A year ago, residents of Kibbutz Misgav Am complained they were hearing digging sounds under their homes. These days they are afraid Hezbollah is planning a raid similar to the murderous Hamas attack on October 7, using underground tunnels.
Misgav Am is located in Upper Galilee in northern Israel, near the Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona, close to the border with Lebanon, and facing the Lebanese town of Odaisseh.
In December 2018, Israel announced the discovery of several tunnels that had been dug by Hezbollah and reached from Lebanon into Israel. Their existence was confirmed and condemned by the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The residents of Misgav Am are afraid the IDF may not have discovered all the Hezbollah tunnels.
Ofer Moscowitz, a resident of Misgav Am, told News12 this week: “One night, about a year ago, around three in the morning, I heard digging. Other people told me they heard it as well. Strange, incomprehensible noises, like some kind of air hammer. Knocking noise, something dull. It’s stressful, it’s scary. I notified the army. The army does not take these messages lightly, they usually check them. The army came, asked me questions, and interrogated me about it. They didn’t offer too many conclusions; they don’t tell us anything.”
“They checked; I don’t know what means they used,” Moscowitz continued. “First, they asked what I heard, investigated, and then they said: ‘If you hear it again, inform us and we will do our tests.’ They may be checking closer to the fence. My house is 15 meters from the fence, maybe they check more in the direction of the border itself. I believe that they do their tests around the settlement, not inside it.”
Moscowitz is one of the few residents of the northern border settlements who stayed home after the majority had been evacuated to hotels further south. He has experienced lethal fire from the Lebanese side of the border and said much of his property, including farmland, has been destroyed.
“Our house is in a very dangerous area called the ‘Killing Zone,’” said Moscowitz. “They tell you: ‘If you go near there, you know you’re taking a risk.’ My daughter was supposed to move to Misgav Am. I don’t know if I want my grandchildren to grow up in a dangerous and scary area. If the IDF does nothing, I will be afraid.”
“On the other hand,” he said, “You hear about the price that is being paid, our best sons are being killed, so I say to myself: Wait, why do we need this headache? The avocado orchard is just money, what’s important is the safety of the people, who will continue to live properly.”
“I will return and live in Misgav Am, but I won’t be angry if families with children say they are afraid to come back,” he said.
