Yom Shleeshee
Tuesday
20 Tishrei 5785
October 22 2024
UPDATE 9:00 AM ISRAEL TIME
Hezbollah missiles and drones have targeted the following areas so far today:
00:26 Kfar Giladi, Kiryat Shmona, Tel Hai; 00:51 Ein Zivan, Ortal; 04:51 Haifa and surrounding areas; 06:32 Akko; 06:34 Modi’in and surrounding areas; 07:45 Tel Aviv, Caesarea, Zichron Yakov and surrounding areas.
A few observations:
1. Israel being targeted by Iranian and Hezbollah high altitude, surface to surface/ballistic missiles is a phenomenon that we never had to deal with when fighting Hamas.
Although the damage being done by these missiles so far is relatively light, the terror being generated is relatively huge.
That is because alarms are going off in 180 communities at a time for one missile–due to the fear that shrapnel from the intercepts can hit virtually anywhere because of wind patterns. And because the interceptors themselves are producing falling shrapnel.
Of the three missiles apparently intercepted over the Tel Aviv area this morning, the only “falls” have been two “interceptor missile parts” which fell in Bnei Brak.
2. Hezbollah is as good as its word. Yesterday, when the IDF spokesman idiotically announced in advance that the IAF would target Hezbollah financial institutions in Dahiyeh overnight, Hezbollah immediately announced that it would target Tel Aviv this morning.
And so they have.
All of which begs the question of “why in the world are we informing Hezbollah in advance of what we are going to do?”
UPDATE 8:00 AM ISRAEL TIME
SPECIAL NOTICE
Your humble servant is at Ben Gurion Airport beginning his way back to the United States for some R and R. Over the next 48 hours, this blog will appear as possible.
By the way, as our taxi pulled into the Ben Gurion checkpoint at 6:40 this morning, we looked at the sunset coming over the hills just to the north, and . . . boom . . . a missile exploded in those hills near Modi’in sending a trail of black smoke into the air.
At this moment, 7:45 am, missile alarms have sounded at the airport as we gaze out at Tel Aviv; airport workers are running across the tarmac to shelters . . . and . . . boom . . . boom . . . boom—three explosions either indicating missile hits or intercepts over the city. We have moved away from glass windows to a spot more inside the terminal room.
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.