We heard from the Sayeret Haruv fighters about the intensive activity, the moving note from the family in Bari, and the longing for home - which they recently saw only across the border

There are not many things that connect Jenin and South Lebanon. While the refugee camp is crowded and known as a booby trap, the northern sector is characterized by open areas, from which there is also a threat of anti-tank missiles. But for the Haruv fighters, who managed to finish an 80-hour operation in the northern sector, and immediately return to operational activity in Judea and Samaria - the goal in both sectors is clear.

"Two weeks ago, we received an important mission in several villages in southern Lebanon. We found a lot of anti-tank weapons and weapons there," recalls Captain Yehonatan, from the Sayeret Haruv Fighters' Division. "To be honest, there wasn't a house we passed through, and we didn't find any weapons. This is the first time since its establishment that the unit has entered Lebanon, and we felt like we were making history."

And for him, it also has a personal meaning. He lives in Matat in the Upper Galilee, and has been evacuated from his home for over a year. He saw the agricultural land that he hadn't cultivated since the outbreak of the war, from Lebanon. "We operated right above my house, in an area where anti-tank guns would fire at us when I was a child," he shares. "To be across the border and see my community is to understand how close it is - a running distance. But it made everything even more meaningful for me."

And less than a day after completing that mission in Lebanon - Captain Jonathan and his ship were already deep inside Jenin, on another operation as part of the series of activities in northern Samaria. "Beyond the geographical differences, the move north from Judea and Samaria and back is mainly a matter of consciousness," explains the commander. "In Jenin, our battles are face-to-face, and the threats lurk around the corner, and in Lebanon, on the other hand, it's not one alley, but an entire mountain range."

"In addition," he emphasizes, "in Judea and Samaria we are very aware of the population and residents in the area, and in Lebanon, on the other hand, the civilians have evacuated the area, so the chance of harming uninvolved people is low to zero."

And despite everything they've been through in the past year, the most significant moment for Captain Jonathan was when he received a surprising phone call. "On Black Saturday we jumped into Bari. We stayed there until Tuesday and stayed in one of the houses," he shares, "We didn't know what happened to that family, and 8 months later they called me."

"They told me they went home to get some things, and saw the note we left for them. It was moving to hear them and realize that they were okay. They cried, and asked me at what point we didn't feed them anything from the refrigerator," the platoon leader half-laughs, "It's a moment that has stayed with me to this day, it gives me strength to continue and will probably accompany me for a long time to come."

After more than a year in which the unit's fighters 'travel' between Judea and Samaria, Gaza, and Lebanon, Captain Jonathan looks forward to returning and seeing the landscape of his childhood, also from the other side: "The closest I came home in the past year was in Lebanon, but that's why we're here, and we'll continue to be - wherever and whenever needed, so that the citizens of Israel can feel safe in their own home."