Northerners uneasy after official warns Hezbollah could capture towns

Residents of northern Israel expressed alarm Monday over statements by a senior IDF officer a day earlier that Hezbollah could briefly capture a chunk of the Galilee, including some border communities, in an upcoming war.

Upper Galilee Regional Council officials said they received dozens of phone calls from worried residents following the statement, which was widely carried in Israeli media.

The unnamed official said in a future war, Hezbollah could carry out a large raid into Israel and capture territory, though the IDF would wrest it back after a few hours.

He added there would likely be civilian casualties, and that evacuation plans were being drawn up in the eventuality a war broke out.

The statement apparently came as a surprise to many in the north, who said the army has continually insisted that there is no immediate security threat, even as tensions along the northern border ramped up as Israel embarked on a military campaign against Hamas in Gaza over the summer, Channel 2 reported.

Yair Golan, head of the northern command, told the head of the Upper Galilee Regional Council that while the IDF was training for the scenarios presented in media reports, there were no fears of an imminent conflict.

Still, the northern residents — many of whom run vacation cabins out of their homes — were concerned that the warning could hurt tourism ahead of the upcoming High Holidays, and said some people had canceled their reservations.

“The Galilee is quiet now — there was always tension, and always will be,” Benny Ben-Muvhar, head of the Mevo’ot Hermon council, told Channel 2. “We are tense and ready for an emergency, but the Galilee is blossoming and we would be happy to host all of Israel during the holidays.”

Ben-Muvhar also addressed the ongoing budget crisis, stating: “We have a strong IDF and the northern command, and they will be this way whether they receive a larger budget or not.”

The senior IDF official warned Sunday that while Hezbollah has no immediate plan to attack Israel, a minor security incident could erupt into a full-fledged war on Israel’s northern front.

“The situation in the north is quiet; we don’t assume we are headed toward war,” the Northern Command official said, according to Channel 2. “On the other hand, there are many developments, there are small things that can create larger events. The instability can develop and erupt into war.”

The army also distributed pictures Sunday showing armed Hezbollah members near the border with Israel.

In the event of a confrontation with Hezbollah, the fighting would likely last some four months, would have the Israel Defense Forces face some 30,000 troops, would incur extensive civilian casualties on the Lebanese side, and may see infiltration into northern Israeli towns to carry out attacks, the IDF official predicted.