Last Israelis in bombed out Metula hope for Lebanon ceasefire to rebuild lives

When darkness descends on Metula, Tamira Lang, one of the Israeli border town’s last remaining residents, switches off her house lights to avoid detection by Lebanese group, Hezbollah, whose fighters sit a few kilometres away, Reuters reports.

Lang, who is part of the town’s small rapid response security force made up of local volunteers, has already been wounded by shrapnel from a projectile and had to put out a fire in her next door neighbour’s home, caused by a salvo.

“We live in darkness. If they (Hezbollah) see light, I have no house,” she said, surveying damage to nearby homes that overlook the nearby Lebanese border.

Metula saw most of its population of some 2,200 people leave in early October last year after Hezbollah launched rocket attacks against Israel on 8 October in solidarity with Palestinians after Hamas launched a devastating raid on Israel, prompting Israel’s war on Gaza. From the outset, Hezbollah has stated that it would stop its attacks as soon as a total ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal  took place in Gaza, but this has not happened.

The US has led a renewed push in recent days to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, while Israeli forces have stepped up their offensive seeking to ensure that over 60,000 evacuated Israelis can return to their homes in the north.

READ: 5 Israelis injured as Hezbollah strikes military industrial complexes in northern Israel

A senior US official said on Tuesday there was a “real opportunity” to end the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah and that gaps were narrowing. Sirens went off in Metula on Tuesday.

Parts of Metula, which was founded in 1896, have been destroyed with many houses smashed up by mortars or missiles fired from Lebanese villages that surround it, Reuters found on a visit this week to the town, which currently remains a closed military zone.

The periodic sound of artillery from Israeli batteries firing into Lebanon and a burning smell from bombed homes are constant reminders of the day-to-day reality for those who remain in Metula.

“You don’t hear the sound of birds anymore,” Lang said. “The silence can also be deafening,” she said.

On 1 October, 2024, Israel launched a ground assault into southern Lebanon, extending to devastating air strikes in southern Lebanon, in Beirut and surroundings. Ground incursions close to the border have destroyed entire villages, killed and displaced thousands of Lebanese.  Israel has targeted ambulances, rescue teams, resulting in the deaths of 11 paramedics, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Israel has also damaged Lebanon’s cultural ancient and historic sites, as in Baalbeck.

As in Gaza, Israeli air strikes have razed to the ground residential buildings, killing all occupants within them.  More than 3,500 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Lebanon, with nearly 15,000 injured and more than a million displaced since last October, according to Lebanese health authorities.

In addition, in September 2024, more than 1,000 people were wounded when communication pagers exploded simultaneously across Lebanon, killing several Hezbollah members and medics. 26 people were killed in this unprecedented attack, with around 3,200 being severely injured. It was later confirmed that this was conducted with the approval of Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Hezbollah has fired over 16,000 missiles at Israel, while massive Israeli air strikes and ground operations have left 1 million Lebanese uprooted from their homes.

For Liat Cohen-Raviv, a Metula resident currently living in the northern Israeli town of Rosh Pina after being evacuated, people will need assurances before they move back.

“In order for me to come back, I need to know, first of all, that it’s safe, that I’m protected,” she said, noting past agreements had collapsed.

Cohen-Raviv said Israelis in the north were nervous after Israel released details last month which it said showed Hezbollah had dug tunnels under the border, with the aim of launching attacks into Israeli territory.

This has led to fears of a follow up to the 7 October Hamas’ attacks in Israel that killed some 1,200 people, with 101 hostages still being held in Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

READ: Israel blows up historic shrine in southern Lebanon

However, since then, it has been revealed by Haaretz that helicopters and tanks of the Israeli army had, in fact, killed many of the 1,139 soldiers and civilians claimed by Israel to have been killed by the Palestinian Resistance.

Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed nearly 44,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

A source close to Hezbollah told Reuters last month the tunnels detected by Israel were built for its Radwan special forces units to one day enter the Galilee region of northern Israel.

“Today, more than ever, you can’t allow this to be a weak border,” Cohen-Raviv said.

“Metula will need at least a year just to recover in terms of infrastructure,” she added.

A survey published by Israeli think tank, INSS, in early November found 80 per cent of those polled – comprising Jews and Arabs living in Israel – said the current security situation does not allow the majority of residents to return to northern towns.

Ruslan Bachinsky, who was born in Ukraine, is also part of Metula’s security detail. His pregnant wife has been evacuated. He says Israel’s operations have meant Hezbollah is firing less at the town.

“But we know that something can happen in a minute […] there is danger all the time,” he said. “I think we (need) more time (to finish operations in Lebanon) […] Hezbollah is still next to Metula.”

“We are expecting a girl in four months and my wife doesn’t want to come back to Metula. So this is a problem. So unfortunately, it will take time.”

READ: Hezbollah attacks Israeli army sites, soldiers’ gathering in northern Israel