‘No end in sight’: Evacuated Israeli city prepares for possible war with Hezbollah

On the border between Lebanon and Israel, a nearly daily exchange of missile fire that began on October 7 threatens to trigger a larger war. And communities on both sides are caught in the crossfire. Avichai Stern, mayor of Israel’s northernmost city, Kiryat Shmona, heads to the site of a recent Hezbollah rocket attack to assess the damage. His town is located just a mile from the Lebanese border, making it an easy target. But the buildings here are mostly empty now. In the days after October 7, Israel’s military evacuated 125,000 residents from border areas fearing another major attack. This is the largest internal displacement in the history of the country. Now, more than three months after the Hamas attack, the government faces increasing pressure to expel Hezbollah forces from the border and return more than 20,000 Kiryat Shmona evacuees to their homes. There are others, like the city’s former mayor, who decided to stay and say they have lived with the threat of Hezbollah for years. He maintains that the government should not have forced residents to leave in the first place. Israel’s defense system intercepts some rockets, but here many manage to pass through them. Mayor Stern travels between his city and state-funded hotels to the south, reminding residents and evacuees that Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force remains a threat. Speaking to soldiers in Kiryat Shmona on January 9, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will attack Lebanon with the same intensity as Gaza if Hezbollah does not back down. In recent days, the Israeli army said it is deployed along the entire northern border and is highly prepared to defend and attack. Despite pleas from residents, Mayor Stern says there is no end in sight to the evacuation of the city.