News. From Israel. Tuesday, July 25

11:05 Good News from the Front!

On Israel TV, Channel 2 News, Reporter Roni Daniel reported this evening: Over 200 Hizbolla terrorists killed so far, many wounded and in custody of IDF.

Rumors in Lebanon show Hizbolla ordering their terrorists not to fight direct confrontations with the IDF, in light of their massive losses.

And as I reported below...they were not expecting such a forceful retaliation by Israel in response to the kidnapping. (Which also goes to show you that till now, Israel had been doing this ALL WRONG)

11:00 PM Another video...youve got to stand for something.



10:55 PM IDF's Only female warrior in Lebanon

In Russia she served in the Red Army. In Israel, Dr. Marina, the only female soldier in Lebanon, takes care of injured under fire.

One of the doctors who evacuated wounded IDF soldiers from Bint Jbeil on Monday is also the first female soldier to serve in Lebanon: Lt. Dr. Marina of the 52nd armored battalion. Read it all here on YNETNEWS.

10:50 PM IDF apprehends two rock throwing Palestinians by the Northern Efrat intersection on Road 60.

10:44 PM Hizbolla starting to break....("We didn't realizw Israel would react like this...")

10:43 PM Solidarity Trip to Israel Planned:

NYS Assemblyman Is hosting a Solidarity trip to Israel arriving in LOD B'ezrat Hashem Sunday Evening the group will consist of about 20 people including NYC Government officials Community leaders, business people, etc. The plans are to stay the first night in Haifa, touring the next day and stay the night in Tzfat continuing Tuesday touring and staying the night in Teverya. If there is anything you can suggest please E-mail me

Wolf Sender
District Manager
Community Board #12
5910 Thirteenth Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11219
TEL. 718-851-0800
email: Zsender@aol.com

10:36 PM Pollution in Haifa down!

Exclusive information from the Muqata's own Weather Scientist, Faiga.



Pollution is down about 50% since rockets started to hit Haifa -- due to chemical industry disruption and less traffic. The graph shows Nitrogen Oxide concentrations (a pollutant resulting from road traffic and energy production) in Haifa before and during the war.

All rights reserved to Faiga @ the Muqata. (c) 2006

10:12 PM YNET reports that over 104 rockets were fired today at Israel.

10:00 PM Three IDF soldiers wounded in Lebanon -- being airlifted to Rambam hospital in Haifa.

6:12 PM Steg the blogger describes his Shabbat experience at the Muqata.

Going home now...be back soon.


6:07 PM Upcoming Pro-Israel Rally in Germany!

Berlin (28. July 2006 at 17:00).

For more details, click here

Hat-tip: Eric.

6:05 PM Confirmed IAF attacks on Beirut and Lebanon

5:50 PM Barrage of Rockets strike Haifa. MDA responding.

5:45 PM Air Raid Sirens in Haifa...all over the North...Yizrael valley...

5:37 PM Appears a Hizbolla Weapons/Ammunition bunker in Beirut has exploded. Unsure if caused by IAF.


Image courtesy of Rotter.Net

5:23 PM Dreaking News: Massive Explosions Reported in Beirut. More info to come.

4:57 PM: Anne Frank 2006: War Diaries Online. DovBear has the story and video link of Galya Daube, a 15-year-old from Haifa, Israel, who uploaded a jittery, first-person video clip last week, made as she ran through her home, rushed down whitewashed staircases and blurred her way from room to room toward the family’s bomb shelter.

4:52 PM Israel Police stopping traffic all along the Jerusalem/Tel-Aviv highway to allow for a secure cartrip for US Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice, (thanks isaac for the correction) to get from Jerusalem to the Ben-Gurion airport. Take my advice - use road 443 (Jerusalem -Modiin)

4:49 PM Direct hit of Katyusha in Nahariya on Factory

4:35 PM Direct Katyusha hit on house in Shlomi...MDA responding.

4:32 PM Air Raid Sirens in Shlomi and Nahariya.

4:30 PM Sorry people...laptop problems. Seem to have been resolved. Good news - I have some volunteers to help over the next few days when I'm on milluim.

4:29 PM Name released for publication. 15 year old girl killed by Hizbolla Katyusha: Da'ah Abbas from the Marar village near Tevriya.

3:01 PM The war in pictures - see them all at Baleboosteh's Worth visiting! The Muqata now has it's own Wikipedia entry. Thanks to Stillruleall! :)

2:57 PM Multiple Rocket Strikes in Nahariya...reports of injuries.

2:52 PM Air Raid Sirens in Haifa and surrounding areas. Katyusha strikes in Kiryat Shmuel, Kiryat Yam...smoke rising from edge of Kiryat Motzkin. No reports of injuries (let's hope it stays that way)

2:41 PM 15 year old killed in Hizbolla rocket attack in Marar village near Tevriya.

2:19 PM Olmert still stands behind realignment plan

In Olmert's words -- Israel is "fighting for its right to live." -- and that's why there is now 95% support for war effort on 3 fronts in Israel. However, in a slap in the face to the country which is giving him wall to wall support, Olmert decided it's time to continue pushing his "realignment plan", and for that, I cannot remain silent. Olmert cannot expect the country to shut up, remain unified, and blindly follow every action of the Prime Minister when he starts throwing around his "realignment plan" -- and saying he will evacuate even more settlements in the West Bank. If he doesn't keep quiet, he will seriously damage the important unity that we have now.

Yesterday, he said to Gush Katif people:

"Your difficulties are clear to me and we will solve the problems," Olmert told representatives of the evacuees living in temporary housing in Nitzan.

"We will yet evacuate communities and it is important to me to complete this chapter as soon as possible so that we will be able to continue as a strong and united nation for the challenges that await us."

Olmert also told the Nitzan residents that he was "convinced that we made the right decision to carry out the disengagement plan, and it is better for Israel that you are not living in the Gaza Strip at this time."

"I know that you are angry," he said. "I know that you think that you need to be in Gush Katif. We think differently. The government will invest so that each evacuee feels that the State cares about him and so that your children love the country like your grandfathers did. It is important to me that you know that we are acting out of the same love for Israel that you have."

(JPOST)

While uneployment for Gush Katif people is over 50%, teenage suicide rates are up specifically among Gush Katif teenagers -- and these people refused to run away from the Qassam rockets that hit them for 5 years...for Olmert to say that the State cares about them is a smack in the face.

Olmert would be well advised to focus on the war effort instead of trying to push his realignment plan.

2:17 PM Air Raid siren a few minutes ago in Haifa...no rocket impacts reported.

2:02 PM Hizbolla Katyusha rocket lands next to a mosque in Kfar Marar (near Teverya). One wounded seriously, 2 children wounded lightly, 2 in shell shock.

2:00 PM Forgive Me! A Letter From Haifa To Gush Katif (hat-tip: A Simple Jew)

Excerpt from an e-mail that I received from Dror Vanunu of Friends of Gush Katif:


Friends and family members are being injured and killed
Some of us are without a roof on our heads.
I closed my business since the beginning of the battle and I don't know what will happen.
We are wandering between family and good people.
Our family life has been impaired.
I never thought that I, a Haifa resident for 30 years, would be a refugee in my own land.
Every thing sound so familiar from the close past.

During 5 years you coped with bombs – and I didn't care
You buried family and friends - and I was indifferent
You found yourselves without a home, like that and you never had someone that listened to you.
Even when you came to visit me to my house, to explain, to convince, to share your feelings with me – I refused to listen to you.
It has already been a week. I am out of my house, without my regular routine, it is very hard to me – but the empathy, the support, and people identifying with our plight helped me go on.
You , don't even have that.
You – In guest houses, hotels and even in tents- It's not easy to say: "Who cares?!"

People from Gush Katif and the Shomron!
Forgive me!
Forgive us for letting you on your own.
Forgive us for not understanding you.
I am not a religious man, and not a mystic person.
But we cannot ignore the deep relation
Between my attitude towards you
And the price that I am paying now for my understanding.

1:49 PM About 20 minutes ago, another barrage of rockets landed in Tzefat and Kiryat Shmona. No injuries.

1:46 PM IAF destroys the rocket launchers responsible for this morning's attack on Haifa. IAF Black Hawk helicopter lands at Hadassa hospital in Jerusalem with wounded.

1:06 PM Picked up some visitors from the Airport...on to the updates:

This morning over 16 missiles (not katyushas) hit Haifa -- 1 serious, 1 moderate, 21 lightly wounded. 5 Katysushas hit Maalot; 2 wounded. 5 Katyushas hit Nahariya, 7 rockets fall near Meiron. Numerous fires burning around the Galil resulting from Katyusha strikes.

10:01 AM Rockets feel earlier this morning (about 15 minutes ago) in the proximity of Nahariya and Akko. A few minutes ago there were Air Raid sirens in Carmiel. No identified rocket landings in Carmiel.

10:00 AM Good morning...blogging live from Ben Gurion for a few minutes...



Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael