The head of Israel’s Upper Galilee Regional Council received threatening WhatsApp messages on Tuesday from a source claiming to belong to Hezbollah, according to Israeli media reports.
“To the settlers of the north, if you do not ask your government to stop the aggression against Gaza, there will be no homes left to return to,” read one message sent to Amit Sofer, according to Kan News.
Another message read, “The only equation is: stopping the aggression against Gaza = your return to the north. Hezbollah.”
Other text messages to Sofer ostensibly from the Iran-backed terror group included, “[Israeli Defense Minister Yoav] Gallant is selling you illusions. You must live with reality, we are here forever and ever.”
“Hezbollah does not scare us; the ball is not in their court but with the Israeli government and its policies,” Sofer told Kan.
“We have already said several times: We have patience, but the government should not interpret our patience as consent to a situation where the economy is collapsing and the north is losing its residents. I expect the government to bring back security to the north and take actions that will improve the quality of life in every aspect,” he added.
Hezbollah has carried out near-daily attacks on northern Israel since Oct. 7, killing 20 Israelis and an Indian worker and inflicting considerable damage.
More than 80,000 residents of 42 Israeli communities within 6.2 miles of the Lebanon border remain internally displaced due to the Hezbollah threat, many of them being housed in hotels.
On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that his government was determined to restore security in the north and create conditions that will allow displaced residents to return.
“We have detailed, important and even surprising plans,” the premier told troops during a visit to IDF Northern Command headquarters in Safed.
“But I will not share these plans..with the enemy,” he said, adding the military is “constantly in action on the northern front.”
