Sirens wail near Lebanon border, but some Israeli farmers vow to stay put
Israeli alarm sirens often blare across Elanit Kalfon's farm near the Lebanese border as tensions flare with Hezbollah, but she is refusing to leave her land or her 1,200 goats.
Kalfon lives in the village of Goren, less than 10 kilometres (six miles) from the UN-monitored border that some fear could become a new conflict front for Israel.
Iran-backed Hezbollah militants and Israeli soldiers have been firing artillery at each other across the frontier each day since Israel's war with Hamas erupted on October 7.
Israel has told the 680 people of Goren and residents of dozens of other northern communities to evacuate.
But Kalfon has vowed to stay put.
"Everyone told me, 'Elanit, leave the animals, go, your life is more important'," the 47-year-old told AFP against the bleating of her giant herd.
"We've been working our whole life on this. I'm educating my children to tell them: we don't leave our land," she said of the warnings.
Northern Israel was put under a state of emergency shortly after the worst attack in the country's 75-year history, which officials say killed 1,400 people.
In the besieged Gaza Strip, the Hamas-run health ministry says at least 5,000 Palestinians have been killed in unrelenting Israeli strikes.
The reverberations have shaken the 80-kilometre border with Lebanon.
According to an AFP tally based on official sources, 36 people have been killed in Lebanon, most of them militants but including a Reuters news agency journalist. Three soldiers and a civilian have been killed in Israel.
Israel's military on Sunday warned that Hezbollah was "dragging Lebanon into a war".
- Hezbollah 'bigger, closer' -
While many Israeli residents have evacuated, others have joined Kalfon in staying, including dozens in Goren.
Kalfon, who heads the national goat breeders' association, has experienced war with Lebanon before. Israel occupied southern Lebanon in 1982-2000 and the last major conflict with Hezbollah was in 2006.
"It was very difficult," Kalfon recalled.
The 2006 war left 1,200 dead in Lebanon, most of them civilians, and 160 in Israel, most of them security forces.
Kalfon said she was preparing for "worse" violence "because Hezbollah is bigger and closer" to the border than before.
She argued that Israel must defend its land, for historical reasons and to maintain food security because "agriculture is everything".
"This land is ours from the bible," she said. "We kept it by blood so it's very important that we are here and close to the land."
- Vanished 'hope' -
Walking around the farm and tending to the goats, Kalfon's husband dons a worn-out military shirt with a rifle slung over his shoulder.
The family fears a "terrorist infiltration" and every day since the Hamas attacks Kalfon has made sure to double-lock the doors.
Her eyes swelled with tears at the memory of the surprise attack which stunned Israel.
"We had hope to make peace together," said Kalfon. But she said those hopes are now finished.
Another farmer, Moshe Dadoush, 62, admitted he was nervous but also said he would not leave his land and peach orchard.
"I've been through the first Lebanon war" he said. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't afraid.
"But I have to stay here and take care of my trees. If I don't do it, there would be no fruit this year, and only bad fruit next year."
Dadoush stressed that "our bond to the land is strong".
"I wouldn't leave for one simple reason: it's here where I grew up. I have nowhere else to go but this country."
