Residents of Kibbutz Rosh Hanikra in northern Israel have been living for months with a constant sense of danger, even after a "ceasefire" was declared with Hezbollah. A drone that recently exploded in the parking lot of the kibbutz's tourist site, wounding four civilians, has only reinforced residents' feeling that there is no real "ceasefire." Some are torn between the desire to remain in their "dream home" and leaving for somewhere quieter.
Eli Ben-David, a kibbutz resident, father and director, described daily life there. "It's a very difficult and unpleasant feeling. We hear explosions and interceptions. This morning there were at least two launches toward Lebanon (for defense). But every time those interceptors are fired, it feels as if a fighter jet is flying right over your house."
Despite Hezbollah fire, there has been no change in IDF Home Front Command directives, although specific events, such as Shavuot celebrations, have been canceled. "There is a kind of despair, because officially, supposedly, there is some kind of ceasefire, in the most pathetic sense of the word, because a drone fell there at the grottos, at our tourist site. We live with the feeling that we are in a very dangerous area right now. This is our home, and at the same time, it is a very uncomfortable feeling when your home is in a war zone."
Ben-David stressed that residents were still trying to maintain a daily routine. "Whoever has to go to work goes. Whoever has to drive children to school drives them. With all kinds of fears, of course, because there could be a siren on the way."
He added that there was no full confidence in the ability to provide protection. "We need to receive security from our state so that we can conduct our lives. My wife calls it 'Operation Ceasefire' because every few weeks they extend it. Right now, we have a sense of uncertainty, insecurity and lack of trust in everyone who was supposed to take care of our security."
On the way to school, and no roadside shelter
Amit Barzilai, a mother of three, driving instructor and kibbutz member, returned to Rosh Hanikra after the start of the first Iran war. She said she and her family built their "dream home" there, with a view of the sea and the lookout point. Along the road to her children's school, there is not even a roadside shelter.
"There is no ceasefire," she said. "There is stress when the children get on the bus to school. The state did not shut down my business. They said, 'You can keep working as usual,' but it is not simple. I am responsible for other students too, and there is fear for the children, that if a siren happens to go off and there are no protected spaces here in the area, they have to lie flat on the side of the road."
Barzilai described the moment the unmanned aerial vehicle exploded. "The boom was paralyzing. It was only by luck that no one was hurt. I jumped out of bed with no warning. It is impossible to live like this."
She added that the interceptions overhead were even more frightening. "Those interceptors are even worse than the missiles. They also fall and scatter without any advance warning."
"I won't wait for them to enter my home like what happened near Gaza"
Barzilai, whose husband is a member of the local rapid response squad, expressed constant fear for her children. "The boys are always at basketball practices, my daughter is in artistic gymnastics. I am constantly driving them around. What mother should have to worry all the time that things will fall on them from the sky? And to live in anxiety all the time?"
She criticized the decisions made by the army and the political echelon. "Our tourist site is constantly defined right now as green, because if they declare any other color, it will cost the state money. My business is also open as usual."
Barzilai voiced fear of a repeat of the massacre in the south. "We don't want to reach the situation of the Gaza border communities. I will not live like this. I will not sit and wait for them to enter my home in another 10 years, like what happened in the kibbutzim near Gaza and the southern cities."
Barzilai added, "Enough with the normalization of drones. Every time there is a siren or a missile, this cannot continue. If it continues like this, people will simply leave. My friends and I will simply leave in the end, and that would be a shame. You cannot live like this with children, worrying all the time, being anxious all the time."
The kibbutz resident said the current situation, in which soldiers face high risk while being restricted from returning fire, could not continue. "It hurts me to see our soldiers risking their lives like sitting ducks. That is why some action is needed now. I want to call on all decision-makers: If you want to keep the north alive and existing, and we live in the most beautiful place in the country, then wake up. Don't forget the north. People don't come near here. There is total radio silence, no people. There is no vehicle traffic. A friend of mine from Hanita did not sit shiva in the kibbutz because people did not want to come, so he moved it to central Israel. It is insane."
"There is no ceasefire here. This is a battlefield"
T., who formerly held a security role in the kibbutz, echoed the remarks and stressed that there was no real ceasefire at all. "Right now, this is a battlefield. We are trying to maintain civilian life inside a military operation. There are only drones and drones here. There is gunfire, explosions. Hezbollah does not recognize this agreement, and it is still firing here all the time."
As of the time of our conversation, there had been five sirens in the area since morning. He said the situation required a clear decision. "I don't see a scenario in which this changes. I think we need to go to all-out war. That is not happening, and there is no other choice."
T. has two daughters, and every day he fears a disaster could happen because of the lack of protected spaces. "Every day when you put them in kindergarten, you worry. The kindergarten is still under construction. There are only walls and no safe room. There is a shelter far away, but you can't reach it in time."
He added that residents were trying to preserve their sanity, while remaining aware of the damage being done. "I think about the damage caused to the children this entire time. We have to sit here and not give up, but my wife is already at the point where she says, 'Let's look for somewhere else.'"
