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Ilan Rosenfeld walks through the charred shell of his former business, stepping over cracked fragments of clay plates that used to line his café and scraps of old metal. Hezbollah Rockets are dropping debris.
In this small, war-ravaged town – the northernmost in Israel, surrounded on three sides, all that is left for him is lebanon,
“Everything I had, everything I saved, everything I built – it’s all burned down,” he said, scanning the damage to a business he ran for 40 years in Metula, which is in danger of erupting over the long-stagnant border. “Every day I wake up, and all I have left are tears.”
When war broke out between Israel and the terrorist group Hezbollah in October 2023 following a Hamas attack in southern Israel, Rosenfeld was among thousands of people forced from their homes.
A year after a shaky ceasefire along this heavily fortified border, Israel’s government says most displaced people have returned to their homes in the north, where they are struggling to put the pieces of their lives back together. Others are reluctant to return, as Israel has stepped up attacks in Lebanon. community Those like Metula, which were at the center of the conflict, are little more than ghost towns, most still half-empty, with many doubting their government’s promises to keep them safe.
Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon have continued for several weeks. Hezbollah has refused to fully disarm until Israel withdraws completely.
“The security situation is beginning to deteriorate again,” Rosenfeld said, looking at bomb shelters on a list recently distributed by the local government. “And where am I in all this? I can barely survive from day to day.”
In some towns on the Israel-Lebanon border, the return has been hard to come by
Metula residents were among the 64,000 people forced to evacuate and relocate to hotels and temporary homes farther south when Hezbollah began firing rockets across the border into Israel in the fall of 2023. Months of fighting escalated into a full-scale war. In September 2024, Israel killed 12 people and injured more than 3,000 in a coordinated pager attack and killed the leader of Hezbollah in an attack. A month later, an armistice agreement was reached.
Today, residents have returned to the vast apple orchards and mountains as Israel’s government encourages them to return home. Officials say about 55,000 people have returned.
In Metula, more than half of the 1,700 residents have returned. Yet the streets remain largely empty.
Many hoped to rebuild their lives, but they returned to find 60% of the city’s homes damaged by rocket fire, according to the local government. Others were infected and destroyed by rats. The economy – based largely on tourism and agriculture – has been devastated.
With many people, especially young families, reluctant to return, some business owners have turned to workers from Thailand to fill the labor shortage.
“Most of the people who worked with us before the war did not come back,” said Jacob Katz, who ran a produce business. “We have lost too much…and we cannot read the future.”
Rosenfeld’s modest café and farm were located on a hill overlooking the border fence. to tourists They will come to eat, camp in buses converted into rooms and enjoy the views. But now, cities on the Lebanese side of the border have been reduced to rubble by Israeli attacks.
Without a home, Rosenfeld sleeps in a small shelter next to what remains of his business. He has little more than a tent, a refrigerator and a few chairs. A short distance away is a military observation tower and two armored vehicles.
Israel’s government says it has invested millions of dollars in border improvement efforts, it plans to invest more in economic revival, and residents can apply for assistance funds.
But Rosenfeld said that despite requesting government assistance, he has received none.
She is among those residents and business leaders who say they feel forgotten. Most say they need more resources to rebuild.
“The Israeli government needs to do a lot more for us,” said Avi Nadiv, Metula’s deputy mayor. “Residents living on Israel’s northern border, we are Israel’s human shields.”
A spokesman for Ze’ev Elkin, the cabinet minister overseeing reconstruction in the north, said the local government had not used funds allocated for reconstruction “due to narrow political and opposition views”.
Tension is increasing between Hezbollah and Israel
As Hezbollah has refused to disarm, Israel has accused the Lebanese government of not doing enough to neutralize the terrorist group. The Lebanese army says it has increased its presence along the border area to reinforce the ceasefire.
Israel continues to bomb what it says are Hezbollah sites. Much of southern Lebanon is in ruins.
The strikes are among several launched by Israel – including attacks in Gaza, the West Bank and Syria – in what it calls an effort to crack down on terrorist groups.
At least 127 civilians, including children, have been killed in attacks in Lebanon since the ceasefire took effect, according to a UN report in November. UN special envoy Morris Tidball-Binz said the attacks amounted to “war crimes”. Israel has said it has the right to continue attacks to prevent Hezbollah from regrouping and has accused the group of using civilians as human shields.
Last week, Israel struck southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut, killing a top Hezbollah military commander. The group, still weakened by last year’s fighting, has not responded.
‘Army can’t protect me’
In Metula, signs of stress are everywhere. The local government’s list of public shelters reads: “Metula is prepared for emergencies.”
While farmer Levav Weinberg was playing with his children, aged 10, 8 and 6, explosions and gunfire were heard periodically during military exercises. Weinberg, an Army reservist, said his children are too afraid to ride their bikes on the road.
Weinberg, 44, and his family returned in July, skeptical of the government’s promises that everything was getting back to normal, but desperate to keep his business alive.
Metula’s government is encouraging people to return and telling residents that the area is safe and the economy will bounce back.
“Today we are feeling, what we might call, the winds of war – but that does not stop us,” Nadiev said. “Coming back to Metula – there is nothing to fear. …The army is here. The houses are fortified. Metula is ready for anything.”
Weinberg isn’t so sure. In recent weeks, he and his wife have once again considered leaving.
“The military can’t protect me and my family,” Weinberg said. “You sacrifice your family to live in Metula these days. It’s not an ideal life, it’s not that easy, and at some point your children pay the price.”