Residents of Israel's north lose faith in peaceful resolution as Hezbollah attacks continue

As Hezbollah continues its near-daily attacks against Israeli communities near the northern border, many of the local residents have begun to lose hope that the situation will change without a war to push Hezbollah back from the border.

The Lebanese terror group Hezbollah continued its attacks against Israel on Friday morning, shooting rockets at Manara and the area of Arab al-Aramshe. A drone attempted to infiltrate Israeli territory in the same area, triggering alarm sirens in half a dozen towns. The IDF later announced the Israeli Air Force (IAF) had shot down two drones.

The intensity of attacks has remained the same over the past few days, as Hezbollah claimed responsibility for 7 attacks on Thursday and another 9 on Wednesday.

The attacks followed the formula established by the terror group over the last months, mainly targeting Israeli communities near the shared Israeli-Lebnanon border with rockets, drones and anti-tank missiles, which caused some material damage but no injuries.

20 March 2024, 02:00 pm Daily update - #Lebanon arena
1. Since Yesterday (19.03) #Hezbollah claimed responsibility for 9 attacks against #Israel, using high-trajectory and anti-tank missiles.
2. In these attacks, rockets and anti-tank missiles were launched toward the communities… pic.twitter.com/qKW9hEzM3N

— Israel-Alma (@IsraelAlma_org) March 20, 2024

In response, the IDF carried out airstrikes against Hezbollah targets across southern Lebanon.

Metula has been one of the hardest-hit Israeli communities as the northernmost Israeli city is surrounded on three sides by Lebanese territory. One hundred and thirty of the 650 homes (20%) have been hit by Hezbollah fire so far, with some being entirely destroyed.

Head Council of Metula. David Azulay, one of the few residents who has not evacuated the city, said the only solution to the situation in the north is to escalate the war with Hezbollah and clear its forces from the border.

“I don’t see another way for citizens to come back safely to their homes here,” Azulay told the Times of Israel.

“We’ve had enough of war, but we have no other choice right now. They are shooting at the houses of civilians, not army bases,” he added.

This feeling is reportedly shared by many Israelis in the north, where 43 communities have already evacuated their citizens, according to former Military Intelligence officer Sarit Zehavi, who heads the Alma Research Center, an organization dedicated to researching the security challenges on Israel's northern border.

Hezbollah would “prefer to drag Israel into war rather than initiate it. But they are still capable of infiltration. I don’t sleep at night worrying that we will end up with a ceasefire that will not completely eliminate this capability,” Zehavi said.

Israel Defense Forces is determined to permanently change this dangerous situation to ensure the safety of its citizens.

On Thursday, the upper command of the IDF’s 91st Division attended a ceremony held in remembrance of the battle of Tel Hai in 1920, near Kiryat Shmona.

At the event to commemorate the fallen, including the legendary Zionist hero Yosef Trumpeldor, the commandant of the division responsible for the Lebanese border took responsibility for the IDF’s failure to keep the residents safe and vowed to correct its mistakes.

“We, in the IDF, have failed to be the protective wall of our people,” Brig.-Gen. Shay Kalper told the soldiers.

“I am aware of the fact that the residents of the north are not in their homes for a long time and are not working their lands. It’s a long road, but we are focused on the goal of changing the security reality on the northern front and returning you to your homes safely,” Kalper added.

“Hezbollah’s deployment in southern Lebanon will not return to what it was in 2023. These facts are determined on the ground. We will continue to act offensively even when it comes to a defensive battle.”

This is the first time in 90 years that the annual state ceremony at Tel Hai, in the presence of senior politicians, was canceled for fear that Hezbollah would fire at the area.

Instead, members of the Lobby 1701 organization representing the evacuated and endangered residents of the north were moved all the more by the spontaneous participation of senior IDF officers.

“We are dealing with an unprecedented reality, but the decision of the senior military officials to come and give us a boost really moved us,” Lobby 1701 founder Nissan Zavi, a member of Kibbutz Kfar Giladi, said in an interview with Ynet News.