term resurfaced in conversations among residents of southern villages.

Transferring bodies to bombed and destroyed border towns has become impossible.

In wars, it isn’t just the meaning of death that changes.

Farewell rituals are transformed as well.

In south Lebanon, where graves tell the stories of families, burial is much more than a simple religious gesture.

It’s a final homecoming to the village.

During the ongoing conflict, the practice persists: the term wadiaa has resurfaced in conversations, and Sour's temporary cemetery stands as a visible example.

The article notes the existence of this burial practice in the context of the 2024 war and the March 2026 fighting restart.

Nagham Rabih's report, published March 21, 2026, highlights how death rites are adapting to continued fighting on the Lebanon-Israel border.