[bunkerhill7]

The Philistines had conquered all of Judah in that area?

Judges 15:11 “Then three thousand men from Judah went down to the cave in the rock of Etam and said to Samson, “Don’t you realize that the PHILISTINES ARE RULERS OVER US? What have you done to us?”

[Sherman Logan]

This was in the time of the Judges. Israel was still divided into tribes. Hazor was in the territory of the tribe of Naphtali, almost to Dan, the very far north end of Israel.

IOW, as far from the territory of the tribe of Judah as it was possible to get.

The Israelites in this part of the land had their own problems, mostly with Syrians, but I doubt they had much trouble with Philistines.