The Lebanese Hezbollah sent letters to the heads of settlements in northern Israel on Tuesday, informing them that the residents of these settlements will not return to their homes until the aggression on the Gaza Strip stops, and warning them of the illusion that their leaders are selling them in this regard.
The official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said that these messages were sent directly by Hezbollah via the instant messaging application “WhatsApp” to a number of settlement heads, including the head of the “Marom HaGalil” Regional Council, Amir Sofer.
One of those messages stated: To the settlers of the north, you must understand that nothing will change here in the north after the first of next September if the aggression against Gaza does not stop.
Yesterday, Monday, the Israeli government approved a plan to reconstruct settlements and towns damaged in the north as a result of the war, worth 7 billion shekels ($1.9 billion).
According to the plan, the Israeli Ministry of Education will begin preparations for the resumption of the educational process there in the next academic year, which begins in early September 2024.
Another Hezbollah message stated: To the settlers of the north, you must understand that we only targeted the homes where your soldiers were hiding; If you do not ask your government to stop the aggression against Gaza, there will be no homes left to return to.
A third letter received by Sofer stated: To the settlers of the north, the only equation is to stop the aggression against Gaza, which means your return to the north.
A fourth message stated: To the settlers of the north, (Israeli Defense Minister Yoav) Gallant is selling you illusions when he promises to remove Hezbollah from the north of the Litani River. You have to live with reality, we are here forever.
The Litani River is a river that passes in southern Lebanon, parallel to the border with Israel, and is distant from this border at distances ranging between 5 kilometers and 45 kilometers. Recently, Israeli leaders threatened to launch an all-out war on Lebanon unless Hezbollah fighters moved away from the border north of the river.
Israeli comment
Commenting on Hezbollah’s messages, the head of the Marom Hagalil Regional Council said, “Hezbollah does not scare us. The ball is not in their hands, but in the hands of the Israeli government and its policies,” as he claimed.
He added in statements to the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation: We have previously said several times that we are patient. But the government should not interpret our patience as acceptance of a situation in which the economy collapses and the north loses its population.
He continued, “I expect the government to restore security to the north and take measures that will improve the quality of life there.”
For its part, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said that a number of other settlement heads had received similar messages from Hezbollah, including the head of the settlement council, Mateh Asher, Moshe Davidovich, who is also the head of the so-called frontline towns group.
According to the private Israeli Channel 12, about 120,000 Israelis have been evacuated from the north and south since the beginning of the war on Gaza to hotels in various parts of Israel.
While Hezbollah did not confirm or deny the authenticity of sending these messages to the heads of settlements in northern Israel, its account on the Telegram platform transmitted the news published by the Israeli media in this regard.
In the same context, Hezbollah said that it targeted a group of Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of the Raheb site, inflicting confirmed injuries on them.
Israeli losses
On the other hand, the Israeli Ministry of Defense admitted that 930 homes and buildings were damaged in 86 towns in northern Israel since the outbreak of the confrontation with Hezbollah.
The Ministry explained that 130 homes out of 155 in Kibbutz Al-Manara were destroyed as a result of missile strikes from southern Lebanon. It was reported that 124 homes in the city of Kiryat Shmona were damaged.
It is noteworthy that the border areas in southern Lebanon have witnessed security tension and an exchange of fire between Hezbollah and the Israeli army, since last October 8, the day after Israel launched its aggression against the Gaza Strip.
Israel continues the war on Gaza despite orders from the International Court of Justice to immediately stop the ground attack on the city of Rafah (south), and to take temporary measures to prevent acts of genocide and improve the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Strip.
Israel also ignores the International Criminal Court’s intention to issue international arrest warrants against its Prime Minister and Defense Minister, for their responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.