JERUSALEM – Only 24 hours following the October 7th attack, the terror group Hezbollah began targeting Israel’s northern communities with rockets fired from Lebanon. Nine months and thousands of rockets later, this “undeclared” war is having a deep impact on the region’s economy, environment, and its people. Since the almost daily barrage began, life in northern Israel is a dangerous and potentially deadly place.
Noa and Nir Baranes died in a rocket attack on July 9, leaving behind three children. They’re among dozens of civilians and soldiers killed by Hezbollah. Now most communities along the Lebanese border stand nearly empty.
Another casualty is the land itself, due to wildfires created by the combination of rocket fire and dry summer conditions throughout northern Israel, the Galilee, and the Golan Heights.
The fires started by Hezbollah rockets have destroyed tens of thousands of acres and thousands of trees, some planted as far back as sixty years ago. These are the worst forest fires in the history of Israel.
Itamar Katz works with KKL-JNF leading forestry efforts on the Golan Heights. “I’m kind of young and I’m new in the system. I’ve only been in the Forest Service for seven years,” Katz tells CBN News.
“But all of the older generation, I mean, I see them their whole life’s work is going up in flames and it’s on purpose. You know, somebody is doing this on purpose to us. It’s not just happening,” Katz explains.
This intentional destruction, reaching nearly forty thousand acres thus far is just another part of Hezbollah’s goal to drain Israel’s resources, wear down its people and eventually eliminate the Jewish state.
“For us, it’s huge. I mean, these fires here are equivalent to the fires in Northern California for us. That’s how we experience it. Although it might be like a 1,000-2,000-hectare fire. I mean, it’s big in any scale, but in Israel it’s huge,” Katz explains.
And it’s destroying regional wildlife, KKL-JNF Chief Ornithologist Yaron Charka explains how the fires are affecting Israel.
“When fires start in the spring, in the late spring, in the middle of the nesting season, then there’s a real damage to birds. We’re talking about chicks and nests that cannot fly. The parents are leaving, but the chicks are burning to the death, and birds are losing a whole generation,” Charka said.
Before October 7th, Miriam Arnon’s family had lived in the border community of Metula for five generations. Now, Arnon is among the tens of thousands of Israelis living away from home.
“I feel like a refugee in my own country, and it’s not a good position to be at. The Hezbollah started these, missiles, launching missiles toward Metula. Many, many houses got hit, mine included,” Arnon explains.
“But because of the Hezbollah, the terror organization now attacking Israel, it’s impossible to live up north. The thing that is important that not many people know about it, not many people understand the situation, that we just want to live in peace,” she added.
Arnon says that while Israel is on the frontlines of this global war, the U.S. needs to wake up before Americans find the fight on their doorstep.
“Open your eyes. Open your eyes and see that this is us now.” Aron explains, “But these kind of attacks can happen also in your own backyard. Just remember 9/11, it didn’t happen so long ago. It started differently, but unfortunately it can happen again everywhere.”