Shabbat Shalom from Atlanta
Quick Update Today
We’ve been traveling this week to visit our son in Atlanta, but the flow of news hasn’t slowed down. Israel has been under daily attack by missiles and drones launched from Yemen. One of these missiles struck and destroyed a school in spite of the fact that an interceptor from Israel’s missile defense managed to hit it.
Yesterday, the Israel Air Force struck the airport in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, the port of Hodaidah and numerous other targets. This did not stop the Houthi terrorists who control much of Yemen from attacking Israel again last night with another ballistic missile. Fortunately last night’s projectile was successfully intercepted, but this did not prevent it from disrupting the sleep of millions of Israelis as alarms sent them running to bomb shelters.
Fighting continued in Gaza, while the reports of an imminent ceasefire appeared to evaporate. A wounded Hamas continues to torment the families of the hostages by raising hope, with the intention that domestic pressure will prompt Israel to make concessions. This strategy is no longer working. Israel denounced Hamas for refusing to provide a list of living hostages after agreeing earlier to do so. They also rejected claims by Hamas that Israeli air strikes killed two journalists, describing them as “terrorists posing as journalists”. Sadly, the IDF announced the deaths of a number of soldiers in combat.
Image: Cpt. (res.) Amit Levi, left, and Maj. Hod Shriebman. (IDF) were killed Thursday morning during fighting in Northern Gaza ——Source IDF
In Syria, there are reports of unrest by members of various minority communities against the new Islamist government. This included the killing of several police in Latakia, the power base of the former Assad regime. Earlier, the inhabitants of several Druze villages near Israel’s northern border reportedly asked Israel to annex the territory they occupy. In other areas of the Syrian south, during protests against Israel’s presence the IDF shot several demonstrators in the legs. With Turkey occupying part of northern Syria, the UN took the time to denounce Israel’s moves to take control of the buffer zone which used to separate the IDF from the former regime’s forces.
Meanwhile, the new HTS governor of Damascus referred to Israel as a people that wants peaceful coexistence. He said that they want cordial relations with Israel. He also described Israel’s initial concerns with the new regime as “natural”.
In Lebanon, UNIFIL, which slept through an 18 year military buildup by Hezbollah woke up to complain about Israel’s actions in southern Lebanon and to call for an expedited Israeli withdrawal. Israel released a report on the first 30 days of the ceasefire in Lebanon, citing dozens of Hezbollah violations of the truce and Israeli action in response.
The head of Shin Bet reportedly favours an attack on Iran, while the Prime Minister opposes it. Other commentators worried that the failure of Iran’s strategy to threaten Israel from Lebanon and Gaza might prompt the regime to build a nuclear weapon.
We would like to wish all of our readers who are celebrating a very happy Chanukah. May the increasing lights bring us continued hope and resilience. May the New Year bring us the return of the hostages and victory for Israel’s warriors and security forces on all fronts. May the One who makes peace, bestow peace on the people of Israel in our land. Shabbat Shalom.
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My sentiments, exactly. On a more cheerful note: have a lovely visit and a Chag Urim Sameach to you all of yours.
A short but mighty article, with so much going on. thanks for the recap.