Life on the Border: The Delicate Sound of Hammers and Distant Artillery - ZoomCast
Even as new homes take shape near Gaza, another front ignites in the north - and every family feels the pull of both - and the weight of the search for dead captives.
This week on Life on the Border, Adele joins from Kibbutz Nirim near Gaza, where new residents’ facilities are rising even as old wounds remain open.
We talk about rebuilding after devastation, the painful search for hostages’ remains in Gaza, and the cost of a war that touches every Israeli family — including wives and young children of my son, stepson, and son-in-law. All three serve in reserve duty on separate, distant borders. Meanwhile, Israel intensifies its strikes on Hezbollah assets in Lebanon, with nine targeted killings in just two days.
Monday morning update from the north:
“A senior Northern Command official admits that the IDF is preparing for several days of combat in the north as part of an effort to stop Hezbollah's reconstruction process, which is violating the ceasefire.
"‘Hezbollah is trying to rebuild and recover, Iran is also working hard to rebuild and recover Hezbollah sooner than expected, the dust has settled in the war, the shock from the Northern Arrow’ op has passed, Hezbollah is back to work, and this is unacceptable to us. We will act forcefully, whatever the cost. Certainly at the cost of days of combat in the north.’"
If you’ve been following my Lens & Land reflections, you know that these images and essays grow out of the same soil and light we live in here in the Galilee — stories gathered between seasons, between news cycles, between one breath and the next.
If this piece moved you, or if you’d like to help me keep documenting life, land, and light here in northern Israel, you can support the work directly through PayPal👉 paypal.me/davebender
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Thank you for walking this land with me, one ZoomCast at a time.


"That Was the Week That Was"! One of my favorite shows!!!! Yay, Adele!!!🎉🎉🎉 Lotta talent on that show who went on to become stars.