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Evacuees From Israel’s Northern Border Warn US: ‘We Won’t Allow Another Oct. 7 to Happen Here’
Israeli soldiers stand by, as a mobile artillery unit fires on the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border, Dec. 2, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Gil Eliyahu
Evacuated residents from northern Israel on Monday issued a harsh call to the Biden administration to prevent Hezbollah from carrying out a massacre similar to the Hamas attack on Israel’s south on Oct. 7, saying that the Iran-backed terror group in Lebanon must be forced to retreat further away from the border.
In a letter to US President Joe Biden and senior administration officials, Lobby 1701, a civilian organization representing the residents of northern Israel, called on the US to give “its full support to the government of Israel to act with the necessary force” to safeguard the north.
Of more than 230,000 evacuated citizens, more than 60,000 are residents residing within five kilometers of the northern border, now effectively a front line.
Lobby 1701, established in the wake of the Hamas atrocities on Oct. 7, gets its name from United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, adopted in 2006 during the Second Lebanon War. It called for the disarmament of Hezbollah and the deployment of Lebanese and UN peacekeeping forces, UNIFIL, in southern Lebanon.
Monday’s letter slammed the ineffectiveness of both the resolution and UNIFIL in preventing an assault on Israel’s north, which has seen intense fighting since Oct. 7.
“We speak in the name of the 60,000 residents of northern Israel who were evacuated from their homes and turned into refugees in their own land. For more than 70 days, we have been ‘living in exile’ due to Hezbollah firing daily at our homes, and the inability of Lebanon to properly implement UNSCR 1701,” the letter stated.
It called on the US and “the international community to prevent the next massacre.”
Nisan Zeevi, co-founder of Lobby 1701, expressed frustration over the collapse of the Security Council resolution’s stated aim and called for a terror-free buffer zone. “The failure of UNSCR 1701 has left us with no choice but to demand genuine security through a Hezbollah-free buffer zone. We refuse to return to our homes without concrete assurances of safety. We demand a change of the present reality: From a buffer zone within Israel to a buffer zone within Lebanon,” Zeevi said.
“The time for diplomatic resolutions has passed. Oct. 7 showed the whole world what these jihadi organizations are capable of, and our safety demands a clear and resolute stance against terrorism,” he said.
According to a report by the Axios news site last week, Israel told the US that a diplomatic agreement designed to reduce tensions with Lebanon must include the withdrawal of Iran-backed Hezbollah forces to a distance of 6 miles from the border.
The Wall Street Journal on Saturday reported that Israel had intended to carry out a preemptive strike against Hezbollah on Oct. 11, but that the action was averted at the last moment after Biden intervened. Netanyahu’s office later denied the report.
Zeevi told The Algemeiner that the ultimate decision regarding Israel’s security should be made by Israel alone. While acknowledging Biden as “a great partner and ally of Israel,” he went on to say the US president “can’t be the one to decide how to take care of the security of tens of thousands of families living here on the border.”
The Biden administration cannot “decide the future of me and my family,” he said.
“This is only our decision; this is not the US’s decision,” Zeevi added.
Despite being within a few miles of the border, some of Israel’s northern residents are not in the official evacuation zone and have self-evacuated. They are forced to either manage the expenses of dual residences or stay with family elsewhere in the country.
Kibbutz leaders from Manara, a northern community, reported on Sunday that since the onset of Hezbollah-led attacks in October, 86 out of 155 houses in their area have suffered damage due to rocket strikes as well as anti-tank missiles launched by terrorist groups operating out of Lebanon.
A Hezbollah-affiliated correspondent for the Al Mayadeen network, Ali Mortada, this week released a taunting video in which he mockingly greeted his Israeli audience and commented on the damaged state of Manara, which he filmed from a distance. “Hello my enemies; I hope you are having a bad day,” he said. Mortada chuckled over the destroyed kibbutz and ended with a warning: “Manara is a ghost city. Don’t go back. Don’t ever go back.”
Hello my enemies pic.twitter.com/xUPyg2HASF
— Ali Mortada || علي مرتضى (@aliimortada) December 24, 2023
The post Evacuees From Israel’s Northern Border Warn US: ‘We Won’t Allow Another Oct. 7 to Happen Here’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Rubio Heads to Israel Amid Tensions Among US Middle East Allies
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to members of the media, before departing for Israel at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, September 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Nathan Howard/Pool
US President Donald Trump’s top diplomat, Marco Rubio headed to Israel on Saturday, amid tensions with fellow US allies in the Middle East over Israel’s strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar and expansion of settlements in the West Bank.
Speaking to reporters before departure, Rubio reiterated that the US and President Donald Trump were not happy about the strikes.
Rubio said the US relationship with Israel would not be affected, but that he would discuss with the Israelis how the strike would affect Trump’s desire to secure the return of all the hostages held by Hamas, get rid of the terrorists and end the Gaza war.
“What’s happened, has happened,” he said. “We’re gonna meet with them. We’re gonna talk about what the future holds,” he said.
“There are still 48 hostages that deserve to be released immediately, all at once. And there is still the hard work ahead once this ends, of rebuilding Gaza in a way that provides people the quality of life that they all want.”
Rubio said it had yet to be determined who would do that, who would pay for it and who would be in charge of the process.
After Israel, Rubio is due to join Trump’s planned visit to Britain next week.
Hamas still holds 48 hostages, and Qatar has been one of the mediators, along with the US, trying to secure a ceasefire deal that would include the captives’ release.
On Tuesday, Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an airstrike on Doha. US officials described it as a unilateral escalation that did not serve American or Israeli interests.
The strike on the territory of a close US ally sparked broad condemnation from other Arab states and derailed ceasefire and hostage talks brokered by Qatar.
On Friday, Rubio met with Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani at the White House, underscoring competing interests in the region that Rubio will seek to balance on his trip. Later that day, US President Donald Trump held dinner with the prime minister in New York.
Rubio’s trip comes ahead of high-level meetings at the United Nations in New York later this month. Countries including France and Britain are expected to recognize Palestinian statehood, a move opposed by Israel.
Washington says such recognition would bolster Hamas and Rubio has suggested the move could spur the annexation of the West Bank sought by hardline members of the Israeli government.
ON Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed an agreement to push ahead with a settlement expansion plan that would cut across West Bank land that the Palestinians seek for a state. Last week, the United Arab Emirates warned that this would cross a red line and undermine the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords that normalized UAE-Israel relations in 2020.
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Netanyahu Posts Message Appearing to Confirm Hamas Leaders Survived Doha Strike
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – In a statement posted to social media on Saturday evening, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the Qatar-based leadership of Hamas, reiterating that the jihadist group had to regard for the lives of Gazans and represented an obstacle to ending the war and releasing the Israelis it held hostage.
The wording of Netanyahu’s message appeared to confirm that the strike targeting the Hamas leaders in Doha was not crowned with success.
“The Hamas terrorists chiefs living in Qatar don’t care about the people in Gaza,” wrote Netanyahu. “They blocked all ceasefire attempts in order to endlessly drag out the war.” He added that “Getting rid of them would rid the main obstacle to releasing all our hostages and ending the war.”
Israel is yet to officially comment on the result of the strike, which has incurred widespread international criticism.
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Trump Hosts Qatari Prime Minister After Israeli Attack in Doha
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
US President Donald Trump held dinner with the Qatari prime minister in New York on Friday, days after US ally Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an attack in Qatar on Tuesday, a strike that risked derailing US-backed efforts to broker a truce in Gaza and end the nearly two-year-old conflict. The attack was widely condemned in the Middle East and beyond as an act that could escalate tensions in a region already on edge.
Trump expressed annoyance about the strike in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sought to assure the Qataris that such attacks would not happen again.
Trump and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani were joined by a top Trump adviser, US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
“Great dinner with POTUS. Just ended,” Qatar’s deputy chief of mission, Hamah Al-Muftah, said on X.
The White House confirmed the dinner had taken place but offered no details.
The session followed an hour-long meeting that al-Thani had at the White House on Friday with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
A source briefed on the meeting said they discussed Qatar’s future as a mediator in the region and defense cooperation in the wake of the Israeli strikes against Hamas in Doha.
Trump said he was unhappy with Israel’s strike, which he described as a unilateral action that did not advance US or Israeli interests.
Washington counts Qatar as a strong Gulf ally. Qatar has been a main mediator in long-running negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and for a post-conflict plan for the territory.
Al-Thani blamed Israel on Tuesday for trying to sabotage chances for peace but said Qatar would not be deterred from its role as mediator.