Yom Shnee
Monday
21 Elul 5784
September 23 2024
BREAKING NEWS 8:00 PM ISRAEL TIME
The government has announced that the entire country is now under a state of emergency for the next week.
1. Hezbollah has unleashed 10 massive missile attacks since our last update at 1:00 pm. primarily targeting the area around Haifa. There are no reports yet of fatalities and few reports of casualties; most missiles have been intercepted or have exploded in open areas. These were targeted areas in and around Haifa at 19:43:
2. The IAF has increased even more the attacks in southern Lebanon, in Tyre; another wave is currently attacking targets in the Bekaa Valley. 1,100 targets have been attacked today; 3000 houses with Hezbollah weapons and missiles inside have been damaged or destroyed.
3. The Lebanese Health Ministry reports that 280 Lebanese have been killed and 1000 wounded.
4. 4 Shi’ite Hezbollah imams were eliminated today.
5. It has been reported but not confirmed that Ali Karchi–who just replaced Ibrahim Akil as Head of Hezbollah Operations–has been killed in an attack in Beirut.
BREAKING NEWS 1:00 PM ISRAEL TIME
The IAF has mounted an extensive attack on south Lebanon. Since this morning 300 Hezbollah targets have been destroyed. In the last hour, Hezbollah has launched 4 barrages of missiles and drones at the upper and lower Galilee including Tzfat and Rosh Pinna.
Israel is using Lebanese landlines as well as television (which we have taken control of) to urge Lebanese living south of the Litani River to evacuate immediately.
The IDF is exhorting Israelis to remain “composed” in the coming days as the Army deepens its attacks into Lebanon.
UPDATE 10:00 AM ISRAEL TIME
On the Ground in the North
“Gaza will look good compared to what the Air Force is capable of doing to Lebanon. In the last 10 years, a tremendous firepower has been built.”
Zohar Pelati, the former head of the Mossad’s intelligence directorate.
*The news over the last 18 hours has not so much been from the north as from the east. Iranian proxies in Iraq have fired two dozen drones which have hit the southern Golan and the Beit She’an Valley. Early this morning, there have already been three barrages: Ramat Magshimim (04:45), Metzar (04:50), and Hamat Gader (04:56).
*This morning Hezbollah has also struck with missiles at Netua and Sassa and with exploding drones at Hila, Hossen, Kfar Vradim, Maona, Mi’ilya, and Ma’alot Tarshicha.
*Overnight and this morning, the IDF has continued its attacks on southern Lebanon with specific attacks at Baraka, Deir Ams, Zebkin, Kunin, and Bershit. This morning alone, the IAF has hit 150 targets.
*This morning the IDF spokesman spent considerable time showing how Hezbollah has embedded missiles–especially cruise missiles–inside people’s homes, and warning that those homes will shortly be destroyed.
Evacuation orders have been issued for some towns in southern Lebanon.
On the Ground in Gaza
There has been intense fighting in Gaza overnight. Some of the reports:
*Naval shelling hit southwest of Gaza City.
*The IDF attacked north of Rafah.
*Heavy shooting of artillery and drones targeted northwest of Nuseirat.
*Combat helicopters of the Air Force attacked Hamas terrorists from who were operating in a command and control complex in the area that was previously used as the “Khaled Ben Alolid” school in the center of Gaza.
*Artillery shelling targeted Al Nablusi Square southwest of Gaza City.
*An IAF attack struck the Kizan al-Najjar area in the southeastern part of Khan Younis.
Sinwar Dead? Unconfirmed, Unreported, But Rumored
The rumor mill here in Israel has run amok in the past 12 hours that Yahya Sinwar might be dead or that he might have been badly wounded.
Those who think so cite the fact that he has not been heard from in some time, and that all of the recent messages supposedly sent by him were in fact–according to Israeli intelligence–written by someone else.
This line of thinking supposes that he might have been killed or wounded in the same blast that killed Mohammed Deif a few months ago.
However, it must be pointed out that Sinwar has previously disappeared only to reappear. Besides that, he is variously rumored to be walking around Gaza dressed like a woman, to be living in Iran after escaping through the Sinai, and, and, and.
Any rumor regarding Sinwar must be taken with two grains of salt.
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.