Efrat Eldan Schechter is from the Northern Galilee and never thought about moving anywhere else until the events of 7 October.
When she saw and heard about what was happening in southern Israel that morning, with Hamas fighters coming from Gaza, it reminded her of the stories from the “Yom Kippur” or 1973 Middle East war, when Israel was attacked on two fronts at the same time.
I was really scared. “Everyone was still asleep and I was worried that the same thing might happen again like in 1973, and that Hezbollah might come for us,” says Efrat, as we talk in her front garden with the sound of Israeli artillery in the background.
“I woke everyone up right away, packed everything quickly, and drove to a family member’s house in the middle of Israel. ”
After a month, the family went back to their home near Kiryat Shmona. They were upset because they still live in a dangerous area close to where the war is happening. Efrat calls it a “buffer zone” and they are still at risk of being hit by rockets from Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
The mother of three is worried that nothing will happen to stop Hezbollah from invading Israel, as they are waiting at the border. “I can’t sleep peacefully. ” I want the government to ensure that we are safe here.
Since the fighting started on 8 October, there have been clashes between Hezbollah and Israel in the north along the border.
But the fighting is very serious and dangerous – officials say that nine soldiers and four civilians have been killed in Israel, while authorities in Lebanon have reported that 123 people have been killed, including at least 21 civilians.
The small towns in northern Israel are empty like ghost towns now. More than 80,000 people have been moved to places in the south, but Nissan Zeevi is one of the few who has chosen to stay. The man who does business and helps with civil defense shows me around his kibbutz, Kfar Giladi, which is just north of Kiryat Shmona. The view is beautiful as you look at the green Hula valley and Mount Hermon far away, but this border has always been dangerous.
Nissan thinks most people can’t go back home or work until there’s a guarantee of long-lasting peace, just like Efrat. He is really upset that the UN Security Council rule 1701, which helped stop the 2006 war in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah, has not been completely followed.
Nissan says it’s very important that 1701 demands that armed groups (like Hezbollah) in southern Lebanon stop being so involved in the military. And that hasn’t been done.
Nissan is part of a group called Lobby 1701. They want Israel to use either diplomacy or military action to implement a resolution.
“He wants the government to handle Hezbollah and get rid of the danger from southern Lebanon,” he tells me, pointing to the many Lebanese villages he can see from his home, where he says a lot of the incoming attacks come from.
I asked Nissan if he would support more action by the Israeli government in southern Lebanon and he said yes, definitely. He also mentioned that he is not the only one who feels this way. Many people in Israel want the same thing. He also says if we don’t do this, we will have another problem like 7 October.
Last month, I went to the small towns in southern Lebanon. Israel is saying that Hezbollah is hiding in communities and using them to launch attacks, so they are conducting strikes on those areas every day. Just like in Israel, many people have left these places and many have died. People on both sides of the border are experiencing loss.
The chance of the small fight at the border turning into a big war got higher on Monday. A leader of Hezbollah, Wissam Tawil, was killed in an air strike on his car in Khirbet Selim. It is thought that Israel carried out a drone attack in Beirut last week, which killed Hamas’s deputy leader, Saleh al-Arouri, in a Hezbollah area.
This is bad news for people who work near the front line and are trying to earn a living.
Farmer Ofer “Poshko” Moskovitz from Kibbutz Misgav Am cannot harvest the valuable avocados from his farm because the Israeli army thinks it is too risky for him to work in his orchards, which are next to the border with Lebanon, to the northwest of Kiryat Shmona.
However, not like most people I talked to in the north, this calm and cheerful farmer believes that a bigger war can be prevented.
“I’m not worried because Israel is a powerful country,” says Ofer as we walk through hundreds of nearly ripe, green avocados scattered on the ground. He keeps saying: “No one wants war here. ” We want to handle it diplomatically and they are trying to find a solution – the army and diplomatic efforts are working together.
Ofer doesn’t show much hope or confidence in this place.
Sarit Zahavi lives near the border and started the Alma Research Institute in northern Israel. She spends a lot of time studying the politics of Israel’s neighboring countries.
“We are in a very dangerous situation. If there is a diplomatic agreement, it will bring peace and a stop to fighting. ” “And everyone will think it’s good news,” she says to me.
In my opinion, if there is a ceasefire, no one will make sure it happens. Hezbollah will keep getting stronger and keep improving its ability to attack Israel.
Not many people in northern Israel believe that talking can stop a big war. Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has promised to fight back against Israel, and Israel is also getting ready for things to possibly get worse.
On Monday, Israel did a lot of bombing near its border, right when the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken came to Tel Aviv.
With the very bad war in Gaza and the new things happening in the north, it seems very hard for Secretary Blinken.