❗️Hezbollah fire paralyzes northern Israel economy, exposes air-defense failures

Israel’s northern towns are facing such intense and unpredictable fire from Hezbollah that reopening normal economic activity there is unrealistic and dangerous, according to an analysis published by Israeli newspaper Calcalist.

The report says residents along the Lebanese border – particularly in cities such as Kiryat Shmona – are spending extended periods inside shelters due to frequent rocket, drone, and anti-tank missile attacks, many of which arrive with only seconds of warning, and in some cases none at all.

Local officials argue that applying the same home-front guidelines used in central Israeli cities ignores the vastly different security reality in the north, where daily life cannot function normally under constant fire.

Despite the escalating attacks, the Israeli army has no plans to evacuate the remaining residents, even as tens of thousands were displaced earlier in the war and many have yet to return.

The analysis also casts doubt on Israel’s defensive capabilities, noting that the recently deployed Or Eitan laser interception system has yet to record a single operational interception since the outbreak of the current fighting, while the military maintains ambiguity about interception rates.

At the same time, Hezbollah is believed to have rebuilt a large arsenal – estimated at tens of thousands of rockets and missiles along with hundreds of drones – that continues to challenge Israeli air-defense systems and sustain pressure on northern towns.

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