The second milking had just ended and the few residents of Kibbutz Dafna were holding out under the threat of a new front in Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Here, a few hundred meters from southern Lebanon, where the Israeli enemy Hezbollah dominates, the specter of a new October 7 haunts the citizens.
Nearly all of the 1,050 residents of this farming community were evacuated to hotels near the Sea of Galilee. Only about fifteen men remained behind, responsible for the security of the kibbutz. Daphna is reached via a narrow and poorly maintained road, which the Israelites call “the old road to the north”. Now it is deserted, with the cause clearly visible across the border: the positions of Hezbollah, the Iran-linked Lebanese Islamist group that has said it is prepared to intensify its operations against Israel if circumstances warrant.
Twice a day, one time less than before the war, farmers milk the cows. “If we didn’t do it, they would die,” said Arik Yaakobi, 45, one of the few who stayed. “People are afraid to return because of the possibility that Hezbollah will repeat what Hamas did,” he said.
In Dafna only soldiers were seen on the streets. Signs of a hasty departure of the civilian residents were everywhere: children’s toys were scattered on the lawns, bicycles were behind playhouses, laundry was still hanging to dry. Occasionally a resident would return briefly to water the lawn or pick up some items, but quickly left.
Sarit Zehavi, founder and director of Alma, a research center in the Upper Galilee region, said she was concerned about the family’s safety. “I can’t sleep anymore. I can’t stop thinking about the fence I have to strengthen around my house. As for Hamas, we have already seen what can happen to us,” said Zehavi, a lieutenant colonel in Israel army. Army Reserve and mother of three children, including two teenagers. “The attacks in Lebanon are the work of Hezbollah… and we know today that there is no barrier that can prevent infiltration,” he added.
He then showed AFP a short Hezbollah propaganda film from 2014, in which its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, explains with a smile his plan to “control the Galilee” and lists the country’s strategic points, its factories, refineries, highways, shopping centers, airports. , military bases, etc. The similarities with the Hamas attack are striking: huge salvos of rockets launched against northern Israel, a wave of Hezbollah commandos crossing the border and into Israel, supported by drones and speedboats.
“It is certain that Hezbollah plans to invade the Galilee one day,” Zehavi said.
The Israeli government takes the threat seriously. It was concern about a possible war with Hezbollah that prompted authorities to evacuate 22,000 residents from the nearby town of Kiryat Shmona. There are only a few hundred people left, mostly elderly or disabled, in the care of the army, who had to move to a field on the outskirts of the city. The same is happening with the remaining kibbutzim along the Lebanese border. Some, such as Hanita and Dafna, founded in the late 1930s, are now abandoned.
A senior army officer deployed to defend the area told AFP: “We are deployed in the north to defend our border against the Hezbollah attack. We are ready to stop any attack. Every day is a battle day, every day there are multiple attacks. by Hezbollah,” added the soldier, who declined to give his name.
Hezbollah and allied Palestinian factions have fired missiles and rockets across the border almost daily since October 7, prompting Israeli artillery fire in retaliation. At least 62 people have been killed in Lebanon, mainly Hezbollah fighters, but also four civilians, including Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah, according to AFP. Israeli authorities reported four deaths, including one civilian.
In 2006, Israel and Hezbollah fought a bloody conflict that left more than 1,200 dead in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 160 in Israel, mostly soldiers. Avi Melamed, a veteran of the Israeli secret services, said that this time it is far from certain that Hezbollah will wage war against Israel.
“The Iranians who control Hezbollah have a dilemma: do nothing and allow the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to continue. Or act and risk that Israel’s response will destroy Hamas and Hezbollah’s ability to act,” Melamed said. “That is why they have launched only limited attacks at this stage, to avoid escalation,” he said.
In Dafna’s kibbutz, Yaakobi remains concerned. “We want to come back and live here, but the future is uncertain. And we have to keep milking the cows… even if they are afraid of the warning sirens or our artillery fire on Lebanon.”
Source: DN
