“I received a warning a little before the [Israeli Air Force] strikes started from officials who told me, ‘We are launching an attack in Lebanon.’ And I said to myself, ‘It took 11 months—and it is finally happening.’ At the end of this event, the security situation will be far better than today.”
This is how the head of the Upper Galilee Regional Council, Giora Zaltz, described the tense hours on Sunday morning, before Israel launched a preemptive strike on the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Southern Lebanon.
The Air Force operation destroyed several thousand missiles aimed at Israel. Some of the missiles were meant to be fired at 5:15 a.m. at targets in the north of the country and at the base in central Israel where the headquarters of the Mossad and the IDF’s Unit 8200 (the equivalent of the U.S. National Security Agency) are located.
With the early warning, “We activated all the officials in the council, and we said it would take a few days of fighting and the situation would change,” Zaltz told JNS.
But as the hours passed, he became disappointed. “In the end, it was a significant and important military operation. But, even if the data provided about the elimination of 6,000 missiles is correct—this is less than 3% of what they [Hezbollah] had at the beginning of the war. So it has no real meaning in terms of the long-term impact. We essentially woke up to the same place that we were the day before.”
Zaltz’s reaction reflected the attitude of many mayors and regional council heads in the north. The feeling was that the operation hurt Hezbollah—but not enough.
Later that day, Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, tried to calm the anger and frustration of the people living in the bombarded north, declaring, “Most of the missiles, even 90% plus, were aimed at the northern border.”
These statements were aimed at showing that there is no difference in Israel’s response when Tel Aviv or the north are targeted.
They didn’t convince many. “My position is that it cannot be any difference between the Golan or Metula and Tel Aviv,” Golan Regional Council Chairman Ori Kalner told JNS.
“Even when Hezbollah is attacking Metula and the Golan, one should act as if a missile had fallen on Tel Aviv. There is no doubt that in recent months Israel has been saying we are ready to absorb some of the things [attacks from Lebanon].
“And I say—we are not ready to accept it. Israel must attack,” Kalner declared.
Back to school
On Sunday, schools in Israel will reopen after the summer break. Some politicians, such as opposition leaders Benny Gantz of the National Unity Party and Yair Lapid of Yesh Atid, have said that this day should be set as the date to find a solution for the situation in the north—either war or an agreement.
“We are preparing to open the school year in a way that students will be protected on their way to school, and at school itself. We will continue our routine life,” Kalner told JNS.
“But, as the head of a council, I demand that the Israeli government attack with such force so that Hezbollah will be deterred. This is the test.
“In a few days, we are supposed to open the school year. Looking at the results on the ground, the level of security, and the feeling of security is much lower than seven-eight months ago.
“The government has come out with so many statements regarding the north—but so far nothing has happened. The special coordinator for the north hasn’t even started working yet,” Kalner said.
Many, and not only in northern Israel, are criticizing the government for not putting the return of the displaced residents of the region to their homes as the main goal of the war and relegating the operation in Gaza as a secondary issue. Such a decision would increase the resources dedicated to the war against Hezbollah.
“We understand that a big war will probably not happen. But there are three basic things that we do demand in the north—that Israel removes the threat of missiles and the threat of terrorist infiltration. And of course, we need a significant economic plan,” Zaltz told JNS.
“But right now the prime minister makes all the decisions alone, and my feeling is that he is currently leading to another period similar to what exists today,” the council head added.
“Israel is the one that has no time, and it seems we are constantly going backward,” Kalner said. “Therefore it is necessary to attack more. We don’t need to wait for next time.”
Amichai Stein is the diplomatic correspondent for Kan 11, IPBC.
