The fridge is full, the internet is working and even though the room is a bit messy, Ilan Ravor thinks he can live with it. The 76-year-old retiree came to take a look at the public air raid shelter just a few meters from his home in Haifa.
Normally, this underground place serves as a meeting point for the NGO Alcoholics Anonymous. Today, it could shelter dozens of people from the neighborhood if the alarm sirens signaling an airstrike sound in Israel’s third city, about 30 kilometers from the Lebanese border.
Northern Israel on alert after rocket fire“about 150 rockets, cruise missiles and drones” overnight, according to the Israeli army, most of them from Lebanon. Lebanese Hezbollah has been exchanging fire almost daily with the Israeli army since the start of the war on October 7 in the Gaza Strip, saying it is supporting its ally Hamas.
Residents gather behind a barrier in Kiryat Bialik in the Haifa district of Israel, the target of an attack by Lebanese Hezbollah, on September 22, 2024 / Jack GUEZ / AFP
Hezbollah’s overnight strikes hit the outskirts of Haifa, a city of nearly 300,000 people and a major commercial port. The last time such strikes occurred was in 2006, during the most recent war between Lebanon and Israel.
Mr. Ravor expected a major aftershock in the region after Israel “did it to them, especially with the pagers”he said, referring to the waves of spectacular explosions of Hezbollah transmission devices, which left 39 dead and 2,931 injured on Tuesday and Wednesday in bastions of the pro-Iranian movement in Lebanon, according to the country’s authorities.
The exchange of fire between the Israeli army and Hezbollah has since intensified. “I am worried, I know it is possible that the missiles will reach here”but he says he has “confidence in the army of (his) country” and he feels ” ready “ to take his dog under his arm to take shelter.
“With courage”
A resident clears shards of glass from his window in Kiryat Bialik in the Haifa district of Israel, following an attack by Lebanese Hezbollah, September 22, 2024 / Jack GUEZ / AFP
“This morning, we were a little shocked”says Sylvia, a 77-year-old writer, “but we are not afraid, we are rather expectant”.
“We grew up with stories of the Holocaust, of previous wars, so even if what happened that night is important, we are not that worried.”notes Adir Schaffer, a 33-year-old gardener who lives in the Hadar neighborhood, which is home to buildings from the last century, most of which are not equipped with air raid shelters.
“It’s unfortunate but we’ve gotten used to it, we know that Hezbollah wants to destroy Haifa, people can change but the ideology remains”he notes, calling for his wishes “days of peace”.
He has not prepared anything special in case of an alert, unlike other residents who fill car trunks with packs of water and canned goods in front of supermarkets to have enough to last for several days.
“Some people are panicking a little bit.”says Shaked Ariel, a vendor in a grocery store on a busy street.
The city’s main thoroughfares look like a weekend this Sunday, although it is the first day of the week in Israel; even schools are closed by order of the Home Front Command (passive defense).
In the early evening, a few people demonstrated in the city, holding placards calling for the release of the hostages taken to the Gaza Strip during the Hamas attack.
First responders and Israeli security forces gather amid debris and charred vehicles in Kiryat Bialik in the Haifa district of Israel, following an attack by Lebanon’s Hezbollah, September 22, 2024 / Jack GUEZ / AFP
“We have been on alert since October 7th”said Merav Ben Nun, a 49-year-old protester. “Last night was the worst”she adds, “but I think we are still a little far from an all-out war”.
On mobile phones, in the Israeli media, images of villages hit during the night north of Haifa are playing on a loop, like those of Kiryat Bialik where the fall of rockets caused fires.
In front of her house with its charred walls, Léa Sabag told AFP: “We know that this will last a few days and we must keep our spirits up, be patient and I hope that we will face it with courage.”
