All is NOT Quiet on the Northern Front
First of all, a few words of very simplified background explanation. Muslims in the Middle East (and most of the rest of the world) are divided into two main streams – Sunni and Shiite. Sunnis tend to be less extreme and Shiites tend to be more extreme, but that is a huge oversimplification. For our purposes – Iran, Hezbollah, Houthis, and various pro-Iranian militias in Syria and Iraq are Shiites. Hamas, though basically Sunni, is allied and intimately connected to Iran, which is Shiite (don’t ask…). West Bank Palestinians, Jordanians and about half of the Lebanese Muslims are mainly Sunnis.
Israel has fought two wars in Lebanon – the first, starting in 1982, ended with Israel’s withdrawal in 2000. From 1985 until the withdrawal in 2000, Israel – together with its Christian Lebanese allies – held a security zone that was approximately 10kms deep, and was meant to keep the Lebanese Muslim militias away from Israel.
The second Lebanon War started in 2006, when Hezbollah forces crossed the border and captured two Israeli soldiers (later found to have been killed). This round of fighting ended with the unanimously approved United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 (UNSCR 1701) in an effort to end the hostilities. The resolution, which was approved by both the Lebanese and Israeli governments in the following days, called for disarmament of Hezbollah, for withdrawal of the IDF from Lebanon, and for the deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces and an enlarged United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in the south. UNIFIL was given an expanded mandate, including the ability to use force to ensure that their area of operations was not used for hostile activities, and to resist attempts by force to prevent them from discharging their duties.[58] The Lebanese Army began deploying in Southern Lebanon on 17 August 2006. On 1 October 2006, most Israeli troops withdrew from Lebanon, although the last of the troops continued to occupy the border-straddling village of Ghajar.[60] (Wikipedia, edited).
Since then, starting TEN DAYS later, NO effort has ever been made by Lebanon or UNIFIL to enforce UNSCR 1701, and NO Hezbollah forces have EVER been disarmed by UNIFL. UNSCR 1701 is not worth the paper it was written on. Hezbollah has since then become the de-facto government over southern Lebanon and holds a majority of seats in the Lebanese Parliament.
Unless you want to get a degree in Middle Eastern Politics, this is enough background. If you want more – Wikipedia is actually a good place to start, but it is hopelessly complicated.
- - - - - - - - - -
On October 8th or 9th, without any provocation and edged on by Iran, Hezbollah began to bombard all the northern most towns and villages in Israel with rockets and anti-tank weapons. Despite Israeli/IDF reaction to these actions, they have continued till today, and have not brought about any greater Israeli reaction – mainly but not only due to the ongoing Gaza War.
As the days and weeks progressed, the Israeli gov’t realized that it could not protect the residents of northern Israel from Hezbollah and at the same time deal with Hamas. So, it gave orders for the evacuation of all the towns and villages in northern Israel within 7kms of the Lebanese border – similar to the evacuation order given to the Israeli settlements that were attacked on October 7th. (Due to the success of the IDF in dislodging and destroying Hamas in the neighboring areas, the residents of several of these towns and villages have now returned to their homes.)
SO … Northern Israel, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Syrian border, and to a depth of approximately 7kms, is 99% deserted. But Hezbollah couldn’t care less about the 7km evacuation area, and their barrages often go far beyond this area – to towns on the Golan Height and to cities and villages in Northern Israel that have not been evacuated, since they are beyond the government’s arbitrary 7km zone – and people ARE often killed and wounded.
Recommended by LinkedIn
60,000 people have been displaced from their homes. Most of them are farmers, living from poultry farms (for both eggs and meat) and fruit orchards, and there are also a few larger towns. For Six Months, they have been living out of suitcases, in hotels and hostels or with family elsewhere, not knowing if and when they will be able to return home. Children are not going to schools, or if they are, they are totally unsettled and a burden on the school systems of the towns where they are currently living. The parents are out of work, and their livelihood has been destroyed. The chicken coops have been targeted by Hezbollah’s rockets and RPGs (Rocket Propelled Grenades) and the birds are all dead. The orchards are growing wild or dying, as it is too dangerous for their owners to work them, prune the trees and gather the fruit.
This is the second tragedy of the October War, and it is barely mentioned anywhere. There are nightly reports on the TV if there are rocket/RPG attacks, but only if someone is killed or injured, and this situation takes second place to the Hostages that are still in Gaza – be they alive or (probably) dead.
Last Thursday, there was a TV documentary (on Channel 2 Israel) about the north, and in particular, the Town of Metula. Metula is (or was) a small, very prosperous town of some 1700 souls. Their prosperity came from Tourism (there are many small hotels there) and fruit orchards. Today, it has 25 residents – the mayor plus the members of the civilian “Emergency Squad” – residents who are in charge of the town’s safety, when the army isn’t around. That’s it. These 25 people patrol the town, documenting the damage that has been done. There is not a single house that hasn’t been hit by mortar bombs, rockets or RPGs. The squad (on its own account) goes around and boards up the houses after they were hit, so that the rain and various intruders don’t go in and damage them even further. At night, they live in an underground bunker, safe from the rockets, eating meals and getting some sleep.
Getting to Metula is a dangerous trip, as the Hezbollah terrorists see everything that is going on and can target a moving car or patrol immediately – and they do. At night, the squad moves around without lights, using night-vision equipment. In the daytime, they have a drone that they fly over the town, to see what the previous night’s damage was. At times, Hezbollah takes over the control of the drone from them, and only if they succeed in recovering control do they get to keep it. Otherwise, Hezbollah gets a prize and the squad needs to buy a new one.
This documentary was one of the most depressing things I have seen since the events of October 7th. 60,000 residents of Israel, deprived of their homes and income, and basically abandoned by their Government. The documentary is all in Hebrew, but you don’t need to understand the narration to understand the tragedy of the town and the others like it. If you want to watch a portion of it, it’s on Twitter –
Richard Steinitz
Herzliya, Israel – April 21, 2024