Northern Israeli Town Under Fire Again After Brief Return Home

Residents of Kiryat Shmona who returned home after an 18-month evacuation are once again facing constant rocket attacks from Hezbollah. Many are living in bomb shelters around the clock, questioning whether military action can ever bring lasting peace to the region.

KIRYAT SHMONA, Israel — When Gila Pahima moved back to her northern Israeli community last spring, she had hoped the worst was behind her. After being forced from her home for a year and a half due to Hezbollah attacks, residents had finally been allowed to return following a ceasefire in November 2024.

Today, warning sirens blare continuously as explosions from incoming missiles and defense systems thunder overhead.

“I feel like we’re in constant war,” she said. “You feel like you’re on a battlefield all day.”

Following their previous conflict, Israel appeared to have severely damaged the Iranian-supported Hezbollah organization. The group’s leadership had been eliminated, hundreds of fighters were injured by explosive devices planted in communication equipment, and large portions of southern Lebanon lay destroyed.

However, Hezbollah has renewed its missile attacks following joint Israeli and American strikes against Iran, its primary backer, which has also fired multiple rounds of rockets toward Israel.

While most Israelis back the conflict with Iran, believing it could bring significant regional transformation, exhaustion is growing, particularly in northern communities where residents continuously flee to protective shelters or live in them permanently. Many question whether aerial bombardments or ground operations can deliver lasting security.

“You brought us here. You said, ‘Hezbollah is weakened,'” said another resident, Avraham Golan, addressing the Israeli government. “Where is it weakened? They are worse than what they used to be.”

The government relocated 60,000 northern residents when Hezbollah started launching rockets and unmanned aircraft in support of Hamas following its October 7, 2023, assault on Israel from Gaza. Citizens began returning only after the Israel-Hezbollah truce more than 12 months later.

While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu maintains strong backing in this conservative community, residents express frustration over the gap between official statements about defeating Hezbollah and their reality of enduring daily bombardment.

Golan, age 79, came to Kiryat Shmona in 1951 when his family left Iraq for Israel. The retiree previously worked in apple groves scattered across the verdant hills encircling the community.

Evening hours bring the greatest terror, he explained while fighting back emotion. The blasts occur so nearby they seem to penetrate your bedroom, and residents haven’t managed more than two consecutive hours of rest, he noted. Between alarm warnings, people briefly leave to purchase essential supplies.

Bruria Danino, 61, relocated to a shelter with her relatives after injuring her nose while rushing there in darkness during the early phase of this conflict.

For most of the last two weeks, they’ve shared their neighborhood shelter with three other families, sleeping on metal bunks that fold from the walls. When missile alerts interrupt her grandson’s virtual schooling, he calmly switches to animated shows on his tablet and settles onto an air mattress.

“They promised us a few years of quiet, but after 10 months, it’s the same situation,” Danino said.

Her daughter, Hodaya, described the experience as resembling a “horror movie.”

“People say Israel’s homefront is so strong, but we’re not strong, we all have post-trauma,” she said.

She wants officials to fund evacuation costs, as occurred during the previous war. All families with financial resources have departed, she noted, abandoning those with fewer means.

Israeli forces have conducted extensive bombing campaigns across southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern districts, regions with significant Hezbollah presence that also house hundreds of thousands of Lebanese civilians who experienced severe damage in the last conflict. Israeli ground forces have advanced further into southern Lebanon while warning residents to evacuate from extensive areas.

The bombardments have claimed hundreds of Lebanese lives, forcing over one million to abandon their homes. Defense Minister Israel Katz has stated none will return until northern Israel achieves safety and stability.

Iranian rocket attacks have resulted in at least 12 Israeli deaths, while two soldiers have died in southern Lebanon combat operations.

Pahima, who returned last spring, was born in Kiryat Shmona and raised four sons there. She cherishes the natural beauty surrounding her residence and the peaceful atmosphere of the city, distant from Israel’s busy metropolitan areas. She fears the community may never recover its former character.

Numerous evacuated families, particularly those with young children, chose not to return. City officials declined to provide data on returnee numbers, but Pahima and other residents estimate roughly half remained elsewhere.

The community, already challenged by remote location, now offers even fewer prospects for young adults, she observed. She comprehends why families hesitate to come back.

“Maybe it will calm down for a few years,” she said. “But then war will come back.”