Reporting on the battle with Hezbollah in Metula, Israel

Reporting on the battle with Hezbollah in Metula, Israel

This week, 60 Minutes reported from Israel, where multiple conflict fronts have emerged, with attacks from Iran, and Hezbollah in Lebanon, since the start of the war in Gaza.

Much of the world's attention has been focused on the ongoing crisis in Gaza. Since the war began, over 34,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the U.N. 

Palestinian refugees who had been sheltering in Rafah are now being told to move, again, by the Israel Defense Force as it prepares for a full-scale invasion. 

In the north of Israel, near the country's border with Lebanon, the battle between Iranian-backed militia group Hezbollah and the IDF has also intensified over the last seven months.

Correspondent Lesley Stahl and a 60 Minutes team traveled to the border town of Metula, which has been abandoned by most of its residents as Hezbollah militants have increasingly volleyed missiles and drones over the border, killing civilians and soldiers, and destroying homes.

Stahl met Liat Cohen-Raviv, one of only a handful of Metula residents who have stayed behind. These remaining residents spend most of their days living in a bunker complex.

Cohen-Raviv took the team to an underground war room where locals, including the town's mayor, council head of Metula David Azulay, monitor incoming attacks from the hillsides of Lebanon. 

Stahl asked Azulay how long it takes for a missile to come in from across the border. 

"Eight to 20 seconds," Azulay said. 

During their visit to the war rom complex, the team was asked to move into another room; a suicide drone had been spotted and the Israeli military had deployed planes to shoot it down.

But the drone was not intercepted. It struck a military position and killed two Israel Defense Force reserve soldiers. 

Cohen-Raviv told Stahl that she was both "sad and happy" that 60 Minutes was there to witness the event. 

"We were born and raised here. We know it's a hostile border. We know that behind the fence there are no unicorns. There are people who want to destroy us," Cohen-Raviv told Stahl in the bunker's passageway. "But still…this has been a crazy hour."

"And I think this is very much how it is for the last seven months. And I don't think enough people are getting how serious this is," Cohen-Raviv added.

Eventually, the team learned that an Israeli helicopter was on its way to rescue soldiers and there would be a pause in the fighting.

As the 60 Minutes team prepared to evacuate, they were told to leave in separate vehicles and drive as fast as they could. They were also told to drive far apart from one another because Hezbollah often targets vehicle convoys. 

As the team drove away, the fighting picked back up again, and explosions could be heard in the distance.

The video above was produced by Will Croxton. It was edited by Sarah Shafer Prediger. 

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