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Israeli Military, Border Residents Demand Action to Eliminate Hizbullah Threat

(Wall Street Journal) Dion Nissenbaum - In the days after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in Israel, Orna Rayn searched frantically for someone to build a barricade to secure the door of a safe room in her house in Lehavot Habashan, 6 miles from the Lebanon border. Rayn's sister, Einat Rothem-Nechushtan, moved into the safe room on Oct. 10, even before the Israeli government ordered the evacuation of her small farming community of She'ar Yashuv, 2 miles from Lebanon. The sisters have mapped out a plan of escape if Hizbullah fighters stage an Oct. 7-style cross-border attack. "This is the first time in my life that I don't feel safe in my home," said Rothem-Nechushtan, 54. Many Israelis who live near the border say their military can't end the fighting without assuring them that Hizbullah can't do to them what Hamas did to Israelis in the south. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has pushed for broader military action against Hizbullah, while the Biden administration has put consistent pressure on Israel to refrain from taking steps in Lebanon that could drag the American military deeper into the fight. Netanyahu has so far acceded to American pressure, but military officials say Israel is one deadly Hizbullah strike away from a new war in Lebanon. Tens of thousands of Israelis from 42 communities near the Lebanon border have been officially evacuated by the government. Israeli officials say that there are thousands of Hizbullah fighters positioned along the border. Security officials in border communities estimate that 100,000 Israeli soldiers have deployed along the northern border.
2023-11-21 00:00:00
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