On October 7th my unit and tens of thousands of reservists rushed to Israel’s northern border to stop Hezbollah from flooding into northern Israel. Thank God we were successful in our mission and stopped Hezbollah from fulfilling their dreams of capturing and massacring the Galilee and tens of thousands of Israelis.
Looking back close to a year after that, we realize that the troops stationed on the border at the time of the October 7th attack would have been overrun and the massacre in Gaza would have been a mere preview of the devastation that would have unfolded in northern Israel had the better trained, organized, and equipped Hezbollah invaded.
During the five months we were stationed in the north, we spent significant time in Avivim, a small town overlooked by the Shiite Hezbollah-dominated towns of Maroun-El-Ras and Yaroun. Most of Avivim, along with other northern border towns, became increasingly difficult to navigate due to the constant missile and drone attacks from the Lebanese Hezbollah-controlled villages possessing superior vantage points into Israel and clear views of their intended targets.
A few hours before we arrived in Avivim, two anti-tank missiles were fired at a car that Hezbollah believed contained passengers, this with the intent to kill them. Thank God they were mistaken; the occupants had entered a nearby house to collect their belongings minutes before the attack. The blast damaged many windows and structures in the surrounding area.
The community synagogue of Avivim was impacted from the blowback and many of its windows were broken with glass scattered in and around the building. On our first Shabbat there we prayed in a part of the damaged sanctuary which was considered slightly less exposed to anti-tank missiles from the Lebanese towns above Avivim. Our davening was brief, as we wanted to minimize our time in the building due to safety concerns and the likelihood that Hezbollah terrorists saw us enter.
Following the service, it was decided by the higher command that it was too dangerous for us to go into the synagogue and that part of the town because of Hezbollah’s superior elevated position. Leaving behind the partially destroyed shul reminded me of the generations of Jews around the world who have had their synagogues ransacked and burned. This feeling stayed with me, haunting my thoughts during many sleepless nights over the past year.
In early March, my reserve unit was released after spending time in Malkiah, Kiryat Shemona, Avivim, and Dovev. We went home with mixed emotions. On one hand, our swift response on October 7th stopped Hezbollah from infiltrating northern Israel, but on the other hand, communities were abandoned, damaged, and resembled war zones. Tens of thousands of our brothers and sisters had lost their homes, communities, and lives, becoming refugees in their own country.
Then everything changed with the spectacular beeper explosion attacks followed by precision strikes against almost all of Hezbollah’s leadership with the grand finale when Israel eliminated Hassan Nasrallah, who for decades was the terror group’s leader and had become a symbol of terror against Israel in much of the Muslim world.
The wheels were put in motion and my unit as well as thousands of other reservists were called up before Rosh Hashana to change the terrible status quo which had taken hold over the past year. We attacked with great force and with the help of Hashem eliminated masses of terrorists and destroyed most of the terror infrastructure and weaponry that Hezbollah had been preparing for decades to use in the capture the Galilee and slaughter its residents.
We restored the honor of Israel and were no longer the ones scared trying to defend ourselves, they were. We had steamrolled the Hezbollah border strongholds which tens of thousands of Israelis in northern Israel had looked upon in fear for many years.
Last week, after our release, we gathered to discuss our experiences at a hotel in Tiberias. Coincidentally, we met residents of Avivim, Dovev, and Kiryat Shemona who had had to leave their homes and had been living as refugees for over a year.
Teenagers from Avivim asked us about the large Iranian Promenade in Maroun-El-Ras, which had been built by Iran as a sign of victory commemorating the 2006 war with Israel and was a replica of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. They had looked in fear every day at the structure knowing who and what it symbolized. We told them that the monument had been flattened and destroyed as well as the entire Maroun-El-Ras Hezbollah stronghold, at which they let out cheers of joy and excitement.
This sentiment holds true for many children in other border towns who grew up in fear of Hezbollah. Thousands of us were blessed to witness how the story that began on October 7th in a devastating surprise massacre came full circle. We had the merit to help restore the honor of Avivim’s broken synagogue, the dignity of those who lived in fear for so long, and the integrity of the State of Israel as a whole.
My only hope for our future and for the sake of those that fell or were injured defending northern Israel, is that the government and IDF will stand strong to ensure that the citizens of the north can return home to real safety and security that will last for generations to come.
Benjamin Sipzner served more than 260 days with the Alexandroni Brigade as a reservist combat soldier in Gaza and Lebanon, is an Oleh from New York and completed his service as a lone soldier in the IDF. He is a former Advisor to the Minister of Aliyah and other Knesset Members and has managed international activities for Israeli NGOs and Israeli election campaigns in English. He can be found on Linkedin and reached at [email protected].