JISH, Northern Israel – Hezbollah and Iran have warned of a massive aerial barrage on Israel in the coming days. So CBN News visited northern Israel to see how communities are coping with this threat, and we found resilience in unexpected places.

Residents who chose to stay here in the north remain on high alert. Still, life continues with surprising courage in Jish, a Maronite Christian community just two miles from the Lebanon border. 

Here at Saint Maroun Church in Jish, only about two miles south of the border with Lebanon, for every year for the last 25 years, they’ve had a summer camp with up to 400 people. But this year, things look a lot different.

Despite this area being considered a war zone by many, this Maronite church is still holding its annual summer kids’ camp, albeit with a few modifications.

The Israeli government has put limits on the number of children that can be in one place at one time since the war started back in October, but especially after the terrible tragedy that took place where a Hezbollah rocket dropped into a soccer field and killed 12 children in the Druze village of Majdal Shams. 

Camp leader Kamel Monsoor explained, “Instead of ten days of summer camp as usual, we just divided the summer camp to two groups, five days and another five days… for two groups, 100 kids each. So, it’s according to the laws of the Israeli government.”

Changes are also felt in the very nature of the activities.

“Because of the war, we can’t do the activities outside, or we are just indoors, activities, in case of alarms. We are inside. You can’t do anything outside,” Monsoor said.

The village of Majdal Shams is actually only a couple of miles from here. So the parents that are sending their kids to this camp here in Jish want to know that the leadership is taking a few extra precautions to keep their kids safe.

Despite these challenges, the camp maintains its spirit of openness and fun.

Father Sandy Habib said, “A sense of community is important because we cannot turn to God and tell him we love you if we don’t really love people who are around us. And when we love people around us, we do have a sense of community.”

This sense of community extends beyond religious boundaries.

“One, they learn more and more about Jesus. Second, they learn how to respect each other irrespective of gender, religion, because we do have non-Christians with us… Everyone is welcome. We have Muslims among us,” Father Habib said.

The camp’s resilience mirrors that of the broader community. While over 98 villages in the north have been evacuated, these Christians refuse to leave.

The community’s deep connection to their land and history keeps them rooted, even in danger. The camp counselors have the job of passing on that sense of peace and courage.

Camp counselor Maria took us on a tour. “So now we’re going to show you the shelter. We have more than one shelter, but this is the open one from now. So from here, this is the shelter where we’ll put the children in case, something bad, an emergency happens,” she said.

The camp counselors, many still teenagers, take their responsibilities seriously.

“Our job is to keep them calm and not panic because if they panic, it will be a lot harder to try and help them and go to the safe place,” Maria said.

Father Habib notes the children have shown remarkable adaptability.

“Our kids have been in this situation for the past 10 months, and they have somehow grown accustomed. It’s really very difficult to say that you can really grow accustomed to war, but they are used to this situation and they have sort of been trained in how to behave during this difficult time,” he said.

Yet, the constant threat is a weight they shouldn’t have to carry.

Kamel said, “We’re so tired from this war, running after an alarm and alarm. Go to the safe room. It’s, it’s ridiculous. We don’t deserve that. We are good citizens. We need to live peacefully. We need our summer to come back. We need our Christmas back. We need our Easter back. We need our kids back to the Sunday school you know?”

Despite the dangerous situation, the community of Jish remains steadfast with their summer camp serving as a testament to their enduring spirit and faith. Even with Hezbollah’s constant threat, they continue to build community and nurture their children’s growth, refusing to let fear dictate their lives.

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