Monday
Yom Shnee
16 Kislev 5785
December 16 2024
Special Notice: OneIsrael’s Chanukah Fund For Soldiers
Chanukah (Hanukkah) begins on December 25 and ends on January 2. We are accepting donations for a Chanukah Fund for Our Soldiers. OneIsrael will be working with organizations to lift the spirits of our soldiers by bringing them warm clothing, souvganiot (doughnuts), and latkes.
Please donate by clicking the “donate button” on the right of this page.
UPDATE 10:00 AM ISRAEL TIME
The View from Ashdod and On the Ground in Gaza
We in Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Gaza border communities have been rocked with explosions during yesterday, last night, and this morning as the IDF/ IAF continues to pound Gaza.
We learned this morning that the attacks are focusing on:
—Khan Younis where at least 15 terrorists have been killed.
—Nuseirat where dozens of terrorists have been eliminated including Islamic Jihad commander Ahmed Mahmoud Loh.
—Beir Lahiyeh in northern Gaza were large weapons caches have been destroyed and numerous terrorists have been eliminated.
—Beit Hanoun where the Givati Brigade raided the Khalil al-Alda school killing 60 terrorists and capturing 30 more.
—Gaza City where a terror cell on the verge of an imminent attack was eliminated.
—The terrorist who launched a Kornet missile at a Hummer about a year ago in Gaza, causing the death of IDF soldier Lidor Yosef Karawani, has been eliminated.
As we noted, the attacks are ongoing. One gets the impression that this sudden upsurge in the Gaza war is a prelude to a ceasefire which seems closer than ever. The IDF/IAF is laying waste to ever greater swaths of Gaza to make the terrorists’ job of rebuilding and reorganizing more difficult when the ceasefire comes.
On the Subject of Laying Waste
Two interesting quotes in the past 24 hours begin to reveal the extent of damage to Gaza and Lebanon:
“The October 7th attack has backfired on us and drowned us in a sea of blood and crises . . . Even the new Syrian government has ordered Palestinian factions out of Syria . . . The movement’s leadership does not know what to do and where it is headed now. Gaza has been completely destroyed. The Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7th has become a disaster for the Palestinians.”
A Hamas official living in Turkey
“The residents of Lebanon have not yet been exposed to the devastation and destruction that awaits them when they return to their villages. The IDF systematically operated against all the villages close to the Israeli border, which served as bases for Hezbollah to organize and launch attacks on Israel on a given day. In most of the houses, IDF forces found numerous weapons. In others, launchers were found, and some of the village structures were used, according to the IDF, as anti-tank missile launch positions for houses in Israeli communities across the street. The IDF destroyed the homes. It is estimated that thousands of homes and buildings in southern Lebanon have been destroyed. The villages are now deserted – there is no one in what were once streets. Electricity poles and infrastructure have been destroyed. It will take at least ten years, maybe more, for the Lebanese to be able to rehabilitate the area.”
The IDF Commander of the Galilee Division, Brigadier General Shai Klapper
Gaza and southern Lebanon along the Israeli border have been practically razed. And this is not even to mention the immense destruction which is taking place where it is estimated that more than 80% of the Syrian military is destroyed. And not only military positions, but in places like Quneitra infrastructure has been eliminated.
On the Ground in Judea and Samaria
The last week has seen an internal war between the PLO and Islamic Jihad/Hamas break out in Jenin. Numerous deaths have been reported including that of the Islamic Jihad commander in Jenin.
This is nothing new. The PLO periodically tries to reassert its authority over places in Areas A and B of Judea and Samaria which have been taken over by Hamas and/or Islamic Jihad.
But the bottom line now is that the PLO seems to be slowly losing its grip on power.
At the same time, there has been a disturbing increase in Palestinian terror in Judea and Samaria over the last month. Yesterday, Palestinian terrorists opened fire on an Israeli vehicle traveling from the industrial zone in Ariel. No Israelis were wounded; the terrorists escaped.
To counter this increase, the IDF is deploying Rafael Industryh’s formidable “Sentry Tech” which features observation towers with remote-controlled machine guns:
But if you can believe this, the Biden Administration has asked Israel to permit the shipment of ammunition and weapons to the Palestinian security forces.
Yes, you read that correctly.
This is the same Biden Administration that continues to refuse to send weapons to Israel.
Just unbelievable.
As of yesterday, Israel has not responded to the Biden request.
Good Riddance To Ireland
There are few countries in the world that have been as vitriolically anti-Israel and anti-Semitic as Ireland. This animus can be seen in the country’s leaders repeatedly accusing Israel of genocide. These accusations fly at every conceivable venue from the United Nations to the International Criminal Court.
In response, FM Gideon Saar announced two days ago that Israel is closing its embassy in Ireland: “Ireland’s anti-Semitic actions and rhetoric against Israel are based on delegitimization and demonization of the Jewish state and double standards. Ireland has crossed all red lines in its attitude towards Israel.”
Of course, the Israeli “left” led by Yair Lapid was quick to condemn the closure claiming it is “a victory for anti-Semitism and anti-Israel organizations” and claiming that Ireland’s actions are merely “criticism.”
Saar responded to Lapid yesterday:
“Shame on you Yair for choosing to define the Irish attitude towards Israel as “criticism” (interestingly, this is exactly their claim). This is distinct anti-Semitism based on delegitimization, dehumanization and double standards towards the Jewish state.
It’s also shameful that you didn’t see fit to say a word about the fact that only last week Ireland joined the lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and accused us of “genocide”, while seeking to expand the definition of genocide.
Israel’s foreign policy during my term of office will also take into account in the allocation of our resources the attitude of the various countries towards Israel.
In a friendly country like Moldova you (when you were Prime Minister and Foreign Minister) chose not to open an Israeli embassy. Today I instructed to open an embassy there and it will happen very soon. There are other countries in the world that request that we open embassies and missions in them and strengthen relations with them.
Take note: the era of bowing before haters and persecutors – is over!“
Kolakevod FM Saar!
And so it goes in Israel today . . . so far . . .
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.