{"id":19341,"date":"2024-11-27T23:16:57","date_gmt":"2024-11-27T23:16:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/?p=19341"},"modified":"2024-11-27T23:16:57","modified_gmt":"2024-11-27T23:16:57","slug":"israelis-survey-damage-and-mull-return-to-north-as-ceasefire-begins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/?p=19341","title":{"rendered":"Israelis survey damage and mull return to north as ceasefire begins"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"BBCBBC<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Three quarters of the buildings in Kibbutz Menara have been damaged during the war<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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In Kibbutz Menara in northern Israel, the sound of gunfire from across the border marked the first day of the ceasefire with Hezbollah.<\/p>\n

Menara sits face to face with the Lebanese village of Meiss el-Jabal. It was one of several places where the Israeli military said it fired towards suspects spotted nearby.<\/p>\n

They were not gun battles with Hezbollah fighters, it said, but warning shots to push the suspects back. Four of them were arrested.<\/p>\n

The handover of control on the Lebanese side of the border, from Israeli troops to the Lebanese army, has not yet begun.<\/p>\n

And Lebanese residents have been told not to return there yet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Meitel<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Meitel was among the kibbutz residents drawn home by the ceasefire<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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In Menara, the ceasefire bought Meitel and her 13-year-old daughter Gefen back their first visit home in more than a year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is unbelievable. It\u2019s like a nightmare,\u201d Meitel said, as they inspected a damaged building.<\/p>\n

They left the kibbutz on 8 October 2023, when Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel the day after Hamas\u2019s deadly attack on southern Israel triggered the war in Gaza.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s government said its intense bombardment and ground invasion in Lebanon would ensure the tens of thousands of northern Israeli residents of the evacuated from their homes would be able to return safely.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised that would happen during a speech on Tuesday in which he said he had agreed to the ceasefire because the war had set Hezbollah back \u201ctens of years\u201d, destroyed most of its rockets, and demolished its infrastructure next to the border.<\/p>\n

However, Meitel said she had little trust in the ceasefire, noting the gunfire that echoed through Menara’s empty streets during her visit.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey want to come back. We need to keep them away,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Building<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Hezbollah missiles punched straight through the walls of many buildings<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Three quarters of the buildings in Menara have been destroyed in almost 14 months of fighting, along with the electricity, sewage and gas supplies.<\/p>\n

The roof of the communal kitchen, caved in from a direct hit, lies tangled in hills of concrete and metal on the floor.<\/p>\n

In house after house, the tell-tale tattoos of shrapnel damage, and rough-edged holes from anti-tank missiles have left homes burned out and unsafe.<\/p>\n

Through the burned-out windows, the many shattered houses of their Lebanese neighbours are also visible.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Kibbutz<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Orna fears that families will not come back to live in the border community<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Orna has lived in Menara through two previous wars but she said this ceasefire was different.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur forces will not leave these villages and will not allow terrorists to come back here. You can hear it yourself. Whenever someone tries to come back, they will be shot,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cI personally will be come and be here regardless of what goes on there. But I\u2019m a crazy, stubborn old lady. Families will not come back here. It\u2019s impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Destroyed<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Lebanese village of Meiss el-Jabal is just across the border from the kibbutz<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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The ceasefire is triggering the first discussions of what it would take for residents to return.<\/p>\n

Repairing Menara will take months, but rebuilding a sense of security could take longer still.<\/p>\n

The damage, a practical challenge, is also a reminder of what Hezbollah weapons can do.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Source: <\/em> www.bbc.com\u2026<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BBC Three quarters of the buildings in Kibbutz Menara have been damaged during the war In Kibbutz Menara in northern Israel, the sound of gunfire from across the border marked the first day of the ceasefire with Hezbollah. Menara sits face to face with the Lebanese village of Meiss el-Jabal. It was one of several […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19341\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}