Israel has become blind to those suffering in the North - opinion

Since the war began nine and a half months ago, many assume that the communities along the Gaza border have been hardest hit. 

It is true that those communities suffered the worst civilian massacre in the history of Israel on October 7, when over 1,200 people were slaughtered and thousands more were injured by Hamas terrorists and their supporters. 

And of course, they are still reeling from the attack while trying to rebuild their lives amid the devastation left behind. 

Some are still praying for the return of their sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, and so on, who are being held hostage in Gaza, not knowing for certain if they are alive, while others are mourning the loss of loved ones who were brutally murdered on that dark day.

What many do not realize, however, is that on October 8, the Lebanon-based terror group Hezbollah, to demonstrate its solidarity with Hamas, began launching daily indiscriminate rocket, missile, and drone attacks on northern Israel.

These attacks have left around 80,000 Israelis without homes. 

Some were forced to leave with little more than the clothes on their backs and had to rely on the government and the goodwill of fellow Israelis for shelter, clothing, and even food while living in hotels or strangers’ apartments, far from home.

Many have been unable to return home to retrieve valuables and other precious belongings, such as important documents and photos, as villages in the area are off-limits, even for residents, with any access being strictly controlled by the IDF.

According to The Jerusalem Post, as of February 1, 2024, 80 homes in the North had taken direct hits by Hezbollah rockets with a further 427 sustaining some structural damage.

Only last week, a rocket struck a school in Kibbutz Dafna in the Upper Galilee, and another hit the yard of a preschool in Kibbutz Hanita in the Western Galilee.

Thankfully, no one was injured in either of the attacks as both kibbutzim had been evacuated.

Devastation fills the North 

Nevertheless, such attacks leave devastation in their wake, often starting bushfires that destroy thousands of hectares of land and with it, forests, foliage, crops, vineyards, and wildlife. Described as a “war zone,” by Alex Haruni, the British-born owner of Dalton Winery situated a mere six kilometers from the Lebanon border, this part of the country is extremely dangerous: a no-go area.

Only a fortnight ago, Noa and Nir Baranes, a couple from Kibbutz Ortal, both aged 46, were killed in their car by a Hezbollah rocket barrage on the Golan Heights. 

Their three children, 18, 15, and 13 are now orphans. Their deaths bring the number of civilians killed in the north of Israel by Hezbollah rockets to 13.

And then there are the soldiers who have lost their lives while serving in the North since the war began – 18 at the time of writing – with many more suffering life-changing injuries. 

Only this week, two more soldiers were wounded by Hezbollah rockets that also killed 10 cows in the Upper Galilee’s Biriya Forest.

AS WELL AS causing unimaginable human suffering and destruction since the war started, these ongoing attacks on both the North and South have also taken their toll on Israel’s economy. 

Up to 60,000 Israeli businesses are predicted to close in 2024, with construction, agriculture, and services sectors hit hardest.

Yoel Amir, CEO of the business information group CofaceBDI, confirmed that “A decline in consumer spending, the lack of tourism, and the mass evacuations from war-affected areas in the North and South of Israel have hit businesses in the trade and services sector, including leisure businesses, as well as cafes and restaurants.”

Amir also confirmed that in a poll of 600 war-affected businesses about efforts by the government to provide emergency assistance, over half hadn’t received enough or indeed any government aid since October 7.

Ongoing uncertainty in those areas, particularly the North where the prospect of an escalation in the conflict with Hezbollah is a very real concern, has also made the situation worse for residents.

Many have been forced to come to terms with the fact that they won’t be going home any time soon, if at all.

Moshe Davidovitch, head of the Asher Regional Council in the Western Galilee, fears that if more is not done to improve the situation, the residents of the North are going to abandon the area.

Calling on Netanyahu to take action 

In a recent letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he wrote: “Given the manner in which this national issue is being handled, the northern conflict zone will be abandoned – not only the towns that have been evacuated but the entire conflict area in which your people believe things are business as usual while unexplainably ignoring reality.”

As reported by the Post in May, “Citizens are also expressing the frustrations pointed out by Davidovitch, and a number of organizations are calling for citizens to set up a protest ‘refugee camp’ in order to send a message to the state that residents of the North will not give up on their homes.”

While all eyes are on Gaza and the south of Israel, the ongoing suffering of residents and business owners from the North is going largely unnoticed. 

It’s time we changed that and used our voices to highlight their plight as well.

The writer is a former lawyer from the UK who now lives and works in Israel as a freelance writer for The Jerusalem Post.