‘Residents of the North are used as cannon fodder’: Local leaders respond to Hezbollah’s barrage

Following multiple rocket sirens and hostile aircraft alerts sounded in northern Israel on Thursday afternoon, local leaders responded to the barrage and lack of government response. 

Moshe Davidovich, head of the Mateh Asher Regional Council, said, “The North is attacked continuously and non-stop. The residents of the north are used as cannon fodder for Nasrallah’s whims, and the Israeli government is falling asleep while standing.”

“We demand the government present an immediate plan to maintain the security of northern residents. It was also decided that if such a plan is not presented by the beginning of July, we will take a series of steps to be announced later.”

Lobby 1701, a group representing thousands of northern residents, also responded to Thursday’s Hezbollah barrage, stating, “The Israeli government is endangering the settlements of northern Israel. Destruction, fires, and not a word from the government.”

“The division commanders are ready, the brigades are ready, the home front is ready. And only the Israeli government and the IDF Chief of Staff are afraid to make a decision. The residents of the north are all awed by the government’s abandonment, neglect, and cowardice. If Israel is burning, Lebanon should be burning. This is the only equation that should concern the government,” Lobby 1701 noted in their statement. 

Following Hezbollah’s Thursday attack, Israeli media quoted an Al Jazeera report, where a Hezbollah source reportedly said, “This is the largest and most comprehensive attack since October 8. It is intended to deter Israel and respond to the assassination of Sami Taleb Abdullah.” 

“We fired 30 attack drones towards the outposts and launched 150 missiles. We attacked the headquarters of the northern region in the Golan, the Israeli intelligence headquarters in the region responsible for the assassinations in Lebanon, and the headquarters of the 7th Armored Brigade in the Golan,” the source said. 

Two lightly wounded, damage to house as a result of the barrage

The military stated that the hostile aircraft intrusion alert, which had sounded in Safed at 1:31 p.m., had been a false alert. 

The police stated that reports of falls had been received in northern Israel; however, to date, it had not received reports of injuries. 

Magen David Adom (MDA) later said that paramedics were treating two individuals in their 20s who had been lightly wounded by debris and were referred to Ziv Medical Center in Safed. 

The Upper Galilee Regional Council announced that as a result of Thursday’s rocket barrage, a house in Birya had been hit, with damage detected to the house and agricultural areas nearby. 

The Safed municipality said that schools in the city had been shut down following the barrage. 

The Fire and Rescue Authority stated that it had received 15 reports of fires erupting in the Golan Heights and Upper Galilee areas and that firefighters were on their way to the scene. 

Ten teams from the Fire and Rescue Authority, KKL-JNF, and the IDF worked to extinguish an extensive forest fire in the Birya area. An additional ten teams worked to extinguish fires in the central region of the Golan Heights.

JPost