At Israel's Northern Border, Life And Livelihoods Upended By Months Of Rocket Fire

KIRYAT SHMONA, ISRAEL - MARCH 31: Gilad Aharonson, co-founder and CEO of Super Natural Snacks, looks at the home of a friend that was hit by sharpnel during a Hezbollah rocket attack four days earlier on March 31, 2024 in Kiryat Shmona, Israel. Aharonson and co-founder Zemer Sat have created a patented way to press vegetables and legumes into crisps, retaining a healthier, protein-filled snack which launched in Israel last year. Following a successful pilot program, the founders expanded into a larger factory in the area, which sits just below a Lebanese village from where Hezbollah has fired rockets. For the first two months after the October 7 Hamas attack, manufacturing in the factory stopped, causing future plans to expand into the U.S. market to stall. More recently, due to a spike in Hezbollah rockets and anti-tank missiles fired, the factory has remained empty due to a shortage of employees who were evacuated. Aharonson, who has remained nearby at Kibbutz Sde Nehamia, is also part of the multiple emergency response team and takes shifts guarding the Kibbutz. As part of the team, Aharonson is expected to arrive when needed if called which requires him to constantly be in his uniform, even when working in the factory. Israel's northernmost city, Kiryat Shmona normally boasts a population of about 24,000, but only around 1,500 remain following a government evacuation spurred by months of cross-border hostilities with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. (Photo by Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)