Gabi Na’aman, the Mayor of Shlomi, a border town in Israel’s north, on Sunday rejected talk of evacuating the area because of rocket fire by Hezbollah, after an Israeli television channel reported that authorities were considering evacuating civilians for a second time.
“There is absolutely no talk of another evacuation—it’s nothing but rumors at this point, and we are staunchly opposed to any evacuation. Our homes are our castles, and there is no need to leave, especially when the rest of the country is also under fire,” Na’aman told JNS.

David Azoulay, the mayor of nearby Metula, told JNS that he had not received official word of any plans to evacuate civilians from the area near the border with Lebanon, adding that the first he’d heard of it was a report by Israel’s Channel 12. The report said officials were considering an evacuation because many locals were leaving on their own.

The only organized movement outward from Shlomi, Na’aman said, will begin next week in the form of what Na’aman called “reprieves,” two to three days in a hotel for residents with families, thanks to philanthropic donations, mostly from the Jewish National Fund (JNF).