More than 200 rockets and missiles were fired at northern Israel. Fires erupt in many places. Thousands of acres catch fire and burn. And the fear is that this is very far from over. Hezbollah's response on Wednesday to the killing of Taleb Abdullah, dubbed "the most senior commander to be killed since the beginning of the war," was the heaviest shooting in recent months, and it is believed that this is not the end of that response.
Efforts to extinguish the fire in Moshav Avivim
The IDF spokesman announced in a statement early Thursday morning that overnight IDF fighter jets struck Hezbollah military structures in the area of Ayta ash Shab, as well as additional terrorist infrastructure in the area of Aynata in southern Lebanon. Rocket alert alarms were activated at around 5:00 a.m. in Western Galilee communities, and later the IDF announced that an interceptor was launched at a suspicious target which turned out to be a false identification. The alert was triggered following fear of falling interceptor fragments. After about an hour, alarms were activated in Moshav Shatula as well.
"It was a day of escalation, of incessant shooting, enemy aircraft infiltrating," the head of the Upper Galilee Council Giora Zaltz told Ynet Wednesday night. "I run with my friends between the kibbutzim whose members stayed here in this unbearable situation, because if I don't go and take care of them who will take care of them," he said.
Saltz addressed the government: "We, the residents of the north, are strong. We ask the Israeli government - put out the fire, don't put out our hope."
After a day of non-stop shooting at the council's communities, which also included the interruption of Shavuot celebrations Wednesday at Kibbutz Amir, Naot Mordechai and others – even before the assassination in Lebanon – Saltz added: "No one in this government really cares about us. None of the ministers and members of the Knesset are ringing the bell and will not ring the bell. The Shavuot holiday of kibbutzim whose residents were not evacuated because it is not far enough from the border was ruined - and no one is calling. Does anyone in the government even understand what kind of Shavuot we had here?"
In the Marom HaGalil Council, whose communities were also under attack throughout the day, it was decided after a situation assessment with the army that the educational frameworks that operate in the center of the regional council and the educational frameworks in communities including Sapsofa, Or Haganuz, Bar Yohai and Meron will not operate Thursday morning.
"The feeling of the holiday was replaced by a feeling of fear and anxiety," said the head of the Marom HaGalil Council, Amit Sofer. "Almost half of the enemy's missiles were launched toward the Galilee, and fires broke out in many places. We are in full coordination with the army, and trust the IDF to know how to deal with the existential threat that stands to our north. The council's emergency units together with the emergency forces in the localities stood strong and determined in the face of the challenge and we were up to it, but complex days are ahead of us."
Sources claimed in the Saudi Al-Hadth newspaper that Israel expects Hezbollah to attack Haifa as part of the revenge attacks for the assassination. The Haifa Municipality clarified that "there is no change in the defensive instructions of the Home Front Command in Haifa. The public shelters in Haifa are opened automatically by remote activation if necessary."
In Ma'alot-Tarshiha, where an alarm was sounded Wednesday night at around 8:00 p.m., officials said that they would conduct a situation assessment in the morning regarding the holding of classes.
In Avivim in the Upper Galilee, a fire raged for about two hours; it broke out following Hezbollah rocket fire in the afternoon, and the fire endangered a poultry farm. Stand-by crews from nearby communities were called in to help. Although the fire did not finally reach the poultry farm, the heavy smoke endangered the birds.
Due to the fires that broke out on Wednesday, about 3,500 dunams caught fire in the Birya and Meron forests. Since the beginning of the war, about 16,000 dunams have been burned in the KKL-JNF forests.
Shelli Ben Yishai, director of the Northern Region of KKL-JNF, said that "as a result of the barrage in the Upper Galilee in the morning, there were four main fire hotspots - in the Meron Forest, Biriya Forest, Kadita and in the Kahal-Amiad Junction area. When we realized the intensity of the rocket impacts, we began to send many forces and KKL teams from the center. We brought out bulldozers and water tankers. When I arrived in the area, everything was shrouded in smoke. We did not know what was happening. After two hours of extinguishing efforts, we realized the magnitude of the incident."
Fires in the Upper Galilee area, Birya forest, Meron forest and near the settlement of Kadita
(Photos: Eli Arzi / Air Fire Unit / KKL-JNF Foresters / Efi Sharr)
Close to 60 KKL-JNF workers assisted in dealing with the large fire, together with firefighting forces in the field. "For the past month, we have been called to fires almost every day. The summer is in full swing and the weather is not in our favor. The dry vegetation is a combustible material and the fires are powerful. We are fighting and working in the river beds, and this morning it may catch fire again. Today there will be about 100 KKL members ready for action from the morning. It's sad to see a forest that we restored from the Second Lebanon War once again burned."
The head of the Metula Council, David Azoulai, said Thursday morning on Army Radio: "The Israeli government continues to be silent. does not do anything. I hear a lot of talk, but zero action. ... No one tells us when, how and why. The Israeli government made a decision to give up on the Galilee."
When asked if anyone from the government spoke to them during the holiday, especially Wednesday when more than 200 rockets were fired, Azoulai answered: "Do you really think they will disturb their own holiday rest, and even before the holiday? There are no conversations here. Even when the prime minister arrives in Kiryat Shmona, he comes to the fire department, to rescuers. There is a disconnection here. Did the prime minister once come to sit with us? It's sad how disconnected he is."