Hezbollah’s underground tunnel network needs to be destroyed and the terrorist group must be disarmed to ensure the long-term security of Israel’s border communities, according to the Mayor of Kiryat Shmona.

As the mayor of a municipality just two kilometres east of the Lebanese border, Avichai Stern has been speaking out for months over the devastation caused by the daily bombings from Iran’s terrorist proxies in Lebanon since October 8.

While last week’s killing of the general-secretary of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, was no-doubt a victory, the Israeli government needs to concentrate its efforts on rebuilding the fractured economy and community of northern cities, according to the 38-year-old mayor.

An Israeli soldier checks a house that was hit by a Hezbollah rocket in Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel near the Lebanon border, on June 16, 2024 (Getty Images)

“I was born and raised in Kiryat Shmona in 1985 — pretty much the same time that Hezbollah was established. When I was seven, Nasrallah became the leader of the organisation.

“The world is better now that he’s gone, because he's a very dangerous terrorist who kills a lot of people. But even though he's dead, and even though you have all the bleeper attacks, and a lot of the leadership of Hezbollah has been assassinated, the situation hasn't changed on the ground.

“For almost a year, Hezbollah has been bombing us pretty much every day,” he said. “In the past few weeks, the government has decided to focus more on the north, and only now is Israel responding to Hezbollah.

“It’s wonderful, but in the end, we still have work to do, because the residents still cannot go back to their homes. They’re still waiting.”

An Israeli soldier checks a house that was hit by a Hezbollah rocket in Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel near the Lebanon border, on June 16, 2024 (Getty Images)

Since Hezbollah began bombarding northern Israel on October 8 in solidarity with Hamas, 60,000 residents have been evacuated, transforming border communities into desolate ghost towns.

Around 4,000 missiles and rockets have been shot at Kiryat Shmona since the war began, according to Stern. Most have been intercepted in the air, but roughly 400 buildings in the city have taken a direct hit.

Only 2,000 residents remain in the city — primarily essential workers— down from a population of 25,000. “The residents have spent almost a year outside of their home, spread around 526 different locations all across Israel,” he said. “It’s something that I never imagined would happen, it’s like science fiction.”

Around 40 per cent of Kiryat Shmona’s residents aren’t planning on returning to the city post-war, according to a survey by Tel Hai College in May. Stern worries that even fewer will consider returning now, four months later.

Smokes rises from the woods which caught fire following rockets launched from Lebanon into northern Israel, close to the city of Kiryat Shmona near the southern Lebanon border, on June 4, 2024 (Getty Images)

“A lot of kids have started their second year of not going to their school in Kiryat Shmona,” he said. “If you spend one year or two years outside of your home, you have new friends, you see new things, and sometimes your eyes are opened.”

He knows that some residents might experience the facilities and opportunities in cities like Tel Aviv and Haifa and decide not to come back to life in the north.

With most of its taxpayers and businesses gone, Kiryat Shmona’s economy has suffered significantly during the war. The city’s future hinges on the return of workers, but that requires the promise of security, which means eliminating the threat posed by Hezbollah.

“People need to be afraid of dealing with Israel,” said Stern. “We don’t want people to say: ‘We can shoot rockets, we can invade Israel, we can do October 7 again.’ We want Hezbollah to understand that they will pay a big price if they do something like that.”

According to Stern, Hezbollah’s underground tunnel network must be destroyed once and for all via a ground-invasion. “It's not going to be easy and we’ll have to pay a high price. But in the end, we want to go back to live in a safe, secure and peaceful north,” he said. “We don’t have much choice.”

A member of Israeli security forces walks past a damaged building at the site of an rocket strike, fired from southern Lebanon, in Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel on September 24, 2024 (Getty Images)

Only once Israel has disarmed Hezbollah and destroyed its tunnel network should the country enter negotiations for peace, according to Stern. “We will come to an agreement when we have the power, and not the other way around,” he said.

The mayor also rejected the US and France’s call last week for a 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, stating: “We didn't open this attack, they opened it on us.

“Until last year, since 2006, we had a ceasefire and an agreement with Hezbollah. But in the end, all that Hezbollah and Lebanon have done in the last 20 years is put all their money and all their infrastructure towards creating bombs, tunnels and weapons,” he said.

While the mayor welcomes the military’s renewed focus on the northern front, he says the government hasn’t done enough to address the socio-economic reality of border cities like Kiryat Shmona.

Members of Israeli security forces inspect sites where rockets launched from southern Lebanon fell in Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel near the Lebanon border, on June 19, 2024 (Getty Images)

The city’s residents have been displaced to 526 different locations across Israel, with the vast majority in hotels. The municipality is still responsible for providing education and welfare services to its citizens, but it can only afford to employ 200 staff and is therefore unable to meet all the needs of the fractured community.

“To provide services to over 20,000 residents that are spread out across the whole country in 526 different locations is like a mission impossible, but we’re doing our best to make sure that we stay as a community and stay in touch,” said Stern.

The government has provided each evacuee with a daily allowance, but it’s not enough to compensate for the breakdown of people’s businesses, support low-income families, or pay for therapy following the trauma of the war.

It is only through grants from the Shahaf Foundation, Carasso’s Beyachad Foundation, [the Jewish Federations of Canada’s] Magbit Canada, the UJA-Federation of New York and the Jewish National Fund (JNF) that Stern has managed to keep providing services to the evacuees.

He too has been displaced since October 7; he and his wife and two young daughters have been forced to relocate to Caesarea, over an hour away. Stern spends his time spread across Israel: in Kiryat Shmona when there has been a significant impact, in Jerusalem to petition the Knesset for more funding, and if he has time, in Caesarea to give his children a quick goodnight kiss amid the chaos.

An Israeli firefighter puts out flames in a field after rockets launched from southern Lebanon landed on the outskirts of Kiryat Shmona, on June 4, 2024 (Getty Images)

Despite the challenge ahead of rebuilding the economy post-war, Stern is optimistic that Kiryat Shmona will recover with the support of the government and investors. “We want empathy, we don't want pity. We want people to become partners and build a new and stronger north, and make sure that we take this opportunity to make Kiryat Shmona and the whole region stronger.”

Before October 7, the city was poised for development after years of stagnation. Plans were underway for Tel Hai College to transition into a university, a new rail line was in the works, and initiatives aimed at transforming the city into a leading hub for agricultural and food technology were taking shape.

While the war has forced Kiryat Shmona “four years backwards”, the mayor is dedicated to resuming his ambitious plans for the city’s growth once peace is restored in the region.

The recovery of the northern city is a matter of national security, according to the mayor. “We want the city to become home to 70,000 residents, because then the border will be stronger and the north will be stronger,” he said.

An Israeli firefighting airplane drops flame retardant over woods, as fires burn following rockets launched from Lebanon into northern Israel, next to the city of Kiryat Shmona near the southern Lebanon border, on June 4, 2024 (Getty Images)

“Ultimately, Kiryat Shmona will have a leading role in the future of Israel, because it sits on the border. It is the armour that holds off the terrorists, like Be'eri and all the other kibbutzim on the border with Gaza which were the armour that stopped Hamas.”

To support northern cities like Kiryat Shmona during the war, JNF UK has launched a Rosh Hashanah appeal to raise funds for essential services in the region.

The money will go towards supporting low-income and vulnerable evacuees, as well as funding the work of youth coordinators who help maintain community cohesion at a time when young people are out of work and education, increasing the risk of crime and antisocial behaviour.

JNF is also raising funds to support residents who have remained in the north—often without access to electricity, water, and communication—with emergency kits to enhance a sense of security as the conflict with Hezbollah escalates.