Liveblogging the War: Saturday July 15th – Sunday July 16th

First things first – I am alright, in case you were worried. If you are a new reader to this site, you would not have realized that I do not blog on the Jewish Sabbath. I planned on posting a pre-Sabbath post, but the Wi-Fi was turned off without warning, and that was the end of that.

Where do I start? It is a weird feeling to be away from the television and internet, knowing that your country is under attack. If the missiles were landing closer to us, then we would surely be connected, even on the Jewish Sabbath – life takes precedence, after all. But since we were out of harm’s way (we hope), we spent the Sabbath oblivious to what was going on. Except for the periodic sound of airplanes flying overhead (about once to twice an hour).

You are all probably aware of what has been going on since you last heard from me. The IDF warship being struck by an Iranian-manufactured missile, killing 1 soldier, with 3 others missing. The unrelenting barrages of Katushas hitting our northern communities, killing a 58-year-old grandmother and her 7-year-old grandson (or 5-year-old; once again Ha’aretz and JPost cannot agree), and wounding over a hundred others. The IDF deployment of Patriot missile batteries in Haifa, which do not protect against Katushas, but could protect against surface-to-surface missiles like those possessed by Syria. Our air force continuing to strike Hizbullah strongholds, and the Lebanese PM calling for a ceasefire, as well as help in deploying the country’s army in the south (methinks they should have done this 6 years ago).

I will endeavor to continue with the liveblogging as best I can, and time permitting (my day job keeps me very busy).

Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)

Russian President Putin says he doesn`t regret having invited Hamas to Moscow

 

I am the Marine that wrote to you about the News Media betraying us. I just wanted to tell you that we, Marines, SUPPORT Israel in their war against Hamas and Hizbullah. I cannot express to you how many Marines I have talked to or have heard say how proud of Israel they are. I cannot tell you how happy I am that Israel is destroying Hamas and Hizullah. We all CHEER when we watch Lebanon being bombed on TV in the Chow Hall. I hope Israel annihilates Hamas, Hizbullah and Syria. Because the way we see it, that is less Jihadists for us to fight. I can’t speak for all Marines, but the Marines that I know and talk to stand by Israel 100%. And I am in the infantry, we are front line Marines. Warriors. We support Israel because we have fought the same people they are fighting, Jihadists. This is a world war. It has been a world war since 11 September 2001. Hopefully now people are realizing the true scale of this conflagration. And Israel is fighting the same enemy in Gaza and Lebanon as America is fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, just on another front in the same war. And we see the Israeli Soldiers as brothers in arms against a common enemy.  Myself and the Marines in my unit, Veterans of 2 tours in Iraq, support Israel all the way to victory. And I THANK the State of Israel for their determination, fortitude and vigilance in the destruction of Evil.

God Bless America.
God Bless Israel.
And God Bless all freedom loving people worldwide.

– US Marine and Veteran of the current world war.

PS Pay attention to Somalia. We are currently losing Somalia to the Jihadists and we are doing nothing about it. Someday we will have to go back Somalia and it will be a bloody mess.

“We have a pretty good idea where they are launching their rockets from – villages and small communities – and [as such] we have warned civilian residents to evacuate their homes,” he said.

According to Ehud Ya’ari on channel 2, the video of Nasrallah was recorded at 1:00 p.m

So he could be hurt after all…

Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah on Sunday said the Israel Defense Forces offensive on Lebanon had not depleted its large stockpile of rockets, and warned that the Islamic group could strike almost anywhere in Israel.

“We will continue. We still have a lot more and we are just at the beginning,” Nasrallah said in a taped televised address on Al-Manar. “We promise them surprises in (any) confrontation.”

Nasrallah threatened “direct confrontation” if IDF ground forces entered Lebanon, adding that his guerrillas have “complete strength and power” despite Israel’s five-day bombardment.

“As long as the enemy pursues its aggression without limits and red lines we will pursue the confrontation without limits and without red lines,” Nasrallah said. “The enemy doesn’t know our capabilities or what we have.”

The Hezbollah leader said the IDF’s offensive in south Lebanon “relied on false information,” adding that “all the targets hit in south Lebanon were civilian. There were no bases or Katyushas there.”

He urged Arabs and Muslims worldwide to support his guerrillas, saying his group was fighting Israel on behalf of them.

“Today, especially in this sensitive moment and after several military achievements and surprises, Hezbollah is not fighting a battle for Hezbollah or even for Lebanon. We are now fighting a battle for the(Islamic) nation,” he said. “The peoples of the Arab and Islamic world have a historic opportunity to score a defeat against the Zionist enemy … We are providing the example,” he added.

“The Zionists did not understand our warnings and carried on with their strikes. Today we had no choice, and therefore we bombed Haifa. We are aware of the danger in this town, and that is why we did not strike the petrochemical factories,” he stated.

“Had we targeted the plants, this would have been a disaster for the residents. We hit around these factories in order not to escalate the situation, and out of belief that our weapon is the weapon of deterrence,” Nasrallah explained.

“Hizbullah is very surprised…We had the audacity to strike Hizbullah‚Äôs most sensitive center. They are surprised by the resilience of the home front; they are surprised because they do not hear the Israeli public panicking and calling on its government to call off the operation (In Lebanon. On the contrary, Hizbullah sees before it a united country and it is vital that this resilience continues, because it will determine the outcome of the entire war.”

I have mentioned this before. We are becoming more unified here in Israel, as left-wing and right-wing find common ground: the will to survive. For instance, I spoke with a very left-wing colleague of mine at work, with whom I hardly ever agree. Today I asked him if he agrees with what we are doing in Lebanon. He answered: “Absolutely.”

 

Hizbullah have made a grave error: they have underestimated the power of a united Israel.

“We are being asked why we bombed the Beirut-Damascus road? The reason is not that we’re interested in harming Lebanese infrastructure, or in punishing Lebanon, but rather it is to prevent caravans of weapons and other supplies from Syria to Hizbullah.”

The Israel Police on Sunday detained an Al-Jazeera news team after it broadcast live footage which disclosed the area of Sunday’s deadly Katyusha attack in Haifa, in violation of military censorship rules, police and security officials said.

A senior IAF officer revealed to the Post on Sunday afternoon that the IDF was using bunker-buster bombs to strike at senior Hizbullah officials in hiding throughout Beirut and Lebanon. According to the officer, several of the bunker hideouts were hidden under civilian parking lots.

 

The officer also said that the air force had encountered some resistance, including the firing of anti-aircraft shells at IAF aircraft.

 

Since the Lebanon operation began, the IAF has launched close to 2,000 sorties over Lebanon. According to the officer, the strikes were conducted under the assumption that the Hizbullah had and would use shoulder-mounted surface-to-air missiles.

 

In addition, overnight strikes in northern Lebanon near Tyre killed several senior Hizbullah officials. On Sunday, the Post was told, the IDF destroyed five long-range rocket launchers in southern Lebanon, some of which were used to fire rockets at northern Israel over the past few days, including at Haifa.

United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that the United States is not interested at this point in a cease fire that would allow Hizbullah and the Hamas to violate it by firing rockets toward Israel.

 

Rice also said during the interview that this is not the time for it, and there is need to impose UN resolution 1559 that calls for disarming all the militias in southern Lebanon

According to the A-Sharaq Alwasat news agency, an Iranian military source said that Iran transferred 11,500 missiles and rockets to Hizbullah between the years 1992 to 2005.

 

According to their report, Hizbullah currently has four kinds of advanced ground-to-ground missiles: the short-range FajR (100 km range), the Iranian 130 missile (90-110 km range), the Shahin missile (up to 150 km range) and a rocket 335 mm in diameter (150 km range).

“Only if the two goals which Israel has set for itself ‚Äì removing Hizbullah and disarming it, including rockets, and returning the kidnapped soldiers ‚Äì there will be a point in discussion the Lebanese offer,” a senior state official said.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov on Saturday warned that other nations could be drawn into the escalating Middle East conflict, which he called “a war that has begun.”

Ivanov appealed to the Islamic extremist group Hezbollah to stop using “terrorist methods” and said both sides must exercise restraint.