Gay Eyal, the security officer of the Golan Regional Council, hasn't slept a wink since yesterday. More than 20 communities in the north, including two evacuated towns of Avivim and Dovev, fall under his wide purview.
Video: Fires in northern Israel / Credit: Fire and Rescue Services
"It seems this is the new method of the enemy: They see and hear what's happening – they understand burning the north is more effective," Eyal stated grimly. "We're coming off a night of fires. And this morning another blaze started in the Yir'on Forest. Our biggest fear is the fire spreading to Mount Meron. If that mountain ignites, all the communities of Meron, Safsufa, and the Galilee panhandle will be in danger."
Eyal claims they prepared in advance, positioning 24 water trailer rigs of 1,000 liters each in every community. "It's a drop in the bucket. We geared up this past year with many water trailers to assist with firefighting, but it's not enough. We're working with fire stations in Safed, Kiryat Shmona, Tiberias, and Carmiel – our council is dealing with four fire stations. The firefighters are doing everything they can, working ceaselessly. They're tearing themselves apart, but the fire is spreading like a field of thorns."
He continues with a warning: "There are communities that cannot be reached because they're evacuated and Hezbollah targets. I expected the State of Israel to advance fire trucks to the councils and for them to already be prepared to respond, because the fires will only intensify. The biggest concern is the fire spreading to Mount Meron. If that mountain ignites, we'll be in an entirely different situation."
"Hezbollah is creating a buffer zone within Israel"
Former Safed mayor Ilan Shochat, who previously served as director of the Negev and Galilee Development Ministry, watches the north burn from his Safed home with a heavy heart. "This is Hezbollah's new strategy – intentionally firing on open areas to ignite fires and burn the north," he says worriedly.
Video: Fire in the Amiad region west of the Galilee / Credit: Israel Fire and Rescue Service
"I'm in Safed, seeing the Galilee and eastern border engulfed in flames. Hezbollah is exploiting the rainy winter we had and the abundance of thorns. As a strategy, they prefer burning the evacuated, abandoned north. They've adopted this tactic and are now firing heavily on open areas and forests. It's a combined strategy – no casualties, but fires everywhere.
"They're bombing Kiryat Shmona because they know it's evacuated. They're creating a buffer zone for themselves within Israeli territory. We must change the equation. It's important to stress that we, the people of the north, are strong, rooted, and we're not leaving."
"We're at war, and we'll win"
Kiryat Shmona resident Rafael Salab, who ran on the National Religious Party list for the city council, tells Israel Hayom this morning that the state has abandoned the Galilee. "I woke up this morning sure Lebanon would be burning. That was my feeling. But instead of Lebanon burning, the sense is that the state has abandoned the north," he says.
Salav added, "The Galilee has been burning for eight months, and yesterday they really saw it. There's an abandonment of the entire area here. There's no nicer way to put it: The state needs to decide now whether it's abandoning an entire region or settling it. Right now, I simply can't understand what's happening here."
Another resident from the north who was out all night at the various fire scenes also tells Israel Hayom this morning: "It's impossible to describe what we went through here last night. Everything burned, an entire region was ablaze. I drove between the fruit orchards, between communities as the fires raged, and my heart burned. The feeling is terrible, of destruction. There's no way to explain the feeling of people watching their life's work burning before their eyes."
On the other hand, Shai Golani, manager of the orchards in Malkia, remains defiant, noting, "It was definitely not an easy night, but the whole country is at war now, so it's not just our communities. Of course, it's not simple, but the only culprit is the Hezbollah organization. I tell the government that we're strong, we'll stay here, and we'll give them support to defeat Hezbollah in the south and north."
"True, there were massive fires last night, and it would have been better if the various authorities were better prepared. But this is what we have - we're at war, and we'll win it."
