Is Israel on the brink of a three-front war? Voices from the forgotten front

All around the country, people are holding their breath, waiting with trepidation for the barrage of missiles that Iran and its proxy Hezbollah have promised will rain down mercilessly this week on the Jewish state. Yet for residents of the towns within firing range of the Hezbollah-controlled Lebanese border, the war has been in full-swing for the last ten months.

Scattered to the Winds

AVICHAI STERN

Mayor of Kiryat Shmona

We’ve been hearing threats from Hezbollah for years about their desire to conquer the Galil, but it seemed more in the realm of fantasy”

Kiryat Shmona is located in the northern Galil, just two kilometers from the Lebanese border. Although the city has recently been in the news due to Hezbollah missile assaults, attacks from this terrorist organization have been a common occurrence since October 7. The city has become a ghost town: Nearly 90 percent of the population has had to evacuate due to constant attacks, with most of the residents spread out among some 230 hotels from nearby Teveria all the way down to Eilat. Only about 3,000 people still live in the city, most of them essential workers, plus older people and those with disabilities for whom staying is easier than picking up and moving. 

The daily lives of all its inhabitants —those who’ve stayed and those who’ve fled — have changed drastically since the war began, and the person in charge is the mayor, 38-year-old Avichai Stern, who says that, “Since October 7, I’m the father of 25,000 citizens.”

I grew up in Kiryat Shmona, and despite living with constant threats from Lebanon, no one thought we would be out of our homes for 10 months. We also never believed that October 7 would actually happen, even though we’ve been hearing threats from Hezbollah for years about their desire to conquer the Galil. The truth is, we always took it as something more in the realm of fantasy — until we realized that that they could really do it. We’re fortunate that the terrorists didn’t decide to start in the North.

Since October 7, we’ve had close to 400 impacts, and that’s after the interceptions. We’ve had over 4,000 rockets and missiles launched at us. Our warning time, because we’re so close to the border, is only about ten seconds, and sometimes the rocket strikes even before the siren goes off.

The evacuation meant my family had to scatter to different parts of the world: First, my wife and young daughter went to New York, and I didn’t see them for six months. During that time, on day 100 of the war, my wife gave birth to another daughter, and I was with her on my phone from thousands of miles away. Now they are in Caesarea, my parents are still in the United States, my brother is in Kfar Blum, and a sister is in Harutzim.

But the most significant change has been my role as a mayor. On October 7, I became the father of 25,000 citizens. They have no one else to turn to. If they have problems with the hotels or the schools, they don’t complain to the ministers, they come to me. I’m the one they know. Since I can’t divide myself into 25,000 pieces, we’ve set up a team of representatives to better address all needs.

Have I visited all the nearly 300 hotels where there are citizens of Kiryat Shmona? No. But I do my best to visit as many as I can. I also have to be in Kiryat Shmona, which is still constantly under fire.

Of course, it’s difficult for my wife too, but she understands the responsibility I’ve taken on, and I try to be with my family as much as I can.

Unfortunately, the government seems to have forgotten the North. At first, we understood they needed to focus on the needs of the South. But after ten months, it’s been too long. However, it’s important to highlight the immense voluntary help we’ve received from various donors and organizations, as well as individuals who understand the difficulties we’re going through. It’s a unique brotherhood among the people of Israel that, sadly, we often see only in times of conflict.

As for the future, one thing is clear — it’s impossible to talk about an “agreement” with the terrorists. I say this both as a private citizen and as mayor: We can’t trust any agreement. They never fulfill their parts of the deal. What did they do with humanitarian aid money? They bought weapons, built tunnels to attack us. In the end, all agreements are just a bluff they use in order to buy more time and attack us as they did on October 7.

No one here is willing to sit and wait for them to attack the North as they did the South, and on the other hand, no one can tell us to return until the situation is resolved. We don’t want war, but it seems there’s no other way to get us out of this mess. If we don’t act now, we’ll live through another October 7 in the North.