Residents of Israeli town on Lebanese border vow to stay put, despite missile fire

+ Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music The Best Music of 2025 All Songs Considered Tiny Desk Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Planet Money Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop The Best Music of 2025 All Songs Considered Tiny Desk Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Residents of Israeli city on Lebanese border vow to stay put, despite missile fire As missile fire is constant across the Lebanon-Israel border, residents in one northern Israeli city are defiant about not leaving again, as they did during the Gaza war. Middle East Residents of Israeli city on Lebanese border vow to stay put, despite missile fire March 11, 20264:13 AM ET Heard on Morning Edition Carrie Kahn Residents of Israeli city on Lebanese border vow to stay put, despite missile fire Listen &middot; 3:49 3:49 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5743650/nx-s1-9683086" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript As missile fire is constant across the Lebanon-Israel border, residents in one northern Israeli city are defiant about not leaving again, as they did during the Gaza war. Sponsor Message LEILA FADEL, HOST: The border between Israel and Lebanon is another front of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. Almost 700,000 Lebanese people have been displaced, mostly fleeing Israeli strikes against Hezbollah. The militants are backed by Iran and have been attacking Israel in retaliation for Israel's war on Iran. On the Israeli side of the border, daily Hezbollah rockets are keeping people on edge and defiant. NPR's Carrie Kahn was there.

+ CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE: It's a clear, windy day as 71-year-old Ahuva Lipman walks her quiet neighborhood in Kiryat Shmona. She's lived here for more than 50 years and says she has no plans to leave. AHUVA LIPMAN: No, I don't want to leave because I feel that my roots is here, and I like them and we have a... (SOUNDBITE OF MISSILE EXPLODING) LIPMAN: ...We have a great connection... KAHN: Oh, so what was that? LIPMAN: ...It's our. KAHN: Lipman doesn't even flinch as a huge boom rings out echoing off the green hills of this city of about 25,000, one of the largest in Israel's northern border. You heard that, right? LIPMAN: It's our. KAHN: It's ours, she says. So that's Israel firing into Lebanon. LIPMAN: If you hear boom and then zzzz (ph) (laughter), it's means it's ours. KAHN: OK. What's the other sound? When do I run? LIPMAN: Zzzz boom (laughter). KAHN: Unlike in other Israeli cities where residents have a few minutes between the air raid sirens and scrambling to a bomb shelter, up here next to Lebanon, the sirens and the missiles come together, she says. (SOUNDBITE OF AIR RAID SIRENS WAILING) UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Go, go, go, go. Run, run. KAHN: And just minutes later, we are all running into a shelter. (SOUNDBITE OF AIR RAID SIRENS WAILING) UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Go. LIPMAN: This is for you (laughter). UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Special for you. KAHN: Lipman and her husband sleep in the shelter on metal bunks, but she's not complaining or leaving. LIPMAN: I need to decide what to do. Not Hezbollah and not Iran will tell me where to live. KAHN: Where to live is only up to Israeli, she says. Her longtime neighbor, Michal Saadia, agrees. (SOUNDBITE OF CHILDREN PLAYING) KAHN: She's at her home around the corner filled with grandchildren, the fourth generation living here. (SOUNDBITE OF GRANDCHILD BEING KISSED) KAHN: One gets a big kiss as she serves us tea and small sandwiches. She made 80 for the soldiers stationed nearby. Her daughter, a reservist, just got called up. Her eldest son was killed in the Second Lebanon War more than 20 years ago. MICHAL SAADIA: (Speaking Hebrew). KAHN: "Our son is buried here," she says, "and we hold commemorations for him. We can't leave." She says the government needs to give tax breaks and other incentives so Israelis come to live here. The entire city evacuated during the Gaza War. They just returned last March, but nearly a third of residents never came back, according to city officials. Matan Amsalem knows that too well. He's the only small-shop owner open in the town's mall. He sells electronics and cellphone supplies. MATAN AMSALEM: (Speaking Hebrew). KAHN: "This isn't working. I'm only here for an hour a day," he says. He leaves to meet a customer in the parking lot, but comes right back. They didn't show. They called. They were too afraid to come out. (SOUNDBITE OF MISSILE EXPLODING) KAHN: Too much missile fire back and forth across the border. Carrie Kahn, NPR News, Kiryat Shmona. (SOUNDBITE OF PHONTAINE'S "FIN") Copyright &copy; 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor MessageBecome an NPR sponsor (function () { var loadPageJs = function () { (window.webpackJsonp=window.webpackJsonp||[]).push([[22],{1167:function(e,n,c){e.exports=c(323)},323:function(e,n,c){"use strict";c.p=NPR.serverVars.webpackPublicPath,Promise.all([c.e(1),c.e(2),c.e(3),c.e(4),c.e(84)]).then(function(e){c(3),c(1140),c(116),c(94),c(52),c(493),c(239),c(102),c(104),c(1141),c(143),c(1142),c(238),c(48),c(1143)}.bind(null,c)).catch(c.oe)}},[[1167,0]]]); }; if (document.readyState === 'complete') { loadPageJs(); } else { window.addEventListener('load', function load() { window.removeEventListener('load', load, false); loadPageJs(); }); } })();