Earlier today, President Isaac Herzog visited Kibbutz Manara and Kiryat Shemona in northern Israel. Both communities were heavily targeted by the Hezbollah terrorist organization during the war and sustained significant damage.
President Herzog previously visited Kibbutz Manara in December 2024, when he toured a kindergarten directly hit by a missile fired by Hezbollah. Today, President Herzog reinaugurated the kindergarten, a symbol of the kibbutz’s revival.
At the newly reopened kindergarten in Kibbutz Manara, President Herzog stated: “My wife Michal and I were here during the war, in the most difficult days, and there is nothing more moving and heartening than seeing our communities on the Lebanese border slowly returning to life and flourishing once again. Here in Manara, it’s wonderful to see this kindergarten reinaugurated and open with these amazing children, the future generation of the State of Israel."
In Kiryat Shemona, President Herzog met with the town’s mayor, Avichai Stern, for an in-depth discussion on efforts to rehabilitate the area, enable residents to return to their homes, and strengthen the local economy following the war. President Herzog also visited a local restaurant in Kiryat Shemona that was hit by a Hezbollah missile during the war and has since reopened for business.
During his visit to the town, President Herzog said: “We are deeply moved to be standing here today, because the painful memories are still fresh - the long nights in shelters, severe damage, an entire city that was evacuated and left with profound and painful concern for its future. Today, to see the city beginning to recover, to awaken, and to return to life is a moment of great hope."
President Herzog added: “I would like to see both the government and the professional echelon repeatedly coming here, present on the ground, working together to rehabilitate Kiryat Shemona and to place it in the best position it can and deserves to reach. There will be no true victory if this city does not triple in size. And that is true: real victory is not only on the battlefield, but here."