Scorched landscape after Hizballah fire into northern Israel

Suddenly the headlines are screaming "Israel's massive escalation", "Israel declares war on Lebanon",

People are always surprised and quizzical when I mention the over 8000 Hizballah rockets and missiles, the attack drones, the drone swarms, not to mention the odd projectile launched from Yemen or eastern Iraq or Syria, all into northern Israel since October 8, in support of the Hamas October 7 invasion of Israel. Somehow from Israel's perspective this isn't supposed to be an "escalation", that isn't "declaring war", Israel is just supposed to accept this as normal?

And then some idiot says "Well, it doesn't count, Israel has Iron Dome, it's just rain." Go and see the devastation of nearly a year of daily bombardment in northern Israel and tell me it's "just rain".

Iron Dome can't stop thousands of rockets and missiles.

Iron Dome can't stop thousands of anti-tank missiles fired line of sight from just over the border where the distance from Hizballah controlled southern Lebanon into the villages, towns and farms of northern Israel is so short that there is no time for air raid warnings to sound, the first sign of the missile is it's impact in Israel. But somehow that isn't "war" or "escalation" and no one is holding the Lebanese government responsible for these daily attacks on Israel that are launched from Lebanese soil.

Israel has had nearly a year of ever increasing daily bombardment from Hizballah killing and wounding Israelis, including children - Jews, Druze, Muslims, Christians - Hizballah doesn't discriminate, all Israelis are targets. Tens of thousands of Israelis had to flee their homes next to the Lebanon border.

In other northern villages and towns a few kilometres further from the border they try to live their lives under threat of daily attacks and air raid sirens, sometimes several times a day, sometimes in the middle of the night.

There have been direct hits on a football pitch where children were playing, schools, places of worship including an historic Galilee church, schools, farms, factories and this evening a Magen David Adom first aid station. Countless family homes have been destroyed.

There are Israeli villages in the northern Galilee where almost every single home has been damaged, either by direct hits or the powerful blast waves of exploding rockets and attack drones.

Vast tracts of farmland, nature reserves, forests and parkland have been burnt by fires sparked by rockets and drones.

Tonight for example Hizballah launched twenty heavy Falaq artillery rockets on the once idyllic Israeli border town of Metulla with its pretty houses surrounded by apple and cherry orchards. The damage was massive. A member of the local emergency response team was hurt trying to put out one of the fires. At least one neighbourhood burnt along with surrounding countryside.

Hizballah gloatingly posted reels and photos on social media of the smoke and flames, clearly visible across the border from southern Lebanon with the caption "They won't be returning to their homes".

This is not normal. As Israelis we should not be expected to accept this as normal.

Israel has the right to defend itself, but more than that our government and military have an obligation to defend Israelis, all Israelis, including the ones in the north who's lives have been turned upside down since October 8th.