Yom Shnee
Monday
22 Av 5784
August 26 2024
May Their Memories Be For A Blessing
Sgt. David Moshe Ben Shitrit
Sgt. Shitrit of Squadron 914, Sea Arm, was killed in a freakish accident. Yesterday morning, an Iron Dome interceptor targeting a Hezbollah drone apparently malfunctioned, fell out of the sky, and hit the boat that Sgt. Shitrit served on.
Maj. Shlomo Yehonatan Hazut
Maj. (res.) Hazut, 36 years old, from Ashdod, a fighter in Battalion 9207, the ‘Jerusalem’ Brigade, fell in battle in central Gaza. He is the 5th soldier from the same group who died from a bomb placed in a booby-trapped house.
UPDATE 9:00 AM ISRAEL TIME
On the Ground in the North
Where do we stand after yesterday’s one-day war with Hezbollah?
Yesterday, we had the IDF crowing about its achievements, and Hezbollah crowing about its achievements.
This morning we are back to normal: at 7:03 am explosive drones were launched at Hamat Gader, Ha’On, Ein Gev, and Tel Katzir in the southern Golan.
What do we know about yesterday?
*According to the IDF, 100 aircraft of the IAF destroyed about 7,000 Hezbollah missiles while attacking hundreds of targets in southern Lebanon. The IDF released an animation of the attack from which we took this screenshot:
The IAF attack on southern Lebanon yesterday according to the IDF.
*Whereas the IDF initially said that the purpose of the attack was to thwart an attack on Tel Aviv, by afternoon the story had changed with the IDF saying that 99% of the missiles were targeting northern Israel (this new story came after severe criticism from communities in the north).
*Hezbollah claimed that it hit 11 IDF bases in the north; a claim that the IDF says is untrue. It also claimed to have hit in the area of the Mossad and Unit 8200 headquarters in northern Tel Aviv–which the IDF also says is not true. However, it should be pointed out that the IDF has not actually revealed any information about what was hit and what wasn’t saying that it would give Hezbollah valuable information. You can draw your own conclusions from that statement.
On the Ground in Gaza
*The ceasefire/hostage talks once again seem to be at a dead end as Hamas has rejected the latest Biden plan. It should be pointed out that this is the 20th time that Hamas has rejected a “deal.” Throughout the farcical “negotiations” Hamas has never changed its demands, and it is only Israel which has made concession after concession.
*Hamas Palestinian terrorists fired two MD90 long-range missiles out of Khan Younis last night at 10:02 pm. One never made it out of Gaza, the other struck between Rishon Lezion and Holon. The missiles were apparently intended for Tel Aviv:
The missile exploded in the middle of the red area between Holon to the north and Rishon Lezion to the south.
*We did not sleep here in Ashdod last night because of the constant bombing and artillery pounding of the Deir Al-Balach and Zeitoun neighborhoods of Gaza.
*Yesterday, the IDF began paving the Philadelphi Corridor in advance of what would appear to be a long stay there.
On the Ground in Judea and Samaria
A run-over attack targeted IDF soldiers near the Ariel Junction yesterday. Two soldiers were wounded, and both terrorists were killed.
Those terrorists were commanders in the Jenin Brigade who had recently and absurdly been released from prison.
Ending With A Little Humor Today
It appeared yesterday that one of the the only buildings Hezbollah hit with its 325 missiles fired at Israel was a chicken coop in one of the moshavs.
The Arab social media had a lot of fun with this posting memes ridiculing Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Hezbollah:
This one from Saudi Arabia: Col. Harlan Sanders Nasrallah riding a chicken with a bucket of Hezbollah Fried Chicken in the upper right.
Another one depicting what Hezbollah is fighting for:
Free range for all chickens!
And a new Hezbollah flag!
The Arab world is well aware of what happened.
And so it goes this morning in Israel . . .
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.