The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon - Hezbollah - launched on Friday at least 35 rockets at the Kiryat Shmona settlement in occupied Northern Palestine, igniting several hillside fires that are still ablaze, triggering a mass evacuation of the settlement, according to Israeli media. 

The head of the settlement, Avichai Stern, said that 20 rockets landed in the settlement, while the remaining 15 were intercepted by the Iron Dome. As a result, tens of houses, buildings, and vehicles were completely destroyed.

"Unfortunately, this has been the reality for the past even months with no plan to move forward or a timeframe to tell us how much longer we would have to suffer," he said. 

He further slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, noting that what he had stated regarding September 1 as not being a sacred date was very "frustrating and provocative".

"As of today", Stern added, "40% of Kiryat Shmona residents refuse to return if schools were not opened on the first of September." 

⚡️Hezb-Allah missiles burning the occupied town of Kiryat Shmona pic.twitter.com/fgDMrDPL0A

— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) May 10, 2024

Kiryat Shmona becomes largest abandoned settlement in occupied North

The Kiryat Shmona settlement in occupied North Palestine has become the largest settlement to be abandoned since October 7, 2023, a report by the Jerusalem Post showed. 

The settlement was described as a "ghost town" by the Israeli newspaper amid Hezbolla's continuous military operations targeting northern settlements in support of Gaza and in response to Israeli aggression against Lebanon. 

According to JP, emergency service workers have all evacuated the settlement, while traffic remains extremely light, prompting the municipality to stop operating traffic signals. Only one supermarket remains open, but it closes its doors at noon. Wolves and wild animals reportedly roam the settlement's roads at night.

The newspaper emphasized that the majority of settlers who fled Kiryat Shmona have decided not to return, noting that the longer the state of uncertainty regarding escalation with Lebanon persists, the more likely it is for them to permanently relocate.

It was revealed that due to daily rocket launches from Lebanon, the occupation government evacuated 43 settlements located within five kilometers of the Mediterranean Sea to the west, relocating settlers to the Golan Heights to the east, which allegedly led to the "establishment of a security zone inside Israel along the entire northern border."

Over 60,000 settlers abandoned the north and are currently staying in hotels, rentals, or with relatives or friends.