Update northern Israel • Life under fire
Since August 25th when Israel carried out a preemptive strike and people as far south as Tel Aviv were sent running to the shelters, September 4th saw the heaviest rocket fire in the north since the war began. Over 100 rockets rained down on the northern communities, with the town of Kiryat Shmona being extensively shelled, although no injuries were reported.
The mayor of the town, Avichai Stern, has the grueling task of telling more and more residents that they have no home to come back to.
‘No one exempt from the Russian Roulette of where the rockets will fall.’
No one exempt from the Russian Roulette of where the rockets will fall. In the afternoon of September 4th, the young mayor had to call his parents to inform them that their new home which they had spent years preparing for their upcoming retirement, was now in rubble following a direct hit that rendered the building beyond recognition.
Over the last few weeks, the range of rockets falling in the north of Israel has crept further south, following Hezbollah’s claims that it is expanding the number of places it targets, and also the range. This has included attacks on several communities in the Hula Valley, a large plot of land used for much of Israel’s agricultural needs. This is adds more concern to Israel, not just because of the safety of farmers, but the lack of manpower to harvest the fields in these no-go zones is reflected on the shelves in the shops. Vegetables are more sparse and prices have shot up.
As each day goes by, more farms are destroyed by the aggression of the enemy as those who once had a livelihood, finally pack their bags and move further south.
