Near the border with Lebanon, Israelis are torn between fear and the desire to “fight”

The Israeli army is concentrating more troops in the north of the country after Hezbollah threatened a retaliatory attack. Residents of Nahariya, near the Lebanese border, fear a major attack.

After the explosions that hit his men, the response in words had to match the affront. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah promises Israel a “terrible punishment, where he expects it and where he does not expect it”The Israeli army continues its redeployment to the north, along the border with Lebanon. Israeli military and civilians now fear that Hezbollah will put its threats into action, as in Nahariya, a city located about ten kilometers from the Lebanese border.

A few errands, that’s Jacqueline’s only outing at the moment. Since the attacks against Hezbollah, a form of fear has set in on the Israeli side. “Not from Lebanon, but from Hezbollah which is in Lebanon, we are afraid, she says. They are the ones who don’t leave us alone. Neither Hezbollah nor Hamas. We don’t want war, we want peace!”

And right now the threat at the border is disrupting everyday life. Sirens are sounding. We go into a shelter where we have to stay for a few minutes. “That’s an example. That’s not a life,” sighs Jacqueline.

“We’ve been like this for a year now. Do you see the beautiful beach we have? It’s empty. There’s no lifeguard, there’s nothing at all.”

Jacqueline, resident of Nahariya

to franceinfo

She talks about it a lot with her family and her shrink, Gallit says she lives on alert against Hezbollah, “because they have a lot of rockets, they want to destroy us”she assures. Before confiding: “We don’t know where it will come from or when. I hope we are doing enough to stop them. I am always anxious when my children are not at home.”

Resignation gives way to a desire to fight for some when Daniel mentions the explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon. “I hope it was us who did this! We have to show them our power, he says. When someone comes to try to kill us, we must kill him first before he kills us.”

Having come from France three years ago to settle in this city in the north of Israel, Armand will not move, despite the context. “We must not submit to pressure from enemies or external pressure, we must try to continue living normally. We cannot accept this. We must fight it out“, he says, with the idea of ​​attacking Hezbollah on Lebanese soil. The idea is no longer taboo on this side of the border.