Kiryat Shmona Mayor Avichai Stern outlined the harsh reality that the city's residents have faced since Hezbollah entered the current conflict between Israel and Iran, and expressed their hope that the security threat would be completely eradicated.
Many of the city’s residents who have chosen to stay in their homes are dealing with an especially challenging daily existence, he explained.
"Those who are here and chose to stay here have been living for 11 days underground – I don’t think it’s possible to hold on much longer like this - in shared shelters, with children," said Stern in a Wednesday morning interview with Israeli radio station 103FM.
However, he noted that formally evacuating the city's residents is not necessarily the right solution, especially since the current warfront is not confined to the northern region.
"We see that the front is across the entire country. [But] there are certain populations with particular needs that take time, who have no protection. At least those people, I would like to see in a safer area, and I’m considering evacuating them from the city."
A call for a decisive move against Hezbollah
Stern made a direct appeal to decision-makers in Jerusalem, urging them to reach a permanent resolution to eliminate the security threat. "I have one request: Finish this as quickly as possible. Not to end the war, but to end Hezbollah. You cannot keep children home from school [indefinitely], and every minute without frameworks creates very dangerous gaps for the future of our education system."
He also highlighted the ongoing tension in Kiryat Shmona, particularly at night, when the sounds of Israeli strikes are clearly audible in the city. "Even without sirens, you can clearly hear our forces’ strikes. We’ve been without sleep for 11 days, but nevertheless, the residents of Kiryat Shmona are resilient and strong. We are ready to hold out and give all the necessary support."
Criticism of the guidelines and reality on the ground
Stern addressed the complex security reality residents are living with, pointing out the gap between the guidelines provided and the actual situation on the ground.
"Many times there’s a boom, and only later is there a siren, and even with 15 seconds, you try and reach a protected area in 15 seconds!" he said.
He also expressed concern about the guidelines for reopening businesses in the area, which have raised many questions among residents. "The Home Front Command’s guidelines ... expect businesses to open as usual. This raises the question of whether all this is being done to save the [economy]. It’s a fiction – businesses still haven't recovered from the last war, and besides risking themselves and their customers, I don’t understand what the logic is behind the decision-making."
'We don’t want to feel like suckers'
Stern stressed that residents of the north have long supported the security forces and the government, but now they expect meaningful change in the security situation.
"We don’t want to feel like suckers. We supported the war effort for a year and a half...because they promised us a different reality."
"I trust our security forces," Stern said, "but they promised us that Hezbollah would not make it south of the Litani River, that the threat of invasion is gone, and that the threat of anti-tank missiles has been removed.
"In reality, we are seeing fierce battles here across the border, and we are seeing anti-tank missile hits. Who is shooting at us if Hezbollah is not south of the Litani River?"
Hezbollah still a significant threat
Stern further noted that even after strikes against Hezbollah’s leadership, the organization continues to pose a serious threat.
"An organization that is beaten, battered, and weak does not manage to launch rockets to Haifa and Tel Aviv. Nasrallah has been eliminated, and the organization’s senior officials have been eliminated, but Hezbollah knows how to recover very quickly."