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Israelis sit next to a public bomb shelter to stay safe from rockets fired from Lebanon, in Haifa, northern Israel, on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

Residents of northern Israel's largest city face Hezbollah fire and brace for the worst

The sandy beaches of Haifa are empty

By MOSHE EDRI and TIA GOLDENBERG
Published - Sep 25, 2024, 12:44 PM ET
Last Updated - Dec 16, 2024, 06:55 PM EST

HAIFA, Israel (AP) — The sandy beaches of Haifa, Israel’s third-largest city, are empty. Businesses are shutting early, and many restaurants are closed. The only places filling up, as the threat of a wider war with Hezbollah mounts, are public bomb shelters.

Haifa, a seaside city of nearly 300,000 people, is the cultural and economic capital of northern Israel. It has increasingly come into Hezbollah 's sights since fighting with Israel escalated this week and residents are bracing for what many fear will be the worst round of violence since a war nearly two decades ago pounded the city with rockets.

“Everything is lousy. The air raid sirens don’t stop,” said David Maman, a Haifa resident who was out taking a breather from a bomb shelter.

Israel and Hezbollah are locked in their most intense round of fighting since the monthlong 2006 war, which ended in a draw. The Iran-backed Lebanese militant group began firing at Israel a day after Hamas attacked it on Oct. 7, and there have been fears ever since that the sides could end up in all-out war.

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