Gaza War Diary: October 29, 2024
Today I saw a notification that ten thousand (!) Israeli soldiers have been injured so far in this war for our survival and are undergoing rehabilitation. May God bless and heal them.
This is the worst part of any war in Israel, sitting home and waiting for the news of the deaths and injuries on the battlefield. I remember during the Yom Kippur War that the public was not informed of the losses on a daily basis, and it took a long time until we understood the full scope of the calamity. The IDF Spokesmen at that time were always upbeat, positive, full of heartening news about how much progress we were making, even at the beginning when that wasn’t always the case.
Today, with the Internet, you can’t hide anything, and so each day, every day, we are forced to see the overwhelming human cost of being a free people in our homeland. Those faces… so young, so handsome, so full of life. And as I look at them, because I can’t look away, I can’t help thinking about their parents, their brothers and sisters, and sometimes their wives and children and how much they must have been loved, and how much they will be missed.
October saw heavy losses in lives. Today a very serious incident in the Northern Gaza Strip took the lives of four soldiers: Capt. Yehonatan Joni Keren, 22 years old, Sergeant Nisim Meytal, 20 years old, and Sergeant Aviv Gilboa, 21 years old all fell in battle in the northern Gaza Strip. In addition reserve soldier Yedidia Bloch, a resident of Mevo Horon in Binyamin, who was seriously wounded in a battle in southern Lebanon on the morning of Simchat Torah, today died of his wounds. May their memories be a blessing.
These announcements are unbearable. But it must be borne, otherwise their sacrifice will be in vain. We have to win, not only for our sake, but for theirs. But perhaps it is affecting policy decisions. Government officials are talking about obtaining conditions for a ceasefire in the north sooner rather than later. Some suggest the battle will be over in a few weeks. These are the conditions that are being discussed:
· The Lebanese army will work to dismantle the Hezbollah infrastructure that remain south of the Litani River.
· Our forces will remain in Lebanon until this move is completed as a condition for its fulfillment.
· Israel will have the ability to enforce on its own if it sees that arming resumes.
· An effective arms embargo on Lebanon on land, in the air and at sea.
Arab media are quoting Smotrich who allegedly said the war in the north will be over by the end of the year. Is that the end of the secular year, January? Or the Jewish Year, next October? I wish I could be sure.
I agree with Abu Ali when he writes: “The silent Israeli attack on Iran was not just an attack on a missile facility; it was a quiet and powerful reminder of Israel’s ability to destabilize Iran’s defenses in a manner unprecedented since 1979, without the need to declare a state of emergency in the world. As the conflict intensifies, these maneuvers highlight Israel’s strategic superiority and Iran’s growing need to adapt its tactics to a new strategic reality, in which visual spectacle or verbal bravado are no longer sufficient.”
When I read this news bulletin issued by the Austrian Ministry of Defense which said: “8 Austrian soldiers from the UNIFIL force in Naqoura in southern Lebanon were hit by rocket fire. Their condition is minor.” I couldn’t understand why there wasn’t any outrage and condemnation of Israel, until I figured out that the rocket was launched by Hezbollah. And so that’s okay then, no condemnation.
Can someone explain to me why UNIFIL is still there, in the middle of a war?
UNIFIL soldiers and UNIFIL engineering tools are helping the locals in clearing roads in the village of Chaqra in southern Lebanon. Really? Is that part of their mandate now? They are lucky that rocket didn’t kill them, Hezbollah are notoriously bad at aiming their rocket fire. For example, a Hezbollah rocket fired supposedly at an army camp landed in a Israeli Arab village, killing a young Israeli Arab civilian who didn’t make it to the shelter in time because he was busy rounding up his young brothers. Tragic.
Lebanese and Arab media quote Defense Minister Gallant: “Hezbollah has only 20% of its rockets and missiles left.” Let’s hope they run out before any more misadventures.
I am very proud of the law passed by the Knesset in its opening winter session outlawing UNRWAin any area controlled by Israel. Of course the flunkies and terrorist supporters in the UN are outraged. Too bad. They keep saying there is no one else to do the “work.” What work is that? Brainwashing children with terrorist textbooks to grow up into hopeless fanatics? After all those years of UNWRA saving the “poor Palestinians” and resettling them, only for them to invade Israel and turn back into refugees again!! If they’d been given a different education, not by UNRWA, perhaps they’d be a thriving community by now who can fend for themselves. But failing that, they too can get on boats and invade Great Britain where Keir Starmer will roll out the red carpet for them, and put anyone who objects, like the courageous Tommy Robinson, in jail.
Who needs UNRWA?