The Gaza War: Day 15 . . . The War in the North

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Yom Shabbat

Saturday

6 Cheshvan 5784

October 21 2023

UPDATE 10:00 PM

A Tragic Recap of the War So Far

307 Israeli soldiers have died in battle.

55 Israeli police have died.

1,403 Israeli civilians have been killed; the overwhelming majority of these died on October 7. More than 400 more bodies remain unidentified.

5,007 Israelis have been wounded; 298 remain hospitalized, 52 of these are in critical condition.

8,500+ missiles and mortars have been fired into Israel. Tel Aviv, Ashdod, and Ashkelon and many other locations were hit at 8:00 pm.

210 are now believed to be held as hostages.The Red Cross reports that today, two weeks after the October 7 massacres and kidnappings, it still has not seen the hostages.

UPDATE 4:00 PM

This is how utterly screwed up the world is.

Before 10:00 this morning, we had the abominable U.N. Secretary General Guterres giving a speech at the Rafah Crossing pleading for humanitarian help for the “poor Gazans”. A short time later at the Al-Arish Airport, Guterres was at it again: 

“I just came from the gate to Gaza (Rafah Crossing) with a deep emotion and a broken heart . . . we have the people in Gaza in a dramatic situation. Children, mothers, elderly people, all without water, without electricity, without food, without medicine.”

Guterres of course has made no attempt to visit the sites of the Palestinian Hamas-ISIS massacres in Israel where “babies, children, mothers, and elderly people” were slaughtered by being tortured and raped and then shot in the head and burned. In the case of the children many were burned alive. Some of the babies, children, mothers, fathers, and elderly people who survived were dragged slave-like into Hamas-ISIS tunnel chambers where they remain.

Not far from where Guterres was standing at Rafah. But Guterres did not mention any of this. 

Instead, his entire focus and that of the world is on humanitarian aid for the “poor Palestinians.”

So what followed?

Pressured by President Biden, the U.N., and others, Israel relented and let aid trucks come into Gaza.

During the hours when this “humanitarian aid” was coming into Gaza, Hamas-ISIS fired mortars and missiles out, at all of central Israel and . . . :

Nahal Oz (12:06), Netivot, Saad (12:30), Sderot (2:00), Nirim (2:01), Ein HaShlosha (2:03).

Some of the very communities where the terrorists carried out massacres and whose residents are held hostage. 

Your humble servant wants to scream at the world.

Meanwhile on the Northern Front

Hezbollah and Hamas-ISIS Lebanon have begun attacking IDF positions and civilian locations in the last hour:

*A number of missiles have targeted Mt. Dov. Two terror squads were hit by IAF aircraft afterward.

*An anti-tank missile was fired at Moshav Margaliot (3:06 pm). A Thai worker at the Moshav was critically wounded.

*Numerous anti-tank missiles were fired at Hanita.

UPDATE 9:00 AM

What’s going on?

This morning we have two reports that indicate that the U.S. is running the war.

First comes the news that Defense Minister Galant urged an attack on Hezbollah a few days ago, but Biden objected. Netanyahu decided to agree with Biden.

Second comes the news of a botched conversation last night between Netanyahu and Biden. Netanyahu apparently asked Biden if  Israel can proceed with a ground invasion of Gaza. Biden told him that the invasion cannot proceed until another hostage is released. Or at least that is what Netanyahu thought he said.

Afterwards, the White House spokeswoman rushed to the podium to say that “Biden did not hear the question clearly” and that he did not mean to say that Israel could not invade.

So where do we stand this morning?  

Here in Ashdod we have been awake all night because of the intensive IDF bombing of northern Gaza–26 km to the south. The bombing is still taking place at this time. Apparently, the IAF is using bunker-busting bombs because the explosions are being heard as far away as north of Tel Aviv. The blasts are so concussive that they severely shake our house.

We had 2 early morning missile impact explosions in front of our house. No warning. No siren. Just a sudden blast out of nowhere–in the dunes or in the sea. Now at 9 am, we have just come out of our bomb shelter again after another missile attack on our neighborhood.

Meanwhile in the north, the IAF struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon. One IDF soldier was killed in a Hezbollah attack last night.