Yom Reva’ee
Wednesday
14 Tishrei 5785
October 16 2024
Sukkot begins tonight at sundown. It is wonderful to see the neighborhood sukkot still out and festooned despite the wars. We wish all who celebrate the holiday: Chag Sukkot Sameach! (Happy Sukkot Holiday).
UPDATE 10:00 AM ISRAEL TIME
The View From Ashdod
The easiest way to describe what we are hearing and feeling here in Ashdod over the last few days and nights: Boom . . . Boom . . . . . . Boom . . . . THUNDEROUS BOOM . . Boom . . . BOOM . . . . . . . . BOOM . . . boom . . . Boom . . . Boom . . . . . . boom . . . . . . BOOM . . Boom . . . THUNDEROUS BOOM (and over and over again as we said through the day and the night). All to the accompaniment of planes roaring overhead and helicopters flying back and forth along the coast.
And this is in Ashdod 40 km north of Gaza.
It’s hard to imagine what it must be like in Ashkelon and Sderot and Nahal Oz—all of which are much closer to where the bombs are falling and the artillery shells are exploding.
Our hope here at OneIsrael is simply that our soldiers are remaining safe and that Gaza is being razed.
On the Ground in the North
Overnight and Early Today:
The IDF Spokesman:
“Fighter jets of the Air Force attacked a short time ago, under the precise intelligence guidance of the Intelligence Division, strategic weapons that were stored in an underground warehouse of the terrorist organization Hezbollah in Dahiyeh in Beirut.”
“The forces of the 98th Division continue their activities in southern Lebanon. The fighters have eliminated many terrorists on the ground and from the air, and continue to locate and destroy Hezbollah’s weapons and terrorist infrastructure above and below the ground. Over the past day, IDF fighters have eliminated dozens of terrorists in southern Lebanon in an exchange of fire with the terrorists and air force strikes. The fighters located many weapons during the activities in the area, including rocket launchers, grenades and anti-tank missiles aimed at the northern communities, weapons, grenades and other military equipment. More than 140 terrorist targets of Hezbollah in more than 50 areas in Lebanon were attacked from the air, including munitions warehouses, launchers aimed at Israel, military buildings and terrorist squads.”
At 06:32 this morning, the IDF called on the residents of specific buildings in the Dahiyeh district in Beirut to evacuate their homes immediately. It appears that the neighborhood’s respite from bombing is over no matter what President Biden says.
Hezbollah Missiles
Since the beginning of October, 2,600 rockets have been launched into Israel compared to 2,760 launches in the entire month of September. Obviously the rate of fire is increasing.
There have been 5 barrages so far today centered on border communities and the upper Galilee. Particularly hard hit was Tzfat at 01:38 this morning–two Israelis were wounded.
On the Ground in Gaza
The IDF Spokesman:
“In Gaza, Air Force aircraft, in cooperation with the 454th Fire Brigade, killed the terrorist Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh, the commander of the unmanned aerial vehicle formation of the terrorist organization Hamas in northern Gaza. The terrorist Al-Mabhouh led unmanned aerial vehicles from launch pads towards Israel and IDF forces.”
In and around Jabaliya, Division 162 eliminated terrorists in short-range encounters and airstrikes.
The Gaza Division eliminated an armed terrorist squad that was planning to carry out a terrorist attack against our forces using attack drones.
And so it goes thus far this morning in Israel . . . THUNDEROUS BOOM!
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.