No compromises with Hezbollah, evacuees returning to northern Israeli ghost town urge
Marking nine months away from their homes, evacuated residents of Israel’s northern border communities trekked to the abandoned town of Shlomi to call on the government to make no compromises with Hezbollah.
The industrial zone of the northern Israeli town of Shlomi on July 14, 2024. In the background is the border fence and Lebanon. Photo by TPS-IL
Residents led a small delegation of Knesset members and reporters on a tour of the town as they argued for the government to save the north and called for funding to rebuild and fortify their communities.
“In terms of security, it can no longer stay the same way,” said Matan Davidian, a resident of Shlomi and an activist leading a civil movement “Fighting for the North” which organized the tour.
“Between 20-30 percent of the evacuated residents already state that they are not interested to go back home because of the security threat, and if the Hezbollah fighters remain on the other side of the fence due to some political settlement, even more than that will leave the area,” Davidian warned.
He also delivered an ultimatum on behalf of Fighting for the North. If the government doesn’t begin taking action to remove Hezbollah from the Lebanese border, residents will set up a tent city and create their own “security strip” on August 15.
“We cannot negotiate with those who seek our destruction,” Davidian asserted. “We need a strong and clear response to ensure our future.”
Meanwhile, a local security team tries to provide a sense of safety inside the town for the handful of residents who remain.
“The threats we have in Shlomi, unlike other places that are not as close to the border fence, is infiltration. The closest neighborhood to the fence is only 100 meters away from it. The town is not closed off and there are several entrances to the town that need to be guarded,” said Shai Vanunu, the commander of Shlomi’s kita konenut, or civilian security team.
“It’s a relatively active town with some factories still open, and the challenge we are facing includes infiltration from the wadi and steep-trajectory shooting from Lebanon,” he explained.
Since October 7, Shlomi has been shelled regularly by the rockets. Many of the abandoned houses have been hit directly, and even more of them are hit by the blast, making it impossible to live in them even if their owners decide to move back.
“My house was damaged by a blast, the plaster from the walls and ceiling has completely fallen apart, the furniture looks dismantled, it’s a mess, completely inhabitable. I opened the door and just stood there crying while looking at it,” Mayan Beniziri, a mother of four who has lived in Shlomi her whole life, told The Press Service of Israel.
After spending over six months cramped in small hotel rooms in Jerusalem, the living conditions took a toll on the children’s wellbeing and the family began renting a proper apartment in Maalot, a northern town where her husband’s parents live that has not been evacuated.
“We might never realize how many families have been ruined, children dropped out of schools, because of the evacuation,” Benizri said with a disturbed look on her face.
Struggle Against Scarcity
While roughly 5,000 Shlomi residents evacuated, around 1,200 are currently living in town. However, the living situation is not optimal. Once a small but vibrant community, Shlomi feels like a ghost town, its streets are empty and businesses are closed. Most of the people on the streets are soldiers deployed to safeguard the border.
Daily life is a struggle against scarcity. Health clinics are closed, forcing trips to nearby towns for medical care. Communication services, including cellular and internet service, has ceased. One central supermarket is open for limited hours, selling mostly milk and bread. A supermarket with a broader range of items is in the industrial zone, overlooking the Lebanon border. The fully-stocked shops of Nahariya are a 15-minute drive away, but the army sometimes closes the roads and the risk of being caught in a rocket barrage is daunting.
“I speed up here because this area is being observed by Hezbollah, they see us clearly from here,” Benziri told TPS-IL while driving towards the supermarket in the industrial zone. From the industrial area, there is a view of the border fence and the hills of southern Lebanon beyond.
Arriving at the industrial zone, the silence is unnerving. The supermarket is run by a family of young Christian Arabs originally from Lebanon. They moved here after Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000. Shadi, the owner, doesn’t give his family name because he is concerned for the safety of his relatives still in Lebanon.
“We are going out to a nearby town to bring the goods every few days, as only milk suppliers enter Shlomi,” Shadi explained to TPS-IL with a sad smile.
His three small children attend schools outside of town because the local schools are closed.
Vika Wagner, another resident, returned after several months of evacuation. A mother of six, Wagner volunteers her time to provide food, drinks, and other necessities to the soldiers.
“The soldiers know us; they know they can talk to us anytime. My phone number is written on the front window, so they know how to find me when I’m not here,” she smiles while cooking shnitzel and couscous at a refreshment station for soldiers.
Wagner insisted she would stay in Shlomi as long as there are soldiers to feed.
“We cannot live in constant fear,” she said. “We need a permanent solution, not temporary. Our children’s future depends on it.”
The residents who stayed and the families who evacuated are in solidarity to keep their community. However, the evacuees fear more acutely that government inaction will make it impossible for them to return and rebuild.
“It’s a miracle that we are sitting here talking to you,” Benizri said with a sigh. “If the terrorists had broken in here at the beginning of the war, who knows what could have happened? I won’t put my children in this kind of danger. Never. I’d rather them be homeless than an easy target for terrorists.”
Around 60,000 Israelis living in northern communities were forced to evacuate in October when the Hezbollah terror organization began daily rocket and drone attacks. Leaders of the Iran-backed terror group have said they will continue the attacks to prevent Israelis from returning to their homes. Hezbollah attacks have killed 12 civilians and 16 soldiers.
Israeli officials have been calling for Hezbollah to be disarmed and removed from Southern Lebanon in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War.
