Tuesday
Yom Shleeshee
16 Kislev 5785
December 17 2024
Special Notice:
OneIsrael’s Chanukah Fund For Soldiers
Chanukah (Hanukkah) begins 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 10:00 AM ISRAEL TIME
The View from Ashdod and On the Ground in Gaza
It was another night marked with tremendous explosions from Gaza–the most concussive one that shook our house occurred at 22:51 and was felt all the way north to the Sharon area.
Among the locations struck overnight:
*The Hamas headquarters in the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.
*One of several Hamas headquarters in Jabaliya (10 terrorists were killed).
*A terrorist center in the a- Daraj neighborhood in northwest Gaza City (13 terrorists eliminated).
*Hamas assets in Nuseirat.
*The al-Saftawi neighborhood northwest of Gaza City (hit by tank fire).
*The Khirbet Ahzaa in Khan Younis (hit by artillery fire).
This morning at 07:14 incoming missile sirens were heard in Netiv Ha’Asara:
Of course, as usual, the IDF issued a statement shortly afterward that it was a false alarm—this statement coming after residents heard an explosion.
On the Ground in Lebanon
From the IDF Spokesman:
“The 769th Brigade located rocket launchers, anti-tank missiles, and mortar shells during defensive activities in southern Lebanon.
IDF troops in the Northern Command continue to operate to remove threats posed by Hezbollah and act against Hezbollah’s violations of the ceasefire in accordance with the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.
In the activities of the 769th Brigade, the troops located several weapon storage facilities, including a mobile rocket launcher from which numerous rockets were fired over the past year toward communities in the Galilee Panhandle, dozens of mortar shells, anti-tank missiles, rockets, explosives, mobile launchers, and additional military equipment. All findings were confiscated.”
On the Ground in Syria
The Russian Sputnik Agency reports Israeli aircraft struck the Shi’ite neighborhood of Sayyida Zeinab in the southern part of Damascus and a military site in the northern suburb of the city of Homs in the center of the country.
On the Ground in Yemen
There was yet another ballistic missile launch from Yemen at central Israel yesterday that produced these alarms:
One missile: 183 alarms because of the fear of falling shrapnel from the explosion of the intercepted missile–there were no Israeli casualties.
During the night, there were significant attacks in and around Sanaa, Yemen. Initially it was thought that these were Israeli attacks, but this morning the U.S. Centcom issued this statement:
“CENTCOM Conducts Precision Airstrike Against Iran-Backed Houthi Facility in Yemen On December 16, Yemen time. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted a precision airstrike against a key command and control facility operated by the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Houthi-controlled territory in Sanaa, Yemen. The targeted facility was a hub for coordinating Houthi operations, such as attacks against U.S. Navy warships and merchant vessels in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The strike reflects CENTCOM’s ongoing commitment to protecting U.S. and coalition personnel, regional partners, and international shipping.”
It was subsequently announced that the main target of the attack was Abu Ali al-Hakim, a senior intelligence commander for the Houthis. It is not known at this time whether the attack was successful.
A Surge In Recruitment
The IDF released figures this morning as to the number of new recruits in each section of the IDF–as a percentage of the recruitment goals. Every brigade and Corps exceeded their recruitment goal:
Givati Brigade- 108%
Kfir Brigade – 106%
Nahal Brigade– 109%
Paratroopers Brigade – 100%
Armored Corps – 108%
Engineering Corps – 108 %
Artillery Corps – 109%
Combat Collection – 106%
Border Infantry – 120%
Border Guard – 103%
General Defense Force – 108%
Rescue and Rescue – 108%
Interestingly, compared to the recruiting cycle at this time last year, there was a 28% increase in the number of women enlisting for combat.
Kolakevod to all of the new recruits and their motivation to defend this country!
Internal Israeli Politics
Two issues have come to the forefront in recent weeks: the battle over the attorney general Gali Baharav Miara and the budget. Yesterday they knocked heads with each other.
Insofar as the hideous Miara is concerned, the battle within the Coalition is whether to fire her outright or simply to reduce her power dramatically.
Insofar as the budget is concerned, the battle, as always, concerns where money will be allocated.
Yesterday, after allocation questions had been resolved, we had Homeland Security Minister Ben Gvir instructing members of his Otzma Yehudi party not to vote for the budget because no decision had been made to fire Miara.
Even without Otzma’s support, the budget passed its first two readings.
The budget details:
The total amount of the budget will be 609 billion shekels ($170 billion).
The deficit ceiling will be 4.4%.
The three major Ministry budgets:
The Defense Ministry budget will be 108 billion shekels (about $31 billion).
The Education Ministry will receive 92 billion shekels (about S25.5 billion) .
The Ministry of Health will be allocated 60 billion shekels (about $16.7 billion).
According to the government statement, “the budget includes, among other things, a continued envelope for reserve service members, reconstruction and development budgets for the northern and southern regions.”
And so it goes in Israel this morning . . . so far . . .
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.