Moshe Davidovich, the head of the Mateh Asher Regional Council, responded to the Hezbollah attack on Tzfas on Wednesday morning which killed a 20-year-old female IDF soldier and injured eight others by lamenting the lack of action by the government to Hezbollah’s repeated attacks of northern Israel.

“The north was hit with a flood of rockets this morning,” he said. “I suggest the government and its leader wake up. The head of the Radwan Force spits on us time after time and we think it’s rain. I repeat: there’s no north without security.”

Following the attack, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi met with mayors of northern cities and heads of local councils to discuss the security situation in the north, where the residents of all communities close to the border have long evacuated their homes.  Halevi said that the IDF is determined to change the security situation in the north and have the residents return. He claimed that the IDF has significantly harmed Hezbollah “but there is still a long way to go.”

“The next operation will be very aggressive and we will use all our means and capabilities,” he promised.

Prior to the attack, Davidovich responded to a French proposal on Tuesday for a ceasefire on the Israeli-Lebanese border. The proposal requires Hezbollah forces to initially withdraw at least six miles north of the border and later retreat to the Litani River as mandated in UN Resolution 1701, which resolved the 2006 Lebanon War.

“UN Resolution 1701, which requires Hezbollah to withdraw beyond the Litani, was grossly violated,” he said. “Past experience shows us that it’s not possible to reach agreements with a terror organization.”

Tal Levit, a resident of Metula whose house was damaged by a rocket, told Ynet on Monday: “If the other side wanted peace with us, they wouldn’t be firing at us. I think we need to deal with this much more harshly, to take action to push them farther away. The government and everyone involved are currently glossing over this issue; we’re on the defensive.”

“Even moving them past the Litani River won’t be enough with the amount of rockets they have. Israel should wake up and not ignore it.”

The head of the Upper Galilee Regional Council, Giora Zaltz, said, “A lot of work will need to be done to return to the yishuvim. About half of the residents of northern yishuvim have been evacuated, some without receiving State support. We demand two things from the government and the military – from the government, we demand to be able to begin the new school year in our yishuvim. We’ll be in a very bad place if no action takes place to allow this.”

“We also demand the army have a more significant presence on the northern border. Right now, the residents feel that they’re between the IDF and Hezbollah, instead of being the other way around. Direct rocket fire is a very serious threat, and the army and the State must act to eliminate it.”

“The threat of terrorists infiltrating the yishuvim is a real and frightening threat as well and that’s what the army needs to do – remove the threat of rocket fire, remove the threat of terrorist infiltration, and maintain a presence on the border.”

“Our goal is for the next school year to begin here in the northern yishuvim. Many people are looking elsewhere for their education, they won’t be here in 2025 and schools will close down. Therefore, a statement by the government, backed by military and diplomatic action, is very important.”

On Tuesday, a mother and her teen son were seriously injured in Kiryat Shmona after Hezbollah launched an anti-tank missile at the city.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)