Since the Hezbollah attacks, rocket attacks from Lebanese territory have increased. In response, the Israeli army bombarded Hezbollah positions with heavy artillery.
The fear of a new front. Since Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Israeli territory, all eyes have been on the Gaza Strip, where an IDF ground intervention has been announced. However, the Israeli army is also focusing on its country’s northern border, which separates Israel from Lebanon, where pressure from Hezbollah is growing.
The tension is constant on site. In recent days, Israel has declared the border area a military exclusion zone, from which civilians within a five-kilometer radius have been evacuated. In an interview with BFMTV, Sami, the security manager of one of the evacuated villages, explains his fears. “You see this village, it is Lebanon and Hezbollah outposts. They are watching us from there,” he emphasizes.
“Here we are afraid that the attacks from Gaza will happen again. We’re told that all the tunnels they dug have been filled in, but are we sure?” he asks.
“Four seconds until the move”
A fear that goes hand in hand with action, as rocket fire from Lebanon has increased in recent days and has claimed several victims. Elia, a French-Israeli reservist deployed to the site, takes stock of the situation.
“A rocket of this type lasts four seconds. That means if you’re lucky enough to see them, you have four seconds to move,” he said.
For every attack, Israel responds with artillery fire. But Elia assures him that these are defensive shots against this militia, against which his country is not officially at war.
“It’s a bit ping-pong at the moment. The Israeli army does not shoot until it has received a shot, it acts largely on the defensive,” he asserts.
While there are daily exchanges of fire in this border area, Israel fears in the long term the opening of a second front and a regional conflagration.