Tefen [Israel], May 28 (ANI): Sarit Zehavi, a former Israeli intelligence officer and founder of the Alma Research and Education Centre, on Thursday pointed towards a hill near the Israel-Lebanon border and recalled how Hezbollah militants used to launch rockets from there at Israeli communities and military positions.

Speaking to ANI, Zehavi said that Hezbollah uses its citizens as a human shield, while Israel's top priority is to protect its citizens.

'Don't just count the number of deaths. Hezbollah uses people as human shields, while Israel is very focused on how to protect its people. To live here for the past two and a half years has been a nightmare. We have seconds to get to bomb shelters, schools open and close constantly, and children are afraid to go into the streets. My daughter calculates where the bomb shelters are just to walk down the street. For a year and a half, these communities were empty. Israel told people they could return, but Hezbollah refused to disarm and opened war again under orders from Iran,' she said.

She said that Hezbollah fires at school buses and targets civilians.

'The main weapon Hezbollah is using these days is FPV drones. It is nearly impossible to intercept them with the Iron Dome and very difficult to locate them. They cause many casualties among soldiers and civilians. This disturbs daily life; we cannot send kids to school when there are hostile FPVs above our heads. Yesterday, a hit occurred at a school bus station. Luckily, the bus had been stopped by the local security team because they realised something was happening, so it was empty when it was hit. However, it is impossible to live a regular life here. We cannot gather more than 50 people, and we have only seconds to find shelter when the sirens sound. With FPVs, we don't always get an alert,' she told ANI.

Pointing towards the border area, Zehavi said Hezbollah had refused to accept ceasefire arrangements over the years.

'From on top of that hill, before the war in 2023, there was a Lebanese Armed Forces position. The training to kidnap someone happened on that hill next to the UN position. Below that hill is an Israeli community. Rockets were launched from that hill in my community--the one with the red roofs. If you look to the left, you can see Zar'it and Shlomi. All the communities you see on top of the hills were evacuated for a year and a half,' she said.

She further alleged that Hezbollah had initiated conflict with Israel multiple times over the past two decades.

'We have been under attack by Hezbollah for the past two and a half years. In fact, over the last 20 years, Hezbollah has initiated war against Israel three times. There was supposed to be a ceasefire, but Hezbollah refused to accept negotiations, refused to disarm, and does not accept the very existence of Israel. That is why both sides have intensified their attacks in recent days,' she said.

Zehavi also spoke about the impact of drone attacks on Israeli forces and civilians living near the border.

'In the past few days, a soldier has been killed here every day by these FPVs. On Friday, it was my cousin's son. He was fixing a tank on the Israeli side of the border when an FPV killed him. If we truly want to change the situation for the long term with as few casualties as possible, we need a joint effort: a military effort by Israel, a global effort against Hezbollah's finances, and international pressure on the Lebanese government to act. The Lebanese government promised 20 years ago under a UN resolution to disarm Hezbollah, but it never happened,' she told ANI.

On Iran, Zehavi said any future agreement should address Tehran's regional proxies in addition to its nuclear programme.

'Whether a deal helps depends on the terms. If a deal includes the proxies of Iran, it might help. If the deal only focuses on the nuclear issue, it will not solve anything. What we are witnessing today is the result of a radical ideology. As long as the Islamic Republic of Iran holds this radical ideology, I don't think we will see a true change. They will continue to threaten all countries in the region,' she said.

The comments come as US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the US will not tolerate any effort to impose a tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz.

https://x.com/SecScottBessent/status/2060007636280488164?s=20

'The United States Government will not tolerate any effort to impose a tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz. Oman, in particular, should know that the U.S. Treasury will aggressively target any actors involved - directly or indirectly - in facilitating tolls for the Strait and any willing partners will be penalised. All nations should reject outright any efforts by Iran to disrupt the free flow of commerce. Tehran's days of terrorising the region and the world are over.' (ANI)