Thursday
Yom Chamishee
11 Kislev 5785
December 12 2024
Special Notice: OneIsrael’s Chanukah Fund For Soldiers
Chanukah (Hanukkah) begins on December 25 and ends on January 2. Beginning today 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 souvganiot (doughnuts), latkes, and Chanukiot to light.
Please donate by clicking the “donate button” on the right of this page.
UPDATE 9:00 AM ISRAEL TIME
May His Memory Be For A Blessing
Yehoshua Aharon Tuvia, a 10-year-old from Jerusalem was murdered on a bus at the Tunnels Checkpoint on Road 60 last night:
The bus that was attacked by a Palestinian terrorist who fired 23 bullets into it.
Yehoshua’s family was returning home from a family celebration in Beitar Illit (lower left on map) in Gush Etzion.
In addition to the murder of Yeshoshua, the terrorist also wounded three other people. A woman in her forties and man in his 20s are in serious condition this morning at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital; a 55-year-old man is in moderate condition.
After an overnight manhunt by the IDF, the terrorist has turned himself in to security forces to avoid getting killed.
On the Ground in Judea and Samaria
*The sign and others like it read “There is no future in Palestine.” It is not known who put them up but they appeared along various roads in Area C of Judea and Samaria overnight. The sign along with the accompanying photo (look closely) are obviously meant to encourage Palestinians to leave Area C.
*In what has to be the one millionth time that we have heard it over the years, the “defense establishment” is warning that the PLO is on the verge of collapse.
This time it is because of the downfall of the Assad regime in Syria.
According to the security officials, Hamas is increasing its efforts to provoke protests and lead the Palestinian public to demonstrate against the PLO.
Your humble servant does not know whether to laugh or cry. The poor Palestinians are always on the verge of collapse, and Hamas has only been trying to provoke protests against PLO since time immemorial.
On the Ground in Gaza
*08:53 (7 minutes ago) Hostile aircraft alarms have just sounded for the Gaza border communities of Netivot, Sdot Negev, and Sha’ar Negev (about 40 km/25 miles south of here in Ashdod):
It is not known if this is another drone aircraft from Yemen, or Iraq, or Gaza. It has yet to be intercepted and seems to be heading north toward Ashkelon and us. In fact, airplanes are now in the air over us heading toward the drone. More info to come as available.
*From a joint statement of the IDF and the ISA:
“The IAF, with the precise direction of the Intelligence Directorate and the ISA, struck and eliminated the terrorist Fehmi Salmi, a Nukhba Company Commander in Hamas’ Zeitoun Battalion who was operating at the time of the strike from inside a structure that previously served as the Al-Falah school.
On October 7th, Fehmi Salmi led the attack on the IDF ‘Paga’ outpost on the Gazan border in southern Israel with his platoon, during which 14 IDF soldiers were killed. During the war, Salmi led numerous attacks against IDF troops.
In an additional strike, an IAF aircraft struck and eliminated the terrorist Salah Dahham, the head of Hamas’ Paragliding Unit, in the area of Jabaliya. On October 7th, Salah Dahham led Hamas’ aerial infiltration into communities in southern Israel, a key part of Hamas’ murderous attacks on civilians.
The IDF and ISA will continue to operate against all terrorists who took part in the October 7th Massacre.”
On the Ground in Lebanon
*U.S. CENTCOM commander General Michael Kurilla arrived in Beirut yesterday “to monitor the withdrawal of the first Israeli troops from Lebanon” under a ceasefire agreement reached last month.
Specifically, Kurilla is overseeing IDF withdrawal from Al Khiam and our replacement by “Lebanese Armed Forces.”
The IDF confirmed that the replacement is taking place, but that our soldiers would remain deployed in Lebanon “to act against any harm to Israel.”
*Elsewhere in Lebanon, a minibus carrying Hezbollah “operatives” was attacked last night by Lebanese and Syrian Sunnis as it passed through the Sunni town of Majdal Anjar in the Al-Baqaa district in northeastern Lebanon. The bus driver and others were killed.
The bus was attacked because it had a picture of the former Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah on the side.
On the Ground in Syria
*A map of Israeli strikes (the red circles) in Syria over the past 48 hours, as part of the IDF’s “Arrow of Bashan” Operation:
As you can see, the IAF is mainly attacking in the area around Damascus and in Tartous, Hama, Latakia, and Aleppo. Last night for the first time, the IAF hit Syrian Army positions on the border with Turkey.
*The IDF Spokesman this morning:
“Four brigade combat teams, including infantry, commando, engineering, armor, reconnaissance, and Yahalom Unit forces, are engaged in defensive missions under the command of the 210th Division.
The 474th Brigade Combat Team continues activities in key positions within the Area of Separation (the Buffer Zone), targeting threats and terrorist sites along the border. During searches, they confiscated several out-of-use Syrian tanks.
The 810th Brigade and Shaldag Unit soldiers completed a brigade-level operation in the Syrian Hermon region within the Area of Separation. They located a Syrian army outpost containing a cache of weapons, including mines, explosives, anti-tank missiles, and additional military equipment.
The Paratroopers and Commando Brigades are conducting defensive missions and neutralizing threats in the Area of Separation to ensure the safety of civilians in northern Israel.”
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.