The Israeli government ordered the Israeli villages right next to Libanin to be evacuated. According to the local bus driver, the rich have gone on the run before.
SHLOMI The gas station is the only place in the small town of Shlom where you see people.
Even the last residents plan to move further south.
– I’ll leave as soon as we get the car filled up, he says Shula Shukroon.
Government of Israel ordered today, that all population centers located less than two kilometers from Lebanon’s southern border must be evacuated. There are 28 villages and small towns to be evacuated.
Shlomi is located at the foot of a large hill. On the other side of it is southern Lebanon, from which the extremist organization Hezbollah can carry out attacks.
– There is no need to shoot rockets at Shlom. You can shoot here with a rifle, for example, from that hill, gestures the driver Jonathan Amsali.
On the other side of the hill is the so-called Blue Line. Since 1978, UN peacekeepers have been trying to maintain peace on the Blue Line, the border between Lebanon and Israel. About two hundred Finns are in Unifil’s peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon.
The Iranian-backed extremist organization Hezbollah is strong in southern Lebanon.
Yesterday, Unifil’s headquarters in Naqoura was hit by a projectile. It is unclear which side fired it.
The rich have already fled
Jonathan Amsali is a bus driver. Today he is scheduled to tour the area and see if there are still residents who need a ride.
– The rich have left. There are only a few elderly and poor people here who don’t have cars, he says.
Finally, Amsali asks to add one important thing.
– Prime Minister Netanyahu: Divorce, divorce immediately!, he says, exhausted.
Yesterday, shots were fired at Shlom, possibly grenades. Instead of Hezbollah, the terrorist organization Hamas operating in Gaza took responsibility for yesterday’s attacks.
Hezbollah announced that it struck further west. An Israeli civilian died in the village of Shtula.
At the service station Shula with Shukroon is in a hurry He has already been with his sister further south for a week.
Now he has come urgently to get some clothes. He plans to move to government-provided hotel accommodation when the opportunity arises.
– I just packed my bag. I’m running away. I’m going to my sister’s because she has a safe room. I am a widow, my son is in the armed forces.
Is Hezbollah attacking?
The situation on Israel’s northern border has intensified in recent days.
Hezbollah threatens to attack if Israel launches a ground attack on the Gaza Strip. Iran, behind Hezbollah, has warned of the same.
Hezbollah is believed to have thousands of ammunition and fighters.
Israel therefore moved tens of thousands of soldiers to the border with Lebanon.
Aron Magvani says that he received an invitation already on Saturday, when Hamas carried out a terrorist attack on the Gaza border.
– I’m religious, and I shouldn’t answer the phone on the Sabbath. This time I answered because it was so important.
– My pregnant wife and four children stayed at home, Magvani continues.
According to Magvan, Israel has a huge number of troops on Israel’s border.
Large numbers of Israeli heavy combat equipment can be seen in the forests.
Israel has called up 360,000 reserve soldiers for service. The country also has around 150,000 professional soldiers.