Israel appears to be trying to create a buffer zone in south Lebanon to remove the threat from Hezbollah but its effectiveness in preventing cross-border attacks remains to be seen, observers say.
Israel began heavily bombarding south Lebanon in September, escalating its months-long battle against the Iran-backed Hezbollah and later sending in ground troops.
An official in south Lebanon said more than a dozen border villages have been two-thirds destroyed, while data analysis also points to broad destruction in the frontier area.
Peter Harling, founder of Beirut-based research center Synaps, said Israel appeared to be "creating an uninhabitable no man's land all along the border."
Soldiers have dynamited buildings in some villages, Lebanon's National News Agency has reported and troops' videos have showed, and Lebanese authorities have accused Israel of burning wooded and agricultural areas.