Israeli Arab citizens hope for peace amid escalating border conflicts

By Enes Canli

ARAB AL-ARAMSHA, Israel (AA) – Israeli Arab citizens residing along the Israel-Lebanon border are hopeful for the cessation of recent clashes, which began around the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, and anticipate returning to their homes.

Anadolu documented the town of Arab al-Aramsha, home to Israeli Arab citizens near the Israel-Lebanon border, which was evacuated due to regional conflicts.

Reservists stationed at a checkpoint at the entrance of the village include local residents serving in the Israeli military.

The Arab al-Aramsha town, with around 1,400 residents, is located just a few hundred meters from the mountainous border with Lebanon.

Israeli military surveillance, including balloon-mounted cameras, monitors the border, with sounds of drones, fighter jets, and artillery fire heard in the area, accompanied by smoke billowing from targeted areas.

Israel withdrew from the south of Lebanon unilaterally in 2000 in response to Hezbollah attacks, and a long concrete wall now separates the border along the Blue Line, "a line of withdrawal" set by the UN in 2000 for the purpose of confirming the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the south of Lebanon.

On the outskirts of Arab al-Aramsha, the Lebanese village of Zuheira, which is abandoned due to conflicts, is situated just across the wall.

Damage from attacks on the mosque in the Zuheira village is visible and the road near the border area is closed to civilian traffic as a precaution against possible attacks.

- Town residents await end to conflicts

Sail Saad, president of the town council of Arab al-Aramsha, told Anadolu that they have close ties with the neighboring village of Zuheira, but due to recent developments in the region, their communication has been severed for a considerable period.

Saad said that conflicts erupted along the Israel-Lebanon border following the events around the Gaza Strip.

The village residents, he said, were evacuated to local hotels for free accommodation on Oct. 15.

Saad said that around 300-400 people, including the elderly and livestock farmers, are still in the village.

He expressed mixed feelings of locals about the presence of the Israeli military in the region, hoping for a quick end to the war through a humanitarian pause and a political, not military, solution.

Saad emphasized that if the Israeli government does not cover the hotel expenses for the evacuated people, the villagers may have to return as they cannot afford to live in hotels.

Expressing hope for peaceful coexistence among the communities in the region, Saad expressed his desire for the borders in the area to become areas of travel and free movement, similar to European borders without the need for passports.

- Tanks shattered windows of houses

Tank tracks are visible on the roads near the border, and residents said the windows of their homes shattered due to the pressure from Israeli tank shots on the other side of the border.

One of the concrete blocks of the wall along the Israel-Lebanon border was seen to have collapsed.

According to the accounts of local residents, the wall was destroyed almost two months ago by munitions fired from the Lebanese side.

During the initial days of border tensions, Israeli soldiers were stationed in civilian homes, monitoring the border.

Residents in the area shared images from their mobile phones, depicting moments when Israeli soldiers, during the intense clashes along the border in October, fired upon an Israeli military unit stationed in the region, resulting in injuries in what they called "friendly fire."

The images also captured scenes of Israeli tanks taking cover behind homes in the town and pointing their barrels towards Lebanon, ready to fire in case of any border movement.

- Israeli soldier killed in Hezbollah missile attack

After the Oct. 7 Hamas attack from the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army launched severe attacks on the besieged enclave. Simultaneously, clashes escalated on the Israel-Lebanon border.

In a missile attack by Hezbollah from Lebanon on Oct. 11, one Israeli soldier was killed and another was injured.

- Israel evacuates villages near border

In response to heightened conflicts along the border with Lebanon, Israel evacuated villages within a radius of two kilometers (1.2 miles) on Oct. 15, later extending it to four km (2.4 mi) on Oct. 22.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that housing evacuated Israelis in hotels costs about $376 million per month.

The border conflicts resulted in the deaths of 24 Lebanese civilians, 109 Hezbollah members, five Israeli civilians, and six Israeli soldiers.

​​​​​​​Approximately 65,000 civilians in Lebanon were forcibly displaced due to Israeli military targeting and regional conflicts.