Residents of northern Israel’s largest city face Hezbollah fire and brace for the worst

Associated Press

HAIFA, Israel (AP) — The sandy beaches of Haifa are empty. Businesses are shutting early in Israel’s third-largest city, and many restaurants are closed. The only places filling up, as the threat of a wider war with Hezbollah mounts, are public bomb shelters. Haifa is a seaside city of nearly 300,000 people. It is the cultural and economic capital of northern Israel. It has increasingly come into Hezbollah’s sights since fighting with Israel escalated this week and residents are bracing for what many fear will be the worst round of violence since a 2006 war pounded the city with rockets. The city has opened public bomb shelters, schools are operating remotely and its main hospital has moved patients to a fortified underground ward.