Yom Shleeshee
Tuesday
22 Elul 5784
September 24 2024
UPDATE 9:00 PM ISRAEL TIME
Incessant missile and drone fire from Hezbollah for the last 5 hours: 17:14 Kiryat Shmona, Margaliot; 17:26 Betzet, Lehman, Shlomi, Metzuba; 17:36 Tzfat, Nof HaKineret, Dalton; 18:07 Katzrin, Jordan River; 18:35 Rosh HaNikra, Shlomi, Betzet; 18:39 Gesher HaZiv, Lehman; 19:22 Tzfat, Rosh Pinna, Hatzor HaGlilit, Biriyeh; 19:39 Neveh Yam, Atlit; 19:42 Atlit, Megadim; 19:46 Beit Jann; 19:52 Kfar HaYarden, Sdeh Ilan, Hodayot, Alma.
All told, Hezbollah has launched more than 300 missiles at Israel today.
It has been confirmed that Abu Jawad Hariki, the head of Hezbollah’s missile program, was killed in an IAF strike on an apartment in Dahiya Beirut today.
In addition, Talal Hamia, the notorious and secretive commander of Hezbollah Unit 910 which manages the connection between Iran and Hezbollah, was obliterated in a missile attack on his car this afternoon. He was widely considered the most capable commander in Hezbollah.
On the Ground in Gaza
Here in Ashdod, we have heard continuous explosions from Gaza all afternoon. Some of those explosions came from:
*an attack on Jabaliya in northern Gaza
*an attack on Al-Asra in Nuseirat
*continuous artillery fire at Beit Lahia
*an attack on the Al-Fardous Hamas headquarters in a school in Rafah
The IDF reports that more than 500 terrorists have been eliminated in Gaza this week.
UPDATE 4:00 PM ISRAEL TIME
*A rain of Hezbollah missiles in 10 barrages in the last four hours: 12:41 Avivim; 13:07 Yokneam, Daliyat al-Karmel, Yagur, Kfar Maccabi; 13:31 Hanita, Shlomi, Matzuba, Arab al-Aramshe; 13:57 Julis, Achihud, Gornot HaGalil, Klil, Oshrat; 14:51 Modavot, Eilabun, Massad, Maghar; 15:03 Kiryat Bialik, Kiryat Motzkin, Akko, Yarka, Haifa–Kiryat Haim; 15:12 Kfar Manda, Moreshet, Tzippori, Beit Rimon, Sakhnin; 15:20 Ya’ara; 15:28 Katzrin, Kidmat Zvi; 15:45 Tzfat, Rosh Pinna, Dalton, Ramot Naftali
*16 intercepts over Tzfat in the 15:45 barrage:
*At 15:25, the IAF struck the top two floors of an apartment building in Heabollah’s Dahiya neighborhood of Beirut. The target was Abu Jawad Hariki, the head of Hezbollah’s missile program. It is unknown at this hour whether the attack was successful.
UPDATE 12:00 PM ISRAEL TIME
*Since 8:00 am this morning, four more barrages of missiles have struck northern Israel: 09:36 Nazareth, Migdal HaEmek, Afula, Tel Adashim, Mizra, Tzippori, Reinesh; 09:42: Kiryat Shmona, Tel Hai, Kfar Giladi, Metulla, Kfar Yuval, Ma’ayan Baruch, Misgav Av (in this barrage alone more than 50 missiles were fired); 10:32: Kfar Kama, Hodayot, Lavi, Sdeh Ilan, Ilania, Kfar Nehar HaYarden; 10:50: Snir, Kibbutz Dan, Dafna, Shear Yeshuv.
*Here is what one family found in their yard in Nof HaGalil early this morning from a Hezbollah barrage last night:
*According to a senior Israeli official speaking anonymously yesterday: “Only half of the precision guided missiles Hezbollah had last week and only a quarter of the rockets up to 40 kilometers that they had last week remain.” Your humble servant looks at statements like this with skepticism. Though we hope that it is accurate, we are inclined to think that it is wishful thinking.
*As we have been noting, there have been remarkably few Israelis wounded from the incessant missile fire. Nevertheless, Rambam Hospital in Haifa is more than ready. The entire multi-level underground parking garage has been converted into first class makeshift hospital on Level -3 while on Level -2 a nursery/kindergarten for 450 children is now open:
*As we have previously earlier today, the IAF hit 1,600 targets yesterday. What we did not include is that 2,000 bombs hit those 1,600 targets. Several days ago, the IAF said that it is capable of dropping 3,000 bombs a day meaning that we are still only at 66% of our capability.
UPDATE 8:00 AM ISRAEL TIME
As we noted last night, the government has announced that the entire country is now under a state of emergency for the next week.
On the Ground in the North
Overnight:
1. The on again off again on again off again death of Ali Karachi, Hezbollah’s new Operations Director, is on again. A senior Hezbollah official confirms that he was indeed killed in an IAF strike in the Dahiya neighborhood of Beirut yesterday.
2. The area in and around Afula has been hit by three barrages since 02:39 am this morning. The targets at 03:11:
At 06:00, Hezbollah terrorists targeted Nahariya:
*Overnight, the IAF hit numerous targets in Lebanon including Hezbollah assets in the towns of Al-Zararia, Al-Bisaria, Al-Aqbiya, Ramiya, Ansaria (between Tyre and Sidon), Sultania, Kfar Donin, Al-Doir, Sarafand, Tzur, Nava Shit-Tammin-Doros (all in the Baalbak valley), the Abbasiya Junction, and at many other locations.
It should be noted that the IDF “now possesses centimeter-accurate 3D models of every building in Lebanon”, meaning that the IDF knows every house in every village and town that contains Hezbollah weapons.
*Yesterday, hundreds of IAF jets hit 1,600+ targets.
*The Lebanese Health Ministry claims that 492 were killed in yesterday’s attacks and more than 1600 were injured. Of course, just as with the Gaza Health Ministry, one never knows what to believe.
On the Ground in Gaza
*In an interview with IDF radio yesterday, Einav Tsengauker, whose son Matan is a hostage, said that according to the data in her possession, only about 30 to 35 abductees are alive. She said that her data is based on the messages of the army to the families of the hostages.
You may remember that we reported here yesterday that PM Netanyahu speaking in front of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee said that he believed that about 50 hostages.
And so it goes here in Israel until our next update around noon . . .
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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.