Yom Shabbat
Saturday
20 Adar II 5784
March 30 2024
UPDATE 9:00 AM
May His Memory Be For A Blessing
Maj. Alon Kudriashov.
Maj. Alon Kudriashov, 21, from Modi’in, a fighter in the elite Egoz Commando Unit was killed in an RPG attack in a battle in southern Gaza yesterday. Six more members of his unit were severely wounded.
The Delusional Quote of the Day
“We look forward to working with the new Palestinian government to promote peace, security and prosperity.”
Matthew Miller, U.S. State Department spokesman yesterday
New Palestinian government? That will promote peace? And security? And prosperity?
There is no new Palestinian government on the horizon. And no Palestinian government has ever done anything except promote the murder of Israelis while at the same time stashing billions of dollars in foreign “aid” in foreign bank accounts.
On the Ground in Gaza
*The IAF attacked terrorist strongholds in the cities of Khan Yunis and Deir al-Balah in Gaza last night.
*The battle at the Shifa Hospital compound continues.
*Whether Defense Minister Gallant was acting on his own during his trip to Washington is not known, but he has returned to Israel with a new plan in hand to bring a multi-national Arab force to Gaza to oversee the new “temporary” port area and safeguard “humanitarian convoys.
The multi-national force will consist of soldiers from three Arab countries–as yet unnamed. It is also unclear whether U.S. soldiers will be part of the force.
On the Ground in Judea and Samaria
IDF soldiers rooted out terrorists last night in the Hevron area and the settlement of Kabatia south of Jenin. A Palestinian terrorist was killed in an exchange of fire with the fighters.
On the Ground in the North
The back and forth between the IDF and Hezbollah is increasing in intensity.
*The IDF spokesman:
“The IDF attacked and killed Ali Abdelhassan Naim, the deputy commander of Hezbollah’s rocket and missile unit using an Air Force aircraft earlier today in the al-Bazoriya region of Lebanon. Significant in the organization, a leader in the field of rockets, one of the leaders in launching high-weight rockets, and as part of his role, he worked to plan and launch rockets towards Israel.
Earlier, two launches were detected from the Eyta al-Sha’ab area in southern Lebanon to the Birnit area. Within a few minutes, in a quick closing of the circle and close cooperation of the 146th Division and the Air Force, an aircraft attacked the launcher from which the launches were made. Also, a few hours ago, fighter jets attacked a military structure of the Hezbollah terrorist organization near the launcher that was attacked. A short time ago fighter jets attacked a military building where a terrorist was identified in the area of Mis Al Jabal. In addition, during the day, warplanes attacked a series of targets of the Hezbollah terrorist organization in the Sheba area in southern Lebanon, among the targets attacked were military buildings and terrorist infrastructure. Also, during the night, the IDF force attacked a Hezbollah launching position in the Yaron.”
*The number of Hezbollah terrorists killed in the Aleppo attack two days ago has risen to 7. In addition, 37 Syrian soldiers were killed.
President Biden Swerves Back And Forth
Less than a week after the Biden Administration refused to use a veto in the Security Council to support Israel, it has approved a new billion dollar military aid package to Israel that includes 1,800 MK84 bombs weighing one ton each, and 500 MK82 bombs weighing one thousand pounds each.
The MK84 bomb is one of the largest bombs available capable of creating a crater 15 meters wide and 11 meters deep. It can penetrate up to 15 inches (38 cm) of metal or 11 ft (3.4 m) of concrete, depending on the height from which it is dropped, and causes lethal fragmentation to a radius of 400 yards (370 m).
In disclosing the aid, Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said: “We will not stop military aid to Israel. We are committed to maintaining its military advantage in the region.”
About Ultra-Orthodox Integration Into The IDF
Now that the High Court has ruled that the numbers of ultra-orthodox in the IDF must be increased, the IDF–which has never been happy about the prospect–must find a way to do so.
Just a few of the problems are: making sure women and men are separated, providing kosher mehadrin food, providing dedicated prayer facilities, and, and, and . . .
There is even talk of establishing an IDF yeshiva in the Jordan Valley to accommodate an ultra-orthodox reserve battalion.
Some Unhappy News
Obviously the Yom Hazikaron holiday coming next month promises to be one of the saddest in the country’s history. Yesterday, it was announced that Independence Day celebrations will be considerably scaled back.
The annual IAF overflight of the country has been canceled as has the annual flotilla in Eilat.
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.