Israel sees even more requests for psychological support after Hezbollah attacks

An Israeli organisation said yesterday that requests for psychological support from citizens in the north of the occupation state have increased by 30 per cent in two days. Citing the Eran Association, which provides “psychological first aid”, Channel 12 reported that the increase was due to “panic attacks” over the escalation in armed exchanges with the Lebanese Hezbollah movement.

Earlier on Tuesday, Yedioth Ahronoth reported that air raid sirens sounded in most of the northern Israeli settlements, especially in Atlit, which witnessed this for the first time since 2014, for fear of a drone launched from Lebanon. According to the Israeli occupation army, three drones had penetrated its airspace, while others were intercepted, prompting it to investigate the matter because the Atlit settlement houses the headquarters of the military naval base Shayetet 13.

The channel explained that, “There seems to be a new reality for hundreds of thousands of residents in the north [of Israel].” It quoted Ofer Yehezkeli, deputy mayor of Qiryat Shemona in northern Israel, as saying that, “Schools have remained closed after the constant sound of sirens, and since Tuesday morning 20 people with minor and moderate injuries have arrived at the hospitals.”

Since Monday morning, the Israeli army has been launching the “most violent and extensive” attack on Lebanon since the beginning of the confrontations with Hezbollah about a year ago, killing 558 people and wounding 1,835, including children and women.

Lebanese and Palestinian factions in Lebanon, most notably Hezbollah, have been exchanging daily fire with the Israeli army across the Blue [Armistice] Line since 8 October last year, resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries, most of them on the Lebanese side.

The factions are demanding an end to the war that Israel has been waging with US support on the Gaza Strip since 7 October. The Israeli war has killed 41,500 Palestinians, mainly children and women, and wounded 96,000 more. An estimated 11,000 are missing, presumed dead, under the rubble of their homes and other civilian infrastructure destroyed by Israel.

READ: Israel: more citizens seek psychological support after escalation in north