Probably thought of as one of the safest cities in Israel, Eilat, nevertheless had an early morning wake up when the Houthi launched ballistic missiles at the city. The IDF defence system, The Arrow, intercepted the missiles and although we all had to run to our safe rooms as two sirens blared, due to the successful interception there was no danger to life. The Houthi continue to target international ships in the Red Sea with missiles and drones.
Israel is a bouncy and resilient country and the early morning attack did not deter theatre goers who packed the Wow Theatre for the first night of the Eilat Jazz Festival. Many of the 180,000 refugees from the north and the kibbutzim that were attacked on October 7th are staying in Eilat, as it is still not safe to return home.
Just outside of Jerusalem on Highway 1 near Ma’ale Adumin the news was deadly, with a shooting attack taking the life of one Israeli and injuring eight others. The three attackers are reported to be from Bethlehem, which despite its significance to Christianity is now an Arab majority city with very few Christians remaining.
Intermittent rockets have continued to be launched from Gaza into the border communities.
There has been no progress or news of the hostages. Released hostages have told of having a gun held to their heads while being made to watch Hamas raping other hostages ! After 139 days there has been no proof of life or even news of the condition of the hostages. A video was discovered showing the young Bibas family when they first arrived to Gaza. Ariel (4) and his baby brother Kfir are the youngest hostages still being held.
The only way this conflict will start to be resolved is for Hamas to release all the hostages. The on going hostilities are solely in the hands of Hamas and calling for a ceasefire will continue to fall onto deaf ears until the hostages are released.
We are hearing on the international news that the situation in Gaza is dire and the people are struggling to find food and clean water. The vast amounts of aid entering the strip is still being misappropriated by Hamas, who continue to use their own people as human shields while they hide in the remaining tunnels. There was footage of Hamas shooting civilians who tried to access the aid lorries.
The chaos that broke out in the British parliament was absolutely mind boggling, as it would not make one iota of difference if the SNP, Labour and/or the Conservatives passed a daily motion calling for a ceasefire. There is not one politician in Israel whose eyes are on the opinions of the UK! I would guess that over 95% of Israelis have no idea who David Cameron is, let alone have any interest in what he thinks . The talk in Israel about the UK is only about the huge wave of anti semitism that has swept the country.
When the Israelis arrive in Scotland, they are surprised that they are not all running around in kilts and playing bagpipes. They have never heard of the SNP, who actually think they have any say in the internal affairs of Israel.
The US, whose opinion is important to Israel has voiced its concerns over manoeuvres by the IDF in Rafah. The area is dense with refugees from the north and centre of the strip, although many have been moved to safer areas through a corridor set up by the IDF.
We will have to hope that a deal to release the hostages can be reached before Ramadan in two weeks, as that seems to be the deadline set by Israel. Hamas has still not pulled back from their demands for the release of thousands of convicted terrorists and a complete withdrawal of the IDF. These conditions are totally unacceptable to Israel who need a peaceful border not more terrorists.
Israel also totally rejects the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state which would be seen as reward for terrorism.
Israel’s stated aim to cripple Hamas’ capabilities to harm Israel is looking more achievable as the IDF have managed to destroy so much of their military infrastructure, but total success has not been achieved.
There are thirty six hospitals in Gaza, which has a population of around two and a half million. London which has a population of over nine million, only has eighty four. Why does Gaza have so many hospitals ? Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that every hospital, together with every school and mosque was a designated terrorist depot with tunnels and vast storage facilities for military hardware. The UAE are setting up a floating hospital off the coast and a delegation of doctors from Israel have entered the strip.
Despite thousands of militia having been killed and hundreds of fighters surrendering, the terrorist group is still not ready to return the hostages. The wellbeing of their own people is not important to Hamas, and their stated aim is repeat the massacre of October 7th. The first responsibility of Israel as a sovereign state that was invaded , is to protect her citizens and to secure the release of the 134 hostages.
Heavy rocket fire from Hezbollah into the north continues daily . Kiryat Shmona , Shlomi and Metulla, towns near the northern border with Lebanon are suffering repeated attacks as is the mystical town of Sfad. The IDF are retaliating and have hit Damascus and Hezbollah positions in Lebanon.
We just do not know if the north is going to break out into a major conflict, or if Hezbollah are just showing affiliation with Hamas. It has been reported that Hezbollah have also built an underground tunnel network even more vast than that of Hamas, reaching many miles into Israel. If this is true then Israel cannot sit back and wait for another invasion, and will have no choice but to take action.
The situation remains worrying and tense and despite the ongoing news that is streamed by the international press, until Israel can guarantee totally victory and security there are nine million lives at risk in Israel .
The number of injured in Israel has risen to nearly 15,000 and 246 soldiers have fallen, 1,400 Israelis have been murdered.
Shabbat Shalom