Shtula

Shtula sits at approximately 680 meters above sea level on hills in the Western Galilee and is one of Israel's northernmost communities.[1] Some homes stand as close as 50 meters from the border fence with Lebanon, and residents recalled that in earlier decades the frontier was open enough for people to walk to Lebanese villages to buy food.[5] The moshav is one of 22 communities within the Ma'ale Yosef Regional Council.[2]

The settlement's location has shaped both its scenery and its security conditions. Forests and Galilee landscapes surround the community, while homes and farms lie within direct sight of the Lebanese frontier.[1]

Shtula was established in 1969, with an original population composed mainly of immigrants from Kurdistan who had arrived in Israel in the early 1950s from northern Iraq and Iran.[1] Resident Ora Hatan recounted her family's route through the Sha'ar Aliyah absorption center, transit camps, and Moshav Elkosh before joining other families in Shtula.[1] Ynet characterized the settlement's establishment as part of an effort to "Judaize the Galilee."[1]

Longtime resident Haim Eliyahu recalled that his father had immigrated from Iraq's Kurdistan region in the 1950s, that the family first lived in El-Kosh in the northern Galilee, and that they relocated to the hills on the northern border in 1969.[5] According to his recollection, residents on both sides once visited one another's villages and played soccer together. He said that cross-border contact resumed after Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon and continued until 2000, when Hezbollah consolidated control of the hills across the border.[5]

The Jabal Balat outpost, situated above nearby Zar'it and known to veterans of the Lebanon War as "Karkum Outpost," is intended to protect the area around Shtula and Zar'it.[6] The July 12, 2006 Hezbollah attack in which Israeli reservists Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were killed and their bodies seized occurred about a ten-minute drive from Shtula. Three other soldiers were killed in the attack and five more died in a subsequent failed rescue attempt; the incident triggered the Second Lebanon War.[2]

Before the 2023 war, Shtula had approximately 300 residents.[2] Reporting describes a community of religious, traditional, and secular people. One resident recalled that younger arrivals with dogs and tattoos were welcomed by the founding generation, and residents of different backgrounds have used the village's single synagogue since the moshav was founded.[7]

The community's Kurdish heritage remains visible in family histories, cuisine, and local hospitality businesses. Residents have preserved food traditions brought by families from northern Iraq and Iran, including Kurdish meals served to visitors in private homes and restaurants.[1][8]

Livelihoods in Shtula have historically included orchards, chicken coops, goat farming and cheese production, restaurants, and tourism businesses.[2][9] Ora and Sarah Hatan were pioneers of the local tourism trade, establishing a restaurant and guest rooms. Ora Hatan said they received the Prime Minister's Award for Entrepreneurship from Yitzhak Rabin.[1]

Resident Shula Giladi opened her home to groups in 2013, combining Kurdish meals with personal storytelling and singing. After the October 2023 evacuation interrupted her guest-hosting business, she began preparing Shabbat food for pickup from a temporary location.[8] The moshav was built around communal principles, although Ora Hatan said internal disagreements eventually divided it into two associations whose tensions continued into later generations.[1]

In 2018, a dozen artists from around the world painted a 200-meter stretch of the Lebanon security fence near Shtula.[10] The project was organized by the Ma'ale Yosef Regional Council, the Shtula Community Center, and Artists4Israel, with participants traveling from France, South Africa, Japan, and the United States. The painted section was not part of a newly constructed portion of the fence.[10]

During the 2024 evacuation, Shtula's local emergency-response squad and graffiti artist Hannah Gila Wolfson painted concrete walls at the moshav entrance. They adapted agricultural motifs from the "Speaking Walls" installation on the border wall, creating a new display intended to reflect the community's heritage and history.[4]

Shtula's proximity to Lebanon made security a persistent concern before the 2023 war. Hezbollah watchtowers stood along the border for years and were visible from homes in the moshav.[7] Residents reported hearing unusual sounds in 2014 that they associated with possible tunnel digging. One resident said military personnel inspected the area but that residents never received definitive answers.[7] An offensive tunnel crossing into Israeli territory was later discovered near the moshav.[1]

Moshav committee chairman Yaniv Turgeman described Hezbollah operatives and observation positions appearing along the border before the war.[9] Ynet also reported that Shtula had experienced repeated shooting incidents and Hezbollah attacks over the years.[1]

Shtula residents began leaving on October 7, 2023. Moshav committee chairman Yaniv Turgeman said most departed about half an hour after the scale of the Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel became clear, while resident Natali Galil said the community evacuated together to Nof HaGalil that day.[9][11] A separate account dated the broader evacuation of 32 northern communities from October 8.[12] Seven farmers, including Turgeman, stayed behind to tend their farms, while most other residents lived in a hotel in Nof HaGalil; some older residents had initially been reluctant to leave.[9]

On October 15, 2023, an anti-tank missile struck a house in Shtula. A construction worker from Abu Snan was killed and other workers were wounded; the injured were evacuated to the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya.[13][14] Israeli forces responded with artillery fire against the source of the missile. Hezbollah claimed it had fired at an Israeli military position in the Shtula area, citing the killing of journalist Issam Abdallah and an attack on a house in the Shebaa Farms as its stated justifications.[14]

Attacks on or near Shtula continued through the following months. On the night of October 18, 2023, an anti-tank missile struck an Israeli force in the area at approximately 3 a.m., wounding four soldiers; Israeli forces responded with artillery fire.[15] On November 7, the Israel Defense Forces said it thwarted another anti-tank missile attack and that an Israeli tank struck the Hezbollah cell responsible.[16] Mortar shells fired toward the Shtula area on the night of December 3 wounded three Israeli soldiers.[17] On December 22, Sgt. Amit Hod Ziv, 19, of Rosh Ha'ayin, serving in the 71st Battalion of the 188th Armored Brigade, was killed by artillery fire from Lebanon in the Shtula region.[18]

Sirens sounded in Shtula on June 13, 2024, during a broader wave of attacks on northern Israel.[3] A 2026 report described approximately 64% of Shtula's buildings as having been destroyed by bombardment.[2] A September 2024 report said dozens of homes had been hit, including 15 structures struck directly by anti-tank fire.[4] A van had its engine blown out by anti-tank fire, and a building under construction was damaged.[5] Hezbollah fire also damaged residents' homes, while one resident reported that her home was struck by shrapnel.[12]

Volunteer networks helped keep farms functioning during the evacuation. Chickens in communities including Shtula survived without their owners, while volunteers continued feeding and milking cows.[5] After about a year in the hotel, families began moving into rental housing to regain greater control over everyday routines.[11]

On October 16, 2023, Israel's National Emergency Management Authority announced a state-subsidized evacuation plan for communities within two kilometers of the Lebanon border. The plan covered at least 28 communities and more than 28,000 residents, with Shtula among the places whose residents had already left before it was activated. Initial relocation was to guest houses near Eilat and the Dead Sea.[19] Turgeman said most of Shtula was designated a "red area" in which civilians were barred because of the direct anti-tank missile threat.[9]

A phased return was authorized following a November 2024 ceasefire, with families beginning to come back in early 2025.[2] In June 2025, Natali Galil said fewer than 30% of Shtula's residents had returned, attributing the low rate to damage to homes and infrastructure.[11] By September 2025, the reported return rate was around 52%, with continued hesitation attributed to Hezbollah's presence near the border and fears of renewed attacks.[20] A 2026 report said roughly 60% of the approximately 300 prewar residents had returned and quoted the community manager as counting 197 people living in the moshav.[2]

The 2026 report said approximately 80% of the affected buildings had been repaired during the preceding year, although work on the playground, basketball court, and playing fields remained underway.[2] It also described a government campaign promoting housing in 28 frontline communities, including Shtula, as part of an NIS 18 billion allocation for communities within nine kilometers of Lebanon. Fifteen prefabricated homes with specially constructed protected rooms were planned for rental, with 15 families scheduled to move in by December 2026; rental prices had not yet been announced.[2] The report further said a kindergarten was scheduled to open in September 2026 with eight children, but it did not confirm that the opening occurred.[2]

Turgeman said some residents would not return without stronger security guarantees or until Hezbollah was pushed beyond the Litani River in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1701. This was his stated position rather than an agreed condition governing the community's return.[9]