UPDATES 9 am Israel time, Wednesday, July 16 2014:
**Apparently, because one never knows what may happen from minute to minute, the ceasefire that was supposed to have taken shape yesterday and overnight has not.
Once again, Israeli troops are poised to enter Gaza, and the IDF has made telephone calls to Palestinians living in Beit Lahiya and Zeitoun (northern Gaza) to leave their homes by 8 am this morning.
This comes after a day which saw the Netanyahu security cabinet vote to accept the terms laid out by Egypt and call off strikes on terrorist positions in Gaza only to have to renew them again after Hamas intensified its missile attacks on Israel.
All told there were 61+ missile attacks on Israel launched from Gaza involving 183 missiles. There was an intense volley of 12 missiles at once here in Ashdod, and a 40 missile outburst during a one hour period in the afternoon at various locations in southern Israel. The terrorists in Gaza also launched missiles at Tel Aviv, Haifa, Megiddo, and many other places in between.
Tragically, Israel suffered its first fatality as Dror Hanin, a 37-year-old father of three, was killed at the Erez Crossing by a mortar as he was handing out food to IDF soldiers.
Dror Hanin, murdered by Palestinian terrorists as he was lending a helping hand yesterday (picture: Ynet).
One of his friends commented yesterday that Hanin was always “full of humor and always ready to help, there are few people like him, always willing to help and to contribute. Unfortunately, he paid for his kind heart with his life.”
Ironically, the mortar attack on Erez took place as Israel was ferrying Palestinians from Gaza with medical conditions to Israeli hospitals.
TODAY’S BLOG:
James Bond: Do you expect me to talk?
Goldfinger: No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!
From the movie Goldfinger (1964)
It was one of those moments yesterday when the mindset of the “left” was put into such absolute clarity as to be almost unbelievable.
Shimon Peres was speaking to foreign journalists at his summer camp which nobly hosts 50 children from the Gaza border region. What, he mused, could he tell the children as to why Hamas is shooting at them with missiles?
And Peres’ answer was “I have no explanation. I see no purpose in what Hamas is doing.”
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The explanation is simple, clear, and staring Peres in the face–if only he had the ability to see it. Hamas wants all of the children in the camp to die. Hamas wants Jews to die. Hamas wants Israel to die.
But Peres thinks like James Bond; he thinks that Hamas expects Israel to talk about the situation. And if we only talk about the situation, everything will be better: “The way to bring about a ceasefire is not clear, but the only fruitful process is peace. I hope there will be a ceasefire as soon as possible so that the two side can sit down to discuss how to move ahead.”
If we all sit in a circle, hold hands and sing kumbaya, evil will disappear from the world and Hamas will learn to love Jews and Israel.
What unadulterated nonsense.
As was the Netanyahu security cabinet’s vote yesterday for a ceasefire. What did they really think? That Hamas would simply hang up its missiles and sit down to talk about how to demilitarize?
And what was the effect of their decision to hang up Israel’s weapons for 4 hours “to show our good faith”? Hamas jumped at the chance to rain ever greater numbers of missiles down on Israelis wreaking death, wounds, and destruction.
This morning finds the same security cabinet apparently still beset by indecision despite the continued missile attacks on Israel (everywhere from Ashdod south has been in bomb shelters so far).
Once again, the “civilians” of northern Gaza have been ordered to leave their houses. Once again, the IDF seems on the verge of entering Gaza. Once again, your humble servant would like to say that the missile launching areas of northern Gaza should be leveled by bombing before one Israeli soldier sets foot in the Palestinian terrorist enclave.
By the way, don’t be surprised that as badly as Hamas wants to kill Israeli soldiers in Gaza, that the terror group announces its intention in the coming hours to accept a ceasefire and that the Netanyahu security cabinet quickly votes to cease Israeli military actions again.
This might all happen even as missiles continue exploding all over Israel.
After all, Hamas expects us to die.
A student from Malawi, who had worked with an Israeli health volunteer in his country battling AIDS, came up to us as we walked down the street in the UC-Davis Picnic Day Parade and wanted to carry the Israeli flag.