KIRYAT SHMONA, Israel: When Aviva Weitzman walks through her home in Israel’s northernmost city, she still pauses at the scars on the walls – reminders of the missiles that forced her family to flee last year.
They returned to Kiryat Shmona earlier this year, hoping the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah that was struck a year ago on Nov 27, 2024 would hold.
The truce was meant to end more than 13 months of cross-border violence and an Israeli ground invasion that killed more than 4,000 Lebanese and 127 Israelis.
But with Israeli airstrikes continuing and both sides accusing each other of violating the agreement, fears are building of a return to full-scale war.
“Now, the feeling is that there is no security, that there could be another round of war, that Hezbollah is indeed trying to get closer to the fence, trying … maybe to do something,” Weitzman said.
“It’s part of why the area hasn’t fully recovered.”
About 70,000 people were evacuated from communities across northern Israel when Hezbollah began firing missiles, rockets and drones in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas, a day after the Oct 7, 2023 attacks.
More than three-quarters of the population of Kiryat Shmona – which was home to about 24,000 Israelis in 2023 – fled the city. Many have since returned.
Source: CNA
