Inside the ‘most bombed’ Israeli town that overlooks the invasion of Lebanon
They say Metula is the most bombed town in Israel. You needn’t be there for long to see why.
The Israeli military has kept the area closed for much of the war, telling journalists it’s been too dangerous to visit.
Metula is surrounded on three sides by the border with Lebanon and therefore Hezbollah, the enemy.
It has been constantly bombarded. Anti-tank missiles, suicide drones, Burkan rockets, and Iranian-built Grad missiles have all come its way.
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IDF soldiers take cover as missile warning alarms ring
The alarms went off a quarter of an hour after we arrived accompanied by the sound of missiles being intercepted overhead. The same happened repeatedly while we were there.
Our Israeli military escorts hit the ground as sirens went off while we walked the streets of the town. Metula is so close to Lebanon there can be only a few seconds warning, rarely enough to reach the shelters.
Seconds later the white streak of Israeli Iron Dome rockets over our heads and the sound of their collision with incoming missiles.
Israel’s Iron Dome in action. Pic: Reuters
But the sound of fighting just over the border that erupted after Israel’s invasion on the 1 October this year has subsided.
There is quiet where there was the rattle of small arms fire and attack helicopters.
Locals say Hezbollah has been pushed back from the border.
The missiles keep coming through though and the few Israelis who’ve remained in this deserted town welcome Israel’s incursion over the border, saying it should continue until Hezbollah is defeated.
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Israeli soldiers in a military vehicle in northern Israel. Pic: Reuters
‘I think we need to destroy Hezbollah’
Lior Bez’s family have lived in Metula for three generations.
Why live in Israel’s most bombed town I asked him. Because it’s beautiful he said, not with rockets but it was once and will be again.
How long should Israel stay inside Lebanon?
“Until it will be quiet. Until we will finish Hezbollah. I think we need to destroy Hezbollah to finish them, all their organisation and after that it will be peace and it can be done,” he said.
That is the sentiment of many.
Their government has led them to believe it is possible.
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Hezbollah is degraded but retains fighters and missiles
In reality, Hezbollah has been massively degraded but retains tens of thousands of fighters and even more missiles.
We were the first journalists invited to Metula since the war began, coming the closest to Lebanon’s border since Israel’s invasion. That may be a sign of Israel’s confidence about the progress it’s making over the border.
But Israel’s American allies are reported to have warned against overconfidence and overreach.
Achieving their war aims, returning Israelis to their homes in the north, will require a diplomatic solution says the Biden administration. From our view from the border that seems a long way off.
Israel has still not allowed journalists to report independently from inside Gaza unless they are invited as part of an embed with the IDF.
Around 14 million people could die across the world over the next five years because of cuts to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), researchers have warned.
Children under five are expected to make up around a third (4.5 million) of the mortalities, according to a study published in The Lancet medical journal.
Estimates showed that “unless the abrupt funding cuts announced and implemented in the first half of 2025 are reversed, a staggering number of avoidable deaths could occur by 2030”.
“Beyond causing millions of avoidable deaths – particularly among the most vulnerable – these cuts risk reversing decades of progress in health and socioeconomic development in LMICs [low and middle-income countries],” the report said.
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USAID programmes have prevented the deaths of more than 91 million people, around a third of them among children, the study suggests.
The agency’s work has been linked to a 65% fall in deaths from HIV/AIDS, or 25.5 million people.
Eight million deaths from malaria, more than half the total, around 11 million from diarrheal diseases and nearly five million from tuberculosis (TB), have also been prevented.
USAID has been vital in improving global health, “especially in LMICs, particularly African nations,” according to the report.
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Established in 1961, the agency was tasked with providing humanitarian assistance and helping economic growth in developing countries, especially those deemed strategic to Washington.
But the Trump administration has made little secret of its antipathy towards the agency, which became an early victim of cuts carried out by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – formerly led by Elon Musk – in what the US government said was part of a broader plan to remove wasteful spending.
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What is USAID?
In March, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said more than 80% of USAID schemes had been closed following a six-week review, leaving around 1,000 active.
The US is the world’s largest humanitarian aid donor, providing around $61bn (£44bn) in foreign assistance last year, according to government data, or at least 38% of the total, and USAID is the world’s leading donor for humanitarian and development aid, the report said.
Between 2017 and 2020, the agency responded to more than 240 natural disasters and crises worldwide – and in 2016 it sent food assistance to more than 53 million people across 47 countries.
The study assessed all-age and all-cause mortality rates in 133 countries and territories, including all those classified as low and middle-income, supported by USAID from 2001 to 2021.
Thailand’s prime minister has been suspended after a leaked phone call with a senior Cambodian politician caused outrage.
An ethics investigation into Paetongtarn Shinawatra is under way and she could end up being dismissed.
The country’s constitutional court took up a petition from 36 senators, who claimed dishonesty and a breach of ethical standards, and voted 7 to 2 to suspend her.
Protesters gathered in Bangkok at the weekend. Pic: Reuters
The prime minister’s call with Cambodia’s former leader, Hun Sen, sparked public protests after she tried to appease him and criticised a Thai army commander – a taboo move in a country where the military is extremely influential.
Ms Shinawatra was trying to defuse mounting tensions at the border – which in May resulted in the death of one Cambodian soldier.
Thousands of conservative, nationalist protesters held a demo in Bangkok on Saturday to urge her to step down.
Her party is clinging on to power after another group withdrew from their alliance a few weeks ago over the phone call. Calls for a no-confidence vote are likely.
Deputy prime minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit will take over temporarily while the court looks into the case.
The 38-year-old prime minister – Thailand‘s youngest ever leader – has 15 days to respond to the probe. She has apologised and said her approach in the call was a negotiating tactic.
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The popularity of her government has slumped recently, with an opinion poll showing an approval rating of 9.2%, down from 30.9% in March.
Ms Shinawatra comes from a wealthy dynasty synonymous with Thai politics.
Her father Thaksin Shinawatra – a former Manchester City owner – and aunt Yingluck Shinawatra served as prime minister before her – in the early to mid 2000s – and their time in office also ended ignominiously amid corruption charges and military coups.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be meeting Donald Trump next Monday, according to US officials.
The visit on 7 July comes after Mr Trump suggested it was possible a ceasefire in Gaza could be reached within a week.
On Sunday, he wrote on social media: “MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!”
At least 60 people killed across Gaza on Monday, in what turned out to be some of the heaviest attacks in weeks.
Benjamin Netanyahu, left, with Donald Trump during a previous meeting. Pic: Reuters
According to the Hamas-run health ministry, 56,500 people have been killed in the 20-month war.
The visit by Mr Netanyahu to Washington has not been formally announced and the officials who said it would be going ahead spoke on condition of anonymity.
An Israeli official in Washington also confirmed the meeting next Monday.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was in constant communication with the Israeli government.
She said Mr Trump viewed ending the war in Gaza and returning remaining hostages held by Hamas as a top priority.
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The war in Gaza broke out in retaliation for Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw a further 250 taken hostage.
An eight-week ceasefire was reached in the final days of Joe Biden’s US presidency, but Israel resumed the war in March after trying to get Hamas to accept new terms on next steps.
Talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled over whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire.
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