‘We Are Still Afraid’: Life Inside Northern Israel

“Come inside and close the door.” Just one mile from the Lebanon border, Hezbollah rocket and missile attacks have ramped up since Oct. 8 of last year. “Hopefully, there is no bombing. This is one, two, three.” Dozens of rockets have been fired toward northern Israel almost daily since then, in what Hezbollah has said is in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza. And while many are intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome, it has fundamentally altered daily life here. We caught glimpses of the increasing militarization, after Israel recently began their ground invasion in Lebanon. “The border with Lebanon is right over there, and the clashes just behind this ridge. We see what the army do. We trust the army, know that the army do everything they need to keep the Hezbollah away, and for us to be safe. And you can see during which, as we speak. So we might have to move quickly, in case of another blast.” Ishai Efroni is one of the few people still in northern Israel, staying behind after tens of thousands were evacuated due to Hezbollah’s incoming rocket attacks. “That’s the swimming pool, the center of the kibbutz. It’s been abandoned.” As head of security at the Matzuva kibbutz, Ishai lives here with his family, and among those serving in the army, who we agreed not to film. “That’s the school, the kibbutz school that [was] abandoned. That’s where my daughter live, and it was hit by a rocket here nearly five days ago.” According to the Israeli government, 30 civilians have been killed by Hezbollah rocket attacks in northern Israel over the last year, and upwards of 64,000 people have been displaced, something that the Israeli prime minister has cited as his rationale for going after Hezbollah in Lebanon. “And Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their homes safely.” Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 2,400 people in Lebanon since last October, according to the country’s health ministry. And more than 1.2 million have been displaced. “So we are in the Moshav Betzet, in the Western Galilee, next to the border with Lebanon.” Despite orders to evacuate within an active combat zone, some Israelis have decided to return home anyway. “In June, we got hit by a missile from Hezbollah. It was 107-millimeter rocket.” Idan Ishach-Erez and her children moved back after spending nine months displaced. “Sometimes, you actually can hear the missiles going over your head.” “When it’s one of [Hezbollah’s], there’s an alert that goes off on the phone. I feel uneasy. Then I wait in place, a little bit longer, and then I go out.” “There’s an alarm. It’s in Rosh Hanikra. Let’s go. It’s in Rosh Hanikra at the moment. It can also get closer.” In the middle of our conversation, another rocket alarm sends Idan and her daughter running for cover. “It’s a little bit further off. It’s not right here.” This time, they’re safe. But those still living here say they continue to live in fear as the fighting continues with no cease-fire in sight.