A deafening explosion startled me as I approached the concealed trenches where Amichai Shomron and Nadav Avraham, soldiers from Platoon A in Battalion 7012 of the Alexandroni Brigade, were stationed. The two smiled at me with understanding. "It was our tank firing toward the Lebanese village over there," Amichai explained, and they burst into restrained laughter. "We've become experts in explosive noises, able to identify any type of gunfire and distinguish whether it's from our forces or Hezbollah's firing," they boasted.
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The two burrowed deep into the position, waiting on the agricultural road adjacent to the nearby border fence. They serve as a barrier against infiltration attempts from Lebanon. Anticipating the winter storm expected to hit us with full force in the Galilee overnight, they arranged more sandbags, improved the makeshift plastic shelter they had set up, and hoped that tomorrow morning they wouldn't wake up in a pool of mud.
"We laid sandbags on the floor, and conditions here are much better now," Nadav proudly attested. Their learning curve was bone-chilling. "We learned from past experiences how to protect ourselves from the storm because, initially, we slept quite a bit in the mud. But eventually it dries up, after a few days, and we got used to everything," he added.
"My wife probably has a harder job than me"
Like their comrades in the battalion, the two celebrated their 100th day in the sector. Amichai is enjoying a short break for recovery after being injured by an anti-tank missile fired at his unit during a defense mission in Metula in the first month of the war. One missile fragment is a keepsake he carries in his body.
"We haven't finished the job; we've barely started it," he explains, revealing what drove him to return to combat. "My wife probably has a harder job than me, and they don't write articles about her. The real appreciation goes to her," he adds.
In the late afternoon, a few hours earlier, we joined their commander, Lt. Col. Ahikam Halperin, in a rapid journey above the road that ascends to the Ramim Ridge, near Kiryat Shmona, Yiftah, and the Upper Galilee kibbutzim. The Israeli landscape unfolded beneath us in its full beauty, yet devoid of its inhabitants. Dim lights from the village houses of Meiss Ej Jabal and Marjayoun were visible. Part of the journey is exposed to gunfire from Lebanon.
"We control this entire Hula Valley and Kiryat Shmona. The ridge is highly significant, overlooking the entire eastern side of the Galilee panhandle, and the soldiers of the battalion are deployed here to advance the front against any potential threat," Halperin explains.
"We are here to create the defense line that allows a livable space beneath us. To ensure that no force can penetrate," according to Halperin.
"The guys here are lions"
Within 12 hours, on October 7, he and his soldiers were already fully prepared for defense against the possibility that Hezbollah would attempt an unexpected attack on the Galilee. Since then, he has seen his wife, Yael, now in the eighth month of her pregnancy, and his two children perhaps six times. The constant sounds of machine guns and artillery fire have turned into daily background noise, obscuring the cooing of the birds that once filled the air with almost forgotten serenity.
"We conduct daily fire and eliminate the enemy. They cannot infiltrate; they can only use sporadic small-arms and anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) fire in an attempt to harm us. Of course, we make great efforts not to give them any successes," he says, asking Carmi Yogev, his infantry brigade commander, to add more gas and accelerate along the threatening route we are traveling.
Halperin, a veteran of the Second Lebanon War, similar to the seasoned fighters in the brigade, is unfamiliar with such Sisyphean reality, where they stand static for months, facing Lebanon, awaiting the order to move, conquer objectives, and neutralize threats.
"The guys here are lions; Every morning, I am amazed by the soldiers who give up everything and understand the significance of the defense battle. There is wear and tear, and it's tough, but that's the reality," he says as we pass between combat positions along the border. "Every day and every hour, we think about the residents who are far from here and want to return to their homes safely. There's still work to be done in infrastructure destruction and enemy removal, but we are ready and trained for the mission."
While the media report on the additional release of reserve forces returning home, the soldiers of the Alexandroni Brigade know that they were the first to be drafted and will be the last to be released from the front lines.
"My pregnant wife asks me how she hears about so many reservists being released, and only I am still here," recounts Nir Yitzhak, a father of three from Ma'ale Adumim. "We are here ultimately by choice. She understands that there need to be forces here to prevail."