In Menara, the ceasefire brought Meitel and her 13-year-old daughter Gefen their first visit home in more than a year.
“It’s unbelievable. It’s like a nightmare,” Meitel said as they surveyed the damaged building.
They left the kibbutz on October 8, 2023, when Hezbollah began shelling northern Israel with rockets the day after a deadly Hamas attack on southern Israel sparked the Gaza war.
Israel’s government has said its heavy bombing and ground invasion of Lebanon will ensure that tens of thousands of northern Israelis evacuated from their homes can return safely.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised that would happen during a speech on Tuesday in which he said he agreed to the ceasefire because the war had set Hezbollah back “tens of years”, destroyed most of its missiles and destroyed infrastructure nearby with the border. .
Meitel, however, said she had little faith in the ceasefire, noting the gunfire that echoed through the empty streets of Menara during her visit.
“They want to come back. We have to keep them away,” she said.
