Since Iran’s robot rain over Israel last Saturday, the Israeli military has extra eyes on the northern border where Iran’s closest ally Hezbollah is located.
TV4 News’ Terese Cristiansson and Felix Larnö were on site in northern Israel when the alarm went off – and they were quickly forced to take cover.
– It’s an unpleasant feeling and it’s hard to know how close it is, says Terese Christiansson.
It is tense along Israel’s border with Lebanon. On Tuesday, Israel carried out attacks inside Lebanon where Hezbollah commanders and leaders were said to have been killed. When TV4 Nyheterna was on the ground in northern Israel, they were forced to seek shelter.
– It is a tense and chaotic situation which in this case ended with a direct attack, says Terese Christiansson.
After the smoke cleared from the robot attack, it was determined that at least 18 people were injured. For one of them, the situation is described as very serious. At the same time, the radar system has been knocked out, making it difficult to locate.
– You can’t see where you are on the GPS. But it looks like I’m in Beirut even though I’m in Israel, says Terese Christiansson.
Waiting for Israel’s response
The area is now evacuated and apart from a few farmers it is empty of civilians.
– It’s scary when you hear that something is coming in and you need to think about taking cover. It’s an unpleasant feeling and it’s hard to know how close it is. Above all when you cannot locate yourself, says Terese Christiansson and continues:
– But this is the reality right now and it is extremely tense, of course, waiting to see if Israel will respond to Iran’s attack on Saturday.
“Another day at the front”
Due to the current situation, many reservists are prepared to be called up if the situation between Israel and Iran worsens. Others were already on site last Saturday. TV4 Nyheterna has met one of them.
– There was a little more activity than usual, but nothing came directly from Iran, so almost as usual. Another day at the front, says Dotan Razili.
The reason why so many are called in is precisely the increasingly tense situation. Both towards Iran and at the country’s northern borders. But Hezbollah and other Iranian-backed militias from Syria are also seen as a serious threat.
– That’s why we need people who are prepared to be called in anyway, says Terese Christiansson.