Residents Warned of Possible Infiltration by WhatsApp, With No Siren, and Say They Are Furious

Residents of Zarit and Shlomi were instructed to stay inside protected spaces for one hour on Wednesday night because of suspicious movement near the Lebanon border. The incident ended without an infiltration into Israeli territory, but it drew sharp criticism from residents over the policy of distributing security alerts in WhatsApp groups instead of through an official Home Front Command warning.

The incident came just one day after a militant crossed into Israeli territory from Lebanon and was killed in the area of Moshav Margaliot in the Ramim Ridge, and the details of that incident, including how the militant crossed, are still unclear.

At 9:30 p.m., residents of Zarit were asked to take shelter in protected spaces because of a security incident in the sector, and a similar instruction was later passed to residents of Shlomi. Residents were told to avoid gatherings and movement within the communities while IDF forces conducted searches and used illumination flares and gunfire. At the end of the searches, residents were informed that the movement identified had been across the border and that there had been no infiltration into Israeli territory. The return to routine was announced an hour later.

Despite the deployment of forces on the ground and the shelter-in-place instructions, no official Home Front Command alert was activated, and the information was distributed by local security coordinators and community managers. "I don't understand this policy," said a resident of the area. "There is concern about a terrorist infiltration? Sound the alert. Who decided that in the north they don't activate sirens in such cases?" Another resident noted that while the local security coordinator is supposed to manage the incident on the ground, he is busy relaying instructions to residents by phone. Residents also raised questions about those who did not see the messages in real time. "What happens if someone is asleep? What happens if they aren't even in the WhatsApp group?" one resident asked.

Residents compared the policy in the north with what is done in Judea and Samaria, where alerts are activated for the public in infiltration incidents. "Why there and not here? What's different about the northern border?" one resident asked. The incident took place one day after the infiltration of a militant and his killing in the Ramim Ridge area, a sequence that has intensified the sense of uncertainty. "If there is concern, warn us," one resident concluded.

A message transferred in the early morning hours from the IDF to local security officials indicates that even after residents had already received the return-to-routine notice, the army was still referring to the incident as an "active incident." The message said the searches were continuing and that later in the day there would be a situation assessment meeting in which lessons would be drawn from the incidents. The "Night Knight B" procedure is activated by the IDF, and moving residents into protected spaces is part of the routine sequence in the procedure. The instruction given to residents in Zarit and Shlomi was not an independent decision by the local security coordinators, but part of the activation of a military procedure intended to address concern about a security incident. The fact that the IDF has already said lessons will be drawn from the incident may indicate that the army is also reviewing how it was handled. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit has not yet issued a response.