Yom Shnee
Monday
12 Tishrei 5785
October 14 2024
UPDATE 9:00 PM ISRAEL TIME
Sgt. Koren Bitan, 19 from Mash Ha’Ein, a fighter in Battalion 450 (platoon commander training) of the Bislah Brigade, and a fighter in Dukifat Battalion (94), Kfir Brigade, fell in battle in southern Gaza.
May His Memory Be For A Blessing
*IDF forces have discovered an 800-meter (1/2 mile) long tunnel in southern Lebanon that served as the headquarters of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force in southern Lebanon.
*Unfortunately, we continue to have learned nothing about the introduction of so-called “humanitarian” aid into Gaza. Just this past week, we learned that as battered as Hamas may be, it is using funds gleaned from selling “humanitarian” supplies to pay for new terrorists.
Despite there being talk that the IDF would finally cut off such supplies from northern Gaza as we push the remaining residents south, our weak-kneed government bowed to international demands and allowed 30 trucks containing flour and food into northern Gaza this afternoon.
*Remember the dirt road that was the Philadelphi Corridor, followed by the asphalt strip that took its place? If you think that Israel will ever leave it, take a look at it now:
*Falling intercept rate: in regard to the last 1200 missiles launched from Lebanon, only 82% have been intercepted. The rate continues to decline as Hezbollah launches more and more multi-missile barrages.
Thus far today there have been 21 Hezbollah barrages totaling more than 125 missiles.
UPDATE 6:00 PM ISRAEL TIME
Do you want to know how crazy the situation is here in Israel?
Try to wrap your mind around what happened 25 minutes ago at 5:33 pm.
Suddenly incoming missile sirens sounded in 182 locations in and around Tel Aviv:
From Rishon LeZion north through Tel Aviv all the way up to Kfar Saba and Herzliya. What we saw on television were hundreds of people screeching to a halt on the busy freeways and hunkering down close to the guardrails on medians, and people running for whatever fortified place they could find.
182 locations.
But guess what? The sky was empty.
Well, not quite. We did see one missile fired from Lebanon get intercepted.
In total, there were apparently three missiles. All were intercepted.
Why all the alarms? To protect people on the ground from possible falling shrapnel.
After the UAV disaster at the Golani base yesterday in which virtually all of the casualties were caused by exploding shrapnel and many other such incidents, Israelis are acutely aware of shrapnel.
The good news is that only one person was wounded–a 50 year old woman who fell down running to her bomb shelter. The bad news is that a traumatized Israeli populace never knows when and where the next missile alarm will sound.
UPDATE 11:00 AM ISRAEL TIME
These are the 4 soldiers who were killed by the UAV yesterday:
Sgt. Alon Amitay, 19 from Ramot Naftali, Golani Brigade.
Sgt. Yosef Hieb, 19 from Tuba Zangaria, Golani Brigade.
Hezbollah Attacks So Far This Morning
01:23 [UAVs] Kiryat Shmona; 07:08 [missiles] Haifa, Carmel, Hadar; 08:16 [missiles] Margaliot, Manara, Misgav Am; 09:31 [missiles] Haifa, Carmel, Kiryat Yam, Kiryat Haim; 10:11 [missiles] Zivon, Sassa, Matat, Dovev.
UPDATE 8:00 AM ISRAEL TIME
The numbers are stark.
In separate Hezbollah attacks yesterday–several in Lebanon and one in Israel:
4 soldiers were killed.
92 soldiers were wounded.
Of the wounded, 7 are in critical condition, 51 are in serious condition, and the remaining soldiers are moderately or lightly wounded. The names of those killed and wounded have yet to be published.
What happened?
The most deadly attack was in Israel. Two UAVs carrying missiles were launched from Lebanon. One was intercepted by the Israeli Navy; but somehow, at the time of interception, the second UAV disappeared from the radar.
That UAV reached the Golani training area in the Binyamina area. Once there, it fired a missile which hit the dining area of the base–going through the roof and exploding. It was in that dining area where the 4 soldiers were killed and most of the wounded were located.
Most of the wounds were shrapnel wounds in the head.
At this moment, there is confusion as to how the UAV made it under the radar, and even what type of drone it was. Yesterday, it was believed it was a drone supplied to Hezbollah from Russia, later it was thought to have been supplied by Iran; this morning, it is being reported that it was a “Ziyad 107” probably manufactured by Hezbollah in Lebanon or in a plant near Tehran.
The Ziyad 107 can change altitude and direction frequently, and it has a very small heat signature. When launched amidst a barrage of other missiles and UAVs, it can be very difficult to detect. It is devastatingly precise.
We will leave the other news this morning to our next update. In the meantime, we should all pray for our wounded.
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.