SHLOMI, Israel — Tens of thousands of Israelis remain refugees in their home country after an attack by the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah forced the evacuation of communities near the northern border in October.
Hezbollah, based near the Israeli border in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1707 in 2006, has fired mortars, anti-tank missiles, It continues to fire rockets and ballistic missiles. A terrorist attack occurred in southern Israel on October 7th.
As Breitbart News reported in October, Israel evacuated some 60,000 northern residents within four kilometers of the border.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) initially responded to the Hezbollah attack by targeting the source of the fire, but it did not escalate. Recently, it carried out airstrikes deep into Lebanon. On April 1, Israel launched an airstrike on Damascus, Syria, killing the region’s main Iranian commander, General Mohammad Reza Zahedi of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), another general and six other senior Iranian military officials. was murdered.
Israeli media have reported that special forces of the Israel Defense Forces have already begun operating inside Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah positions near the border and possibly preparing for a broader military invasion. So far, Israel is focused on carrying out its mission of annihilating Hamas in the Gaza Strip. And over the weekend, Israel has focused its efforts on responding to a major missile and drone attack by Iran, which Israeli air defenses intercepted with a 99% success rate.
Breitbart News visited some border communities on Monday, escorted by Israeli soldiers through areas normally off-limits to journalists. Many of the sightings cannot be made public.
The scenery of empty streets and houses was impressive.
At the kibbutz of Rosh Hanikra, once a bustling community in northwestern Israel, the only signs of life are Israeli soldiers patrolling the area, stray cats and the dog mascot.
Rosh Hanikra is a popular tourist destination due to its proximity to the beautiful cliffs and caves of the Mediterranean coast. The kibbutz also recently built a swimming pool for residents, which was scheduled to open by summer.
The grass in the area is now overgrown, and families wait each month for word on when they can return.
A view south from Kibbutz Rosh Hanikra, which has been empty since shelling from Lebanon’s Hezbollah forced Israel to evacuate the northern community. April 15, 2024 (Joel Pollack/Breitbart News)
Even in the town of Shlomi, a nearby community in northwestern Israel, houses and streets were deserted and weeds grew along the roadsides on Monday.
One house was severely damaged by a direct hit from a 240mm mortar shell loaded with 20kg of explosives.
An Israeli home damaged by Hezbollah’s 240mm mortar in the northern town of Shlomi, near the Lebanese border. April 15, 2024 (Joel Pollack/Breitbart News)
The only sign of life was a tractor pulling a cart loaded with avocados. Only farmers are allowed into the evacuation area so they can tend to their crops and animals.
An avocado farmer transports his cart through a deserted street in Shlomi, Israel, after being evacuated by fire from Lebanon’s Hezbollah. April 15, 2024 (Joel Pollack/Breitbart News)
Nearby, the remains of a chicken coop, destroyed and destroyed by a ballistic missile fired by Hezbollah, stood silently.
Breitbart News met with a specialized unit of special forces guarding the area. They form part of a new rapid response force tasked with interdicting and detecting Hezbollah infiltration so that what happened in southern communities near Gaza on October 7th does not happen in northern Gaza. ing.
A reserve special forces unit stands guard near the Israel-Lebanon border on April 15, 2024. (Joel Pollack/Breitbart News)
The special forces are reservists living in northern communities who have spent months apart from their families before being evacuated to cities further south.
Many expressed frustration that the world’s attention was focused on displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip rather than on displaced civilians in Israel.
Some expressed disappointment with U.S. President Joe Biden’s comments. pledged October’s “unwavering” support for Israel appears to be preventing Israel from achieving victory over its enemies.
They cannot understand why the United States is focusing on humanitarian aid to the Palestinians rather than the humanitarian plight of the Israelis, who did not want or start the war.
Joel B. Pollack is a senior editor at Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday Sunday nights from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET (4:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT) on Sirius XM Patriot. He is the author of a recently published e-book.The Zionist conspiracy (and how to join it)‘ is now available on Audible. He is also the author of an e-book. Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 US Presidential Election. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter @joelpolak.
