# 422 – War Erupts – The 2nd Day

Obviously, this is a very bad situation, and very ‘ongoing’.

The current situation from my point of view:

– Over 600 Israelis have been killed; over 2,000 injured.

– And at least 100 civilians have been captured, taken hostage. (Also some soldiers, who become ‘prisoners of war’;. I shall come back to that one).

– “A few’ (4 or 5?) townships/villages/ kibbutzim in the Gaza area have still not been cleared of Hamas infiltrators. It’s door to door stuff.

– We are bombing Gaza.

– Some shells have been fired over the northern border from Lebanon, but nothing more.

– And there are protests etc. in the recently problematic West Bank. But again, otherwise quiet. That’s surprising, and of course, a relief, as Hamas IS strong in the area, and it does not take much or many to cause horror, as we well know.

– In Israel proper, home to over 2 million Arab Israelis (who often call themselves Palestinian, of course), there have been no serious incidents.

Tel Aviv? Some direct hits last night. We have friends visiting from USA. (They receive this email). They arrived here Friday pm almost directly from their visit to Petra in Jordan. As planned, we dined out with them, next to the beach,in full sight of a lovely sunset. Who was to know what would erupt just hours later?Their 2 days’ touring here have been cancelled. Still chances to visit the North and perhaps Jerusalem before leaving.

We had them to dinner last night. I insisted on driving them back to their hotel. It was an experience. First of all, just as 50 years ago, like on Yom Kippur, the streets were almost totally deserted. It was eery. Then the sirens sounded and explosions were heard nearby. Obviously put fear into us. And poor Aviva called; she was sheltering in our building’s staircase. We were supposed to take cover, but I decided it was best to just continue. Was able to drop them off and get home, passing several fire engines and ambulances on the way.

Again, I’ve been watching the various TV channels.

One of the Palestinian leaders, Mustafa Marghouti, is interviewed by Amanpour on CNN, and also by Sky and Al Jazeera. He’s not Hamas, but his words were….’garbage’. (Anyone who has issue with my opinion, do let me know).

Amanpour’s interview with the head of the Pal. office in London might have sounded a more ‘diplomatic’ attitude. But no, his life in London appears to have made his opinion even worse. (At least in my opinion, lies, lies and more lies).

Hamas fighters have been proudly filming much of their groundwork, and, unsurprisingly, Al Jazeera got their hands on them first.

– Captives/hostages/prisoners of war – Israel has been trying for years to have 2 Israelis released from Gaza – and also the bodies of 2 soldiers. Now they have perhaps over 100…And long before we start the negotiations with them, there is the subject of the attacks on Gaza – the potential destruction of much of the infrastructure. Not so easy if we know they not only hide behind their own women and children, but now behind our citizens.

(Remember, we are the army who drops pamphlets to Palestinian citizens, advising them, begging them to evacuate before what we feel is necessary bombardment).

How the hell did this happen??

There is no question that this attack was well-planned – and also well in advance. What happened to our renowned intelligence? The rocket fire started at 6.30am Friday – 1000’s of them. That should have woken up the watchers. Only an hour later did they start the land/sea/air attack. Overland, they had found soft spots in the border fence.

By air, they used paragliders and motorized air transporters to cross into Israel. By sea, their trip would take longer. Many were killed off the coast, but some got through. How?

Ofakim is a town about 10 km from Gaza – and yet the infiltrators had time to reach there and cause mayhem. How come?

In these communities, the attackers went door to door, killing and killing. And when the doors did not open, they flamed the homes – and killed when the occupants emerged. And then they had the time to capture the hostages, bundle them into their vehicles and return to Gaza with them.

And within 10 km of Gaza, hundreds of young people were dancing and singing the night away at a festival. Many were still there when the terrorists arrived in their vehicles, shooting and killing in all directions. Trees, high grass and some tables and chairs were the only defence. Helicopters were heard, but no marines sliding down ropes to the rescue. None.

Israel is known to have the highest quality military and military intelligence in the World. This was not a case of ‘being caught napping’. I – and others – feel that there was more to this than the eye sees. I am not a great fan of conspiracy theories. But something is telling me that this was more than a horrible error.

Time will tell.

Stephen