Yom Rishon
Sunday
4 Tammuz 5782
July 3 2022
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The News on the Israeli Street
The daily Corona update . . .
9,404 Israelis tested positive yesterday (out of 26,231 tested) bringing to 93,303 the number of active patients in the country.
The positive test rate was 35.85%; the coefficient of infection was 1.07%.
344 Israelis are seriously ill; 66 are critically ill—51 of these are on ventilators.
10,978 have died–an increase of 20 since Friday.
A huge jump in the number of active cases and the number seriously and critically ill; a continuing astronomical positive test rate, and double digit dead–none of the numbers look good today except for the coefficient of infection which continues to drop.
By the way, the number of active patients in the country is grossly understated–there are undoubtedly tens of thousands who are testing positive on home antigen tests.
Palestinian terror in the last 24 hours . . .
Palestinian terrorists attacked two women (one in her 60s the other in her 20s) in a car on Road 446 near Na’alin. They were forced to stop when “rocks” shattered their windshield, and had been dragged out of their car and were being beaten with batons when the police fortunately arrived. Evacuated to a nearby hospital, they were treated for severe cuts and bruises. The terrorists escaped.
Palestinian terrorists hurling Molotovs, “rocks”, and IEDs attacked Israelis on Road 443 at Beit Sira, in Huwara south of Shechem, at Tekoa, Luban a-Sharqiya (as always), and at a dozen places along the Jerusalem-Gush Etzion Road.
Another attack was at Beit Anun Square north of Kiryat Arba:
The terrorists broke the windows on both sides of the car, the wounded hand belongs to the woman who was driving the car (photos Rescue Without Boundaries SSF).
Speaking of terrorists, remember Zakaria Zubeidi . . .
Zakaria Zubeidi.
A senior commander in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades of the PLO, he was the terrorist who led the escape from Gilboa Prison in September of last year, and was subsequently recaptured after a 5-day manhunt.
Yesterday, the imprisoned Zubeidi received his Masters Degree from Bir Zeit University.
Hi ho hi ho, it’s off to gallivant I go . . .
New PM Yair Lapid is wasting no time picking up where he left off as Foreign Minister.
On Tuesday, he is leaving for his favorite city of Paris ostensibly to meet with French President Macron, but in reality to stay in his favorite hotel and ear French cuisine for a week or so.
All on the Israeli taxpapers’ dole.
Speaking of the Israeli taxpayers’ dole . . .
It is now revealed that the Israeli taxpayer paid 48 million shekels for former PM Bennett to “fortify” his home in Ra’anana because Bennett refused to live in the official residence in Jerusalem.
Yesterday came the news that it is now costing somewhere between 2-5 million more shekels to take down the fortifications now that Bennett has left office.
TODAY’S BLOG
The Hezbollah Attack At Karish
One of the Hezbollah drones shot down yesterday over the Mediterranean (screen shot from a video distributed by the IDF).
You can see the video here.
As you already no doubt know, three Hezbollah drones were shot down yesterday by Israeli forces as they approached the new Karish (Shark) gas rig in the Mediterranean off the northern coast of Israel.
One of the drones was shot down by a missile from an IAF F-16; the other two were taken down by “Lightning Barak 8 missiles” from an Israeli naval vessel.
This was the first operational use of the Barak 8 which is a surface (land or maritime) to air missile that was developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and India’s Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
Here’s what you need to know about the Barak 8:
The Barak 8.
Specifications:
Weight: 275 kg (606 lb)
Length: 4.5 meters
Warhead: 60 kg
Engine: Smokeless dual pulsed rocket motor
Operational range: 0.5-70 km (o.31-43.50 miles)
Maximum speed: Mach 2
While yesterday’s take downs were major successes for the IAF, imagine what would have happened if Hezbollah had launched 50 drones against the Karish platform? Not only that, but we still do not know how much one Barak 8 missile costs vs how much a Hezbollah drone costs.
Hopefully it is not like the cost ratio we have seen here in southern Israel where a $50,000 Iron Dome Interceptor is used to take down a $100 Qassam or Grad missile from Gaza.
In any case, drone attacks like the one yesterday are the wave of the future.
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.