Tuesday
Yom Shleeshee
23 Kislev 5785
December 24 2024
May Their Memories Be For A Blessing
L-R Sgt. Netanel Pesach, Capt. Ilay Gavriel Atedgi, Maj. Hillel Deiner
Sgt. Netanel Pessach, 21, from Elazar, a soldier in the Shimshon Battalion (92), Kfir Brigade, fell in battle in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza.
Capt. Ilay Gavriel Atedgi, 22, from Kiryat Motzkin, deputy company commander in the Shimshon Battalion (92), Kfir Brigade, fell in battle in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza.
Maj. Hillel Diener, 21, from Talmon, a soldier in the Shimshon Battalion (92), Kfir Brigade, fell in battle in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza.
All three fighters were killed at or near (unclear) the entrance to a building where terrorists had been eliminated. They were either hit by an anti-tank missile or killed by an exploding IED.
Special Notice:
OneIsrael’s Chanukah Fund For Our Soldiers
Chanukah (Hanukkah) begins tomorrow on December 25 and ends on January 2. We are accepting donations for a Chanukah Fund for Our Soldiers.
OneIsrael will be working with organizations to lift the spirits of our soldiers by bringing them warm clothing, souvganiot (doughnuts), and latkes.
Please donate by clicking the “donate button” on the right of this page.
UPDATE 8:00 AM ISRAEL TIME
Another night, another alarm caused by a missile fired from Yemen: we were jolted awake here in Ashdod at 1:44 am by the incoming missile siren on our phones, followed shortly thereafter by several explosions:
The above areas had alarms: Lod, Ness Ziona, Ramla, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Or Yehuda, Bnei Brak, Bat Yam, Givat Shmuel, Givatayim, Herzliya, Holon, Yehud Monoson, Mikveh Israel, Savyon, Petah Tikva, Kiryat Ono, Rishon LeZion, Rehovot, Ramat Gan, Be’er Yaakov, Ashdod, Gedera, Yavne, Gan Yavne, Kiryat Malachi, Modi’in region, Gan Raveh, Gezer, South Sharon, Sdot Dan, Mate Yehuda, Brenner, Nahal Sorek, Yavne region, Be’er Tuvia Military Medical Center, Gederot, and Yoav.
The IDF said shortly thereafter that the missile was intercepted before it reached Israel though that does not explain the explosions we heard. MADA reports that some 20 people were injured running to their bomb shelters–including a 60-year-old woman who was critically injured in the head and remains unconscious. Other residents were treated for trauma.
On the Ground in Gaza
From the IDF Spokesman yesterday:
“With direction of IDF and ISA intelligence, the IAF struck and eliminated the terrorist Tharwat Muhammad Ahmed Albec, who served as the head of the Security Directorate of Hamas’ Security Mechanisms. Albec was operating in a command and control center that was embedded in a compound that previously served as the “Musa bin Nusayr” school in Duraj Taffah.
The Security Directorate of Hamas’ Security Mechanisms produces intelligence assessments that help within Hamas’ decision-making and is also responsible for the security of senior Hamas members, providing them hideout places to ensure the continuation of their military activities. Albec served as a central figure in the Security Mechanisms and as a significant figure in the decision-making process.”
On the Ground in Lebanon
There are reports this morning that the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah is being jeopardized by the extraordinarily slow deployment of the Lebanese Army into areas that had been controlled by Hezbollah.
This should come as no surprise given the fact that many soldiers in the Lebanese Army as well as their extended family members are members of Hezbollah. From the moment that the ceasefire was signed, we here at OneIsrael wondered how the Lebanese Army could be counted on for anything.
From the IDF Spokesman yesterday:
“Troops of the 769th Brigade continue defensive activity in southern Lebanon, in accordance with the ceasefire and understandings between Israel and Lebanon.
As part of a battalion-level operation, soldiers of the Golani Brigade identified additional terrorist sites in southern Lebanon. During the activity, the troops conducted searches and located a weapons storage facility containing over 100 explosives and approximately 20 rocket launchers of various types.
In additional operations, the soldiers located mortar shells and additional tactical military equipment. All the weapons were confiscated and dismantled.”
The basic question is what is going to happen when the 60 day ceasefire ends. Obviously during this time Hezbollah is regrouping and as you see above, the IDF continues to operate in southern Lebanon.
On the Ground in Syria
We all know that significant elements of the new Syrian government are ISIS and Al-Qaeda. In the space of a week, Sharia law has already been instituted in many areas, and Syrian Christians are being singled out and attacked.
This is a photo from Al-Sqailbiyyah Syria yesterday where Islamists burned a Christmas tree that had just been placed in a city square:
There will be no “Merry Christmas” in Syria this year.
On the Ground in Judea and Samaria
*There have been firefights overnight between the IDF and PLO terrorists in Tulkarm.
*In an interesting development yesterday–especially given all the criticism that Israel received for such a move–the PLO banned Al-Jazeera from reporting in Areas A and B.
The terrorists in Ramallah are especially disturbed at how the civil war between the PLO and Hamas/Islamic Jihad is being reported.
Elsewhere in the Neighborhood
For the first time in decades, major riots have broken out in Egypt.
The major issue seems to be the egregious overspending that the Sisi-government has undertaken to pay for the new capital being built including the new presidential palace.
And so it goes here in Israel this morning
on the eves of Chanukah and Christmas . . .
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.