The Last Man in Metula

Only an end to the government evacuation order will bring residents back to Metula, the sole remaining resident of the town told The Media Line

For over a year, the entrance to Metula, Israel’s northernmost town, has been sealed behind cement barriers and blocked by a yellow fence. A cluster of Israeli soldiers turns away cars approaching the town through the quiet hills of the Hula Valley. But when 75-year-old Arie Almog arrives, something changes. With a nod and a wave, Almog rolls up to the fence, his presence commanding quiet authority. The soldiers step aside to let him in. Almog isn’t just a familiar face; he’s the only one who stayed.

For the past 14 months, as roughly 500 residents and another 1,500 students and workers left Metula at the government’s request, Almog has held his ground. He and his partner live alone on the border with Lebanon, in a town where many homes have no protection.

My ideology did not allow me to leave. I don’t think it was right to displace people. It was bad decision-making. I’m not leaving my house, no matter what happens here.

“My ideology did not allow me to leave,” Almog told The Media Line. “I don’t think it was right to displace people. It was bad decision-making. I’m not leaving my house, no matter what happens here.”

In total, some 60,000 Israelis were displaced from their homes in the north—first, those from Metula, Manara, Misgav Am, and other communities directly on the border, followed by people from towns slightly deeper inside northern Israel, such as Kiryat Shmona.

Almog’s home, a clean and white structure with flowerpots at the entrance, stands out as a “sign of life,” as he puts it, amid the destruction that has engulfed his community since October 8, 2023. Inside, the house remains pristine.

The day after Hamas launched its devastating attack on southern Israel, killing 1,200 Israelis and setting off a bitter war, Hezbollah began attacking Israel in solidarity with Hamas. The group fired rockets, drones, and antitank missiles into Israel, marking the start of a relentless barrage—some 8,000 attacks in the year since October 2023. More than 2,500 acres of land were scorched by Hezbollah’s rockets. Hundreds of homes in Metula and across the region sustained direct hits or shrapnel damage, and 45 civilians were killed. The toll on the military was also heavy, with more than 75 Israeli soldiers losing their lives in cross-border attacks and in the Israeli ground operation in southern Lebanon.

On September 23 of this year, Israel launched a series of airstrikes on Lebanon called Operation Northern Arrows. The operation targeted Hezbollah’s weapons caches and killed most of the group’s leadership, including Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. A 60-day cease-fire agreement was signed on November 27, and it appears to be holding for now.

However, two weeks after the cease-fire was signed, the residents of Metula have not yet returned to their homes.

“People are coming back to visit, tidying up their homes, but no one has actually returned,” Almog said.

During the war, Almog stepped up to help his displaced neighbors, especially the elderly, with minor repairs to their houses. He emptied refrigerators of perishable food, unplugging them to prevent potential disasters. But now, so many months later, many houses are overrun with mold and rats, Almog said. Homes aren’t meant to sit unused for this long.

Some damage to houses in Metula were caused by Hezbollah rockets, but much of it was a result of the Israeli military presence. For months, the military has used the town as a makeshift army base.

If people had stayed, I don’t believe Hezbollah would have targeted Metula so heavily. I don’t think Nasrallah would have had the courage to fire so much at towns with residents.

Almog lamented the choice of his fellow residents to flee. “If people had stayed, I don’t believe Hezbollah would have targeted Metula so heavily. I don’t think Nasrallah would have had the courage to fire so much at towns with residents,” he said.

If residents had stayed in Metula, the Israeli military would probably have entered Lebanon earlier and not allowed the crisis to drag on, Almog said. “The entire north wouldn’t have been displaced, and the damage caused by the tanks wouldn’t need to be rehabilitated now,” he said.

Almog said that residents will likely stay away until the government calls them back and stops funding their displacement.

He recounted a recent conversation with a neighbor who said he wouldn’t return because his children are attending a new school, and his wife is still scared. “People don’t know what will happen next. As long as they have the option to delay coming back, they’ll take it,” Almog said.

This is not the first time Hezbollah has fired rockets into northern Israel. During the 2006 Lebanon War, Hezbollah launched over 4,000 cluster munitions into civilian areas, killing one person and wounding dozens. Back then, most residents of northern Israel chose to stay put.

Almog said that the overwhelming panic and fear experienced during this war made a difference.

He recalled being at home on October 7, 2023, when the attack on southern Israel began. Watching the news, he struggled to comprehend the scale of devastation unfolding across the country. The Israeli military warned that northern Israel could be dragged into the conflict, possibly facing attacks as severe as those on the border with Gaza. Security forces, stretched thin by the crisis in the south, were desperate to protect northern residents.

Moreover, during nearly 18 years of quiet along the northern border, the country had not adequately invested in shelters to shield civilians from heavy rocket fire. As a member of the local civilian security team told The Media Line during a visit to Kiryat Shmona, the death toll on the Lebanon border would likely have been much higher if residents hadn’t evacuated.

When the evacuation order came last fall, Almog rode his bike through the town to gauge the mood. That ride solidified his decision to stay.

He said he never felt afraid over the past year, despite his children and grandchildren begging him to relocate.

In general, it wasn’t even a difficult year. It was a weird year. It sounds absurd, but this past year is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.

“In general, it wasn’t even a difficult year,” Almog reflects. “It was a weird year. It sounds absurd, but this past year is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.”

Those who were staying in town to attend nearby Tel-Hai Academic College will likely not return anytime soon, Almog said. But he expressed hope that long-time residents—farmers whose families have lived in the area for generations—will come back. After all, Metula has a deep history, dating back to its founding in 1896.

“I am very optimistic,” Almog said, flashing a broad smile. “I always see the cup half full.”

Despite the hope, Almog wrestles with the question of how northern Israel ended up in this position. But it’s clear to him what needs to be done now. “Put the fear aside,” he said. “Now is the time to rehabilitate. Come back. Let’s rebuild together.”