Ottoman period In 1875
Victor Guérin explores the geographical location of Hula and other Southern villages of Lebanon bordering Palestine, and found that Hula had 300
Shia Muslim inhabitants. In 1881, the
PEF's
Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described it as: "A village, built of stone, containing about 500
Metawileh, one of the most prominent objects in which is a
Sheikh's tomb. It is situated on the hill-top, and is surrounded by olives, vines, and arable land. There are several
cisterns, two
birkets (one rock-cut), and a spring." It also mentions that a small central
mosque is situated on top of one of the hills in the village.
Modern era On October 24, 1948, the city fell under
Israeli occupation without resistance, children and women were expelled, and men aging from 15 to 60 were gathered in a house. On 1 November, the house was blown up with the prisoners still inside. This incident is known as the
Hula massacre. Following the 1982 invasion Hula became part of the Israeli
Security Zone. On 6 April 1992 an
Israeli Army convoy was ambushed in Hula. Two soldiers were killed and 5 wounded.
Islamic Jihad Organization, based in
Baalbek, claimed responsibility. The target had been Major-General
Yitzhak Mordechai, head of Israel's
Northern Command. But he had left the convoy earlier. Three of the attackers were killed. During the
2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, on July 15, two young women were killed by an Israeli airstrike at the village. On August 7, 2006, an Israeli airstrike on Hula killed another civilian. During the
Israel–Lebanon border clashes, the IDF conducted a
drone strike that destroyed a
Hezbollah anti-tank guided missile squad in Houla after they launched a missile against the nearby Israeli community of
Margaliot. On 2 June 2024, two shepherds were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house in the village. ==Demographics==