Updates from Israel - July 13th

Updates around the clock:

8:15PM NEWS FLASH: Two Katyusha rockets land in Haifa. No Injuries. Katyushas strike in Tzfat. 10-15 reported wounded, at least 1 in critical condition. Nahariya - 7 wounded from Katyushas.

7:53 PM: 4 Rockets land on Har Meiron. Injuries being reported from previous attack in Nahariya. Rockets also landed in Rosh Pina and Chatzor -- unsure if there are injured at those locations.

7:33 PM Two additional barrages of Katyusha rockets hit Nahariya and Tzfat. No injuries reported.

6:31 PM: IDF responding to suspected terrorist infiltration in the North, no injuries reported. Ongoing firefight in the area of the IDF tank destroyed yesterday on Northern border. Rotter.net reports than Israel has information that Hizbolla will try to move kidnapped soldiers to Iran. Additional Qassam rocket fired at Southern Israel. No injuries reported.

5:57 PM: Launch identified of Qassam rocket from destroyed Dugit Settlement in Northern Gaza Strip. Landing assumed in Southern Ashkelon. No immediate reports of damaga or injuries.

(Map Courtesy of YNETnews)

5:38 PM Police report that today, 85 mortars and Katyuhsa rockets were fired at Northern Israeli communities, with 90 civilian Israelies wounded: 2 serious, 4 moderate, 30 light, 54 in shock. 2 killed - one in Nahariya, one in Tzfat.

5:35 PM Anti-tank rocket fired at IDF troops operating in Central Gaza on Kissufim Corridor (road that leads to destroyed Gush Katif communities) No injuries reported.

4:51 PM IDF orders residents of Karmiel and Majdal Krum into bomb shelters...in anticipation of more rocket strikes (via Channel 2 TV -- OY)

4:40 PM 70 year old woman from Tzfat dies of Katyusha inflicted injuries this afternoon.

3:48 PM Personal Update: The Muqata receives a new improved BANNER from our good JBlogger friend Sarah over in Australia. Thanks!

3:29 PM Katyusha rockets strike Majdal Krum 3 wounded. The city is not related to this blog.

3:22 PM Names of Kidnapped Soliders: Ehud Goldwasser (31) from Nahariya, Eldad Regev (26) from Kiryat Mutzkin. (neither are Druze as previously reported)

2:58 PM Personal Update: As part of the Muqata clan of kids continue with their vacation in the USA, one of our younger kids is on his way to visit friends...up north. IDF Home Front Command has not recommended that residents leave Northern communities, but to stay indoors if possible, and our friends have an in-house functional bomb shelter (as do many of us). If orders change, then we'll obviously bring him home. Running away from problems will get you nowhere.

2:55 PM 1 serious, 1 moderately wounded plus other hysteria victims in Tzfat resulting from 2 rocket attacks

2:45 PM Names of the fallen IDF soldiers.

The four soldiers killed in the tank:

Tank commander Alexei Kushnirsky, 21, from Nes Tziona
Gadi Musayev, 20, from Acco
Shlomi Yirmiyahu, 20, from Rishon LeTzion.
Yaniv Bar'on, 20, from Maccabim.

The soldiers who were killed in the Hizbullah attack on the outpost, in which the two soldiers were kidnapped:* Eyal Banin, 26, from Be'er Sheva, on his last day of reserve duty. His funeral will be held at 4:30 PM in the Kiryat Sha'ul Military Cemetery* Shani Turjeman, from Beit She'an. His funeral will be held at 6 PM in his hometown.* Vasim Salah Nazal, from the Druze village of Kfar Yanuh. He will be buried there at 2:30 PM.* Nimrod Cohen, 19, from Kibbutz Mitzpeh Shalem near the Dead Sea, who will be buried at 6:00 PM at Mt. Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem. (a7)

2:35 PM Three Katyusha rockets land in the vicinity of Tzfat (Safed). No reported injuries. (via rotter)

2:34 PM IDF soldiers accompanied by members of the Military Rabbinate continued their efforts to locate the body parts of the soldiers who were killed when their tank drove over a bomb in south Lebanon. The body of one of the troops was located Thursday afternoon. (YNET)

2:29 PM Hizbolla leader Nasralla threatens Israel: If Israel does not stop it's attacks on Beirut, we will start bombing Haifa" (reported by Al-Manar news via rotter)

12:24 PM Channel 2 News (Israel) reporting 29 in total civilian wounded up north from Katyusha attacks, 1 of them in critical condition. (in adddition to the woman killed there this morning) [and a hat-tip to OC]

11:52 AM Shomron IDF Battalion Region orders the prevention of Palestinian workers from entering Israeli communities. (Binyanim and Efrayim regions still allowing in workers). (this due to terror warning)

11:46 AM: Rockets target Moshav Ben Ami (location is near Nahariya, North-west Israel). Water and Electricity reportedly knocked out.

11:18 AM Katyusha Rocket lands in Tzfat (Safed); No injuries currently being reported.




Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael