Kiryat Shmona locals highlight city's destruction as ceasefire allows residents to return

Miki Azoulay, 63, a resident of Kiryat Shmona, returned to her home on Thursday for the first time since being evacuated near the beginning of the war over a year ago. Her home sustained a direct hit during a Hezbollah rocket barrage in September. 

Located near the border with Lebanon, Kiryat Shmona suffered the highest amount of damage among the northern communities. Of these, more than 250 damage cases were recorded in private buildings, 68 in open areas, and nine in public infrastructure. This led to the collapse of some of the city’s central infrastructure.

“It’s impossible to enter the apartment because the door was completely warped from the blast,” she said. “The hit was direct – it hit the roof and the walls and blew up everything inside. The door, the windows, the kitchen, the rooms – everything was destroyed and damaged. I tried to find a professional to fix the door, but I couldn’t throughout the entire period.”

Azoulay and her son were evacuated to Haifa due to the security situation and have been living in a hotel in the city for over a year.

“We don’t have a safe room or a shelter near our home in Kiryat Shmona, and the warning time is almost nonexistent – so it was clear to me that we needed to evacuate,” she said.

“After the hit on my house, it remained unsecured for 10 days without any protection or supervision,” Azoulay said. “I asked the neighbors who stayed in the city to take out sentimental items of mine through the windows – like my computer drive, photo albums. I don’t even know if perhaps valuable items were stolen from the house because the security situation didn’t allow me to visit the house since the hit.”

She further spoke of her concerns for the physical condition of the house, adding “this crisis feels like it’s being managed from afar. I didn’t dare come to the city myself because I knew it was too dangerous.”

Azoulay, who teaches at a school in Kfar Blum, found herself facing financial and emotional difficulties stemming from the evacuation. “I haven’t been in my home since last March – almost a year. Occasionally, I would go to teach in person at Kfar Blum, so I visited the house a few times just to grab winter clothes or things for my son.”

The damage to her house affected her mental health. “The impact happened in the place in the house where I had promised my son he would be the safest, with walls on all sides. And then it happened right there. I’ve been a resident of Kiryat Shmona since I was born. I grew up under the shadow of Katyushas, but I’ve never experienced such destruction.”

Azoulay expressed hope that the authorities will handle the reconstruction of her home quickly and fairly: “I just hope I won’t have to fight for everything. My house is really destroyed – all the steel, the electricity, the kitchen cabinets made of glass – everything is shattered.”

"Now, after what happened, I realize how fragile I am, but also how determined I am to rebuild what was destroyed," she stated.

Deputy mayor expresses optimism at city's reconstruction

Kiryat Shmona Deputy Mayor Ofir Yehezkeli said the city is dealing with severe damage in three main infrastructure areas.

“First, dozens of homes were directly hit, and over 1,000 additional homes suffered collateral damage, such as blast damage that destroyed windows, doors, and infrastructure.

“Second, public institutions like schools, kindergartens, community centers, and cultural centers were damaged. Some from direct fire and others during their use by the military during the fighting,” he added.

Additionally, there is damage to urban infrastructure such as roads, sidewalks, retaining walls, public gardens, and sports fields, which were affected by direct hits, neglect, or as a result of armored personnel carriers (APCs) or tanks driving through the city.”

He emphasized the complexity of reconstructing the city. “The rehabilitation of homes that were directly damaged will be long and complex, while those that were moderately or lightly damaged will be quicker.

“Just a day before the ceasefire, for example, there was a direct hit at the central bus station in the city, and all the buses were completely burned,” he said.

Despite the severe damage, Yehezkeli noted that reconstruction efforts have already begun, with some residents already returning to Kiryat Shmona.

“This is a significant opportunity to rebuild everything properly,” with the goal being “to rebuild the city with new roads and sidewalks, and to give the residents a sense of a higher quality of life.”

The deputy mayor also noted the importance of the rehabilitation of businesses in the city, in addition to its physical reconstruction. “We must ensure that businesses receive sufficient support to recover,” he said, calling on the government to provide extensive support for such a purpose.