In Israel's north, stress and resignation deepen as missiles fly

By Manuel Ausloos

NAHARIYA, Israel (Reuters) - With more Israeli communities moving into Hezbollah's crosshairs as Israel hits deeper in Lebanon, some in northern Israel hoped their country could finally end the threat of the Lebanese armed group, while others viewed the rising violence with resignation.

"There's a feeling of, finally, we're taking action in order to restore peace here, which has not been the case for the past almost a year," Barak Raz said in the northern Israeli beachside city of Nahariya.

Said 22-year-old sales assistant Albina Chemodakov: "It's very scary to live like that, but we live in Israel. It's our life."

Iranian-backed Hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets and missiles into northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights over the past week, while Israeli jets have struck more than 1,600 targets in south Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley further north.

Monday's barrage came after weeks of growing tension in the north, which for almost a year has seen a constant, relatively contained, level of cross border fire that has been overshadowed by the bloody war in Gaza to the south. 

Raz, a 32-year-old graphic designer from Tel Aviv, is just completing his second deployment as a reservist in the north since last October when Hezbollah launched its first barrage of rockets in support of the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel.

"I hope things will get better soon. I don't want to come back for a third deployment," he said.

The months of rocket fire have forced tens of thousands to leave their homes, a situation mirrored in Lebanon, and left large swathes of the border areas almost deserted.

As the fighting in the ruins of Gaza has slowed, the military focus has shifted to the north where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been under growing political pressure to bring the evacuated residents back to their homes.

In Nahariya, in normal times a lively seaside town of about 60,000 people a few km (miles) from the border with Lebanon, civil defence orders have closed the beaches and the main boulevard is quiet.

DIFFICULT DAYS AHEAD

Israel has not seen the level of destruction witnessed in Lebanon, where more than 500 people were killed and more than 1,800 wounded in Israel's heaviest bombardment in two decades. But Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant have both warned of difficult days ahead and called for calm.

"In the last few days, Hezbollah fired hundreds of rockets towards Israel. In the last week, over 700 missiles and rockets towards Israel, creating damage to many, many houses and communities," said Nadav Shoshani, a military spokesperson.

No serious casualties have been reported so far, but hospitals have drawn up emergency plans to treat trauma cases and the strain has told on many residents.

"I am in stress. I have a soldier in the army and he's really stressed and I'm worrying about him, because all the people I know, my family, all in stress," said 47-year-old healthcare worker, Alona Dazhalvili.

"People are really scared about the situation. It's not easy. It's not easy."

Residents across the north could see trails of smoke and tracer as aerial defence batteries fired at incoming missiles on Monday and alarms continued to sound on Tuesday.

With air raid sirens sounding regularly on Tuesday, many airlines cancelled flights. But harbour operations continued as normal in Haifa, the country's biggest industrial port, as authorities looked to keep the economy ticking over despite the wartime disruption.

Schools have also been closed and civil defence authorities have issued instructions for the population to follow warnings and seek shelter when the air raid warnings sound.

"What can you say? We're used to it," said Uri Hayo, a 76-year-old retiree. "Every 10 years, 15 years, five years, a war again. This is Israel."

(Writing by James Mackenzie, Editing by William Maclean)