86 of the 155 homes on Kibbutz Manara have been completely destroyed, TBN News reported, “leaving them uninhabitable.”
By Rachel Avraham
Yair Pinto on his program “My State” at TBN News recently broadcast a special segment from Kibbutz Manara in Northern Israel, one of the communities hit hardest by Hezbollah rocket attacks during the war, where they documented how Hezbollah “destroyed homes,” stressing “community buildings were left in ruins and nearly 90% of the kibbutz was damaged. For their safety, residents were evacuated, leaving behind a silent empty community that was once filled with life.”
TBN News noted that since the cease-fire went into effect with Hezbollah, residents have been able to return to the kibbutz in order to assess their future, where the extensive damage discovered makes one ponder, “Can Manara ever go back to being the peaceful pastoral home that it once was?” They continued, “The story here is unique in the sense that its private homes were systematically targeted over an entire year.”
Noam, who leads the Kibbutz Manara security team, said on the program that on the morning of October 8, it became clear that the residents could not remain and he told everyone to place a plastic bag outside their home in order to show the security team that they evacuated: “I told them to take a suitcase with clothes for two weeks and that’s it. One, two weeks and you will return back home. Now, it is 14 months and they are not back yet. Now, people are coming back to the kibbutz not to live but to see in what kind of situation it is in.”
Kibbutz Manara was established in 1943 by “pioneers committed to building a Jewish presence in the rugged hills of Northern Israel. Its strategic location has made it a key asset for the Israel Defense Forces. Over the years, Manara has served as a critical outpost for monitoring and defending Israel’s Northern frontier especially when it is in conflict with Lebanon. Its high vantage point has been used for surveillance and military operations, making it both a thriving community and a crucial part of Israel’s security infrastructure.”
As Pinto noted, “Before the war, Kibbutz Manara was home to a vibrant community of 600 residents, a vibrant and close-nit community built on shared values of hard work and a deep connection to the stunning landscape. Life for them revolved around agriculture, tourism and communal living with families in modest but well-kept homes. Children played freely in the open spaces and neighbors who were more like extended family came together for meals in the communal dining hall. Kibbutz Manara was a peaceful and breathtaking place until Hezbollah unleashed its fury, transforming the idealistic kibbutz into a war zone.”
TBN News brought viewers inside of a house, which was burnt completely on the inside. A local resident explained, “The Hezbollah terrorists sat over there and sent missiles at us all the time. Systematically, for over a year, they sat there and destroyed houses. This is not a military area. This is a civilian community and they systematically destroyed the houses of the community over a year, so that there would be nothing to come back to. Nobody is coming back to this house. This house needs to be bulldozed down and rebuilt.” The resident picked up a piece of glass from the rubble of what was once a home and said, “This is glass. The fire burnt in this place so heavy that the glass melted.”
86 of the 155 homes on the Kibbutz have been completely destroyed, TBN News reported, “leaving them uninhabitable. The communal dining hall, once the heart of the community, was reduced to rubble. The nursery school, where children once laughed and learned, was severely damaged. Manara’s agricultural fields, the backbone of its economy, was scattered by rocket fire, with its equipment destroyed and its crops left unattended. Families were forced to flee for their safety, leaving behind their homes, livelihoods and a way of life that had thrived for generations.”
TBN News noted that Hezbollah hit every home in the kibbutz that was visible to them from Lebanon and they only left be the houses that were not visible to them from where they were situated: “All of the damage here is from direct missiles. Let us establish what happened here. Hezbollah terrorists sit in a village and for months all they do is target civilian homes in Israel, again and again and again. Manara is built from cement. So, what they did is that they tried to send all the missiles to the windows to get the maximum damage in the house. One can see here that from the inside the homes burnt so badly that it caused the materials to start separating.”
TBN News showed viewers a car in Manara, whose materials “melt on the inside” after it was targeted by a Hezbollah rocket: “Over here is the destroyed car of someone who lived in the kibbutz and over there is his home, which burned. I can just imagine what it does to your soul to come back to this kind of situation.” A resident confirmed, “Yeah, it’s terrible.” A reporter then asked a resident of Manara, “So what are you going to do if most of the community is destroyed? Are you going to bulldoze and then rebuild?” The resident proclaimed, “Yeah, that is what is going to be.”
Pinto noted that since the cease-fire, Manara has “began a slow emotional journey towards recovery. Some residents have returned, but their journey is mixed with the heartbreak as they faced the widespread destruction. Rebuilding efforts are on the way, with a focus on repairing homes, restoring community spaces and reviving agricultural activities but the process is slow and uncertain. While there is hope and determination to rebuild, many residents grapple with fear about the future and whether Manara can truly return to being the vibrant, peaceful community that it once was.”
