For residents of Haifa and the Galilee region, ‘life as usual’ now entails remaining close enough to shelters and safe rooms to permit reaching them when air raid sirens sound. Farmers throughout the Galilee are unable to work their crops, which are rotting on trees, while others remain at home, out of work, with children sadly wondering what became of their summer camp programs and outings that are usually associated with the end of the school year.
The many resorts, bed & breakfasts, hotels and nature reserve areas, which were booked for a sellout season are now wondering where their livelihood will come from, realizing this 2006 summer season is now a thing of the past. Cancellations continue to come in as the summer season crumbles under rocket fire.
What began less than a week ago as an attack against Israel’s northern border has quickly spread to the Galilee, Upper Galilee, Galilee Panhandle and other areas, including the Jezreel Valley and Haifa. Military officials continue to monitor the situation with concern, well-aware that rocket attacks are steadily moving deeper into Israel, instructing residents of the Greater Tel Aviv area and northward to "remain alert" - to monitor radio broadcasts as well as acquainting themselves with IDF Homefront Command instructions in the event of an attack.
In attacks throughout northern Israel on Monday, a three-story building in Haifa sustained significant damage when upper floors collapsed due to a direct hit in one of many attacks. Military officials report that not all the rockets fired to date are 122mm Katyusha rockets, but some are more deadly Syrian rockets which carry a larger payload and metallic balls, all intended to cause more death and destruction. An Iranian missile struck a navy gunboat on Friday night, claiming the lives of four crew members. On Monday night, the air force hit a truck carrying long-range Iranian rockets to Hizbullah, part of the ongoing offensive intended to destroy the Hizbullah arsenal.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt-General Dan Halutz and members of the General Staff have told lawmakers that they cannot “stand over him with a stopwatch,” unwilling to set a precise timetable for the conclusion of ongoing military operations in Lebanon, adding the IDF is confident that Hizbullah will be dismantled and distanced from Israel’s northern border.
Fighter planes continue carrying out hundreds of sorties daily, striking strategic targets in Lebanon as Israel continues attempts to pressure Lebanon to comply with UN Resolution 1559, demanding Lebanese troops deploy throughout southern Lebanon to oust Hizbullah from the area.
Northern hospitals are operating on emergency schedules, remaining ready to triage and treat rocket attack victims around-the-clock. As the death toll and number of injured increase, more and more Israelis are calling stress hotlines, seeking a comforting word – an assurance that tomorrow may bring an easier day, one without sirens and explosions.
On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni will be meeting with United Nations emissaries arriving in the area as efforts towards a diplomatic solution, a ceasefire, continue.
Addressing the nation on Monday night in a live televised address from the Knesset, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced the military offensive in Lebanon would continue until such time the Hizbullah threat is neutralized, maintaining his hard-line position, stating that until such time captive soldiers are released and Hizbullah is distanced from Israel’s borders, there would be no ceasefire.
The prime minister enjoys the support of opposition parties, with opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu announcing that as long as the government continues the offensive to eradicate Hizbullah, the opposition will stand firmly at its side, supporting efforts towards eliminating the constant threat of rocket attacks against Israel.
On the southern front, Kassam rocket attacks aimed at Sderot and western Negev communities continue, with the IDF working in northern Gaza to create a buffer zone to place rocket launchers out of range from southern Green Line Israel. Military officials early Tuesday morning announced that an operation in the Beit Hanoun area of northern Gaza has been completed after some 20 terrorists were arrested and bulldozers have destroyed area infrastructure used to launch the rocket attacks.
The many resorts, bed & breakfasts, hotels and nature reserve areas, which were booked for a sellout season are now wondering where their livelihood will come from, realizing this 2006 summer season is now a thing of the past. Cancellations continue to come in as the summer season crumbles under rocket fire.
What began less than a week ago as an attack against Israel’s northern border has quickly spread to the Galilee, Upper Galilee, Galilee Panhandle and other areas, including the Jezreel Valley and Haifa. Military officials continue to monitor the situation with concern, well-aware that rocket attacks are steadily moving deeper into Israel, instructing residents of the Greater Tel Aviv area and northward to "remain alert" - to monitor radio broadcasts as well as acquainting themselves with IDF Homefront Command instructions in the event of an attack.
In attacks throughout northern Israel on Monday, a three-story building in Haifa sustained significant damage when upper floors collapsed due to a direct hit in one of many attacks. Military officials report that not all the rockets fired to date are 122mm Katyusha rockets, but some are more deadly Syrian rockets which carry a larger payload and metallic balls, all intended to cause more death and destruction. An Iranian missile struck a navy gunboat on Friday night, claiming the lives of four crew members. On Monday night, the air force hit a truck carrying long-range Iranian rockets to Hizbullah, part of the ongoing offensive intended to destroy the Hizbullah arsenal.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt-General Dan Halutz and members of the General Staff have told lawmakers that they cannot “stand over him with a stopwatch,” unwilling to set a precise timetable for the conclusion of ongoing military operations in Lebanon, adding the IDF is confident that Hizbullah will be dismantled and distanced from Israel’s northern border.
Fighter planes continue carrying out hundreds of sorties daily, striking strategic targets in Lebanon as Israel continues attempts to pressure Lebanon to comply with UN Resolution 1559, demanding Lebanese troops deploy throughout southern Lebanon to oust Hizbullah from the area.
Northern hospitals are operating on emergency schedules, remaining ready to triage and treat rocket attack victims around-the-clock. As the death toll and number of injured increase, more and more Israelis are calling stress hotlines, seeking a comforting word – an assurance that tomorrow may bring an easier day, one without sirens and explosions.
On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni will be meeting with United Nations emissaries arriving in the area as efforts towards a diplomatic solution, a ceasefire, continue.
Addressing the nation on Monday night in a live televised address from the Knesset, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced the military offensive in Lebanon would continue until such time the Hizbullah threat is neutralized, maintaining his hard-line position, stating that until such time captive soldiers are released and Hizbullah is distanced from Israel’s borders, there would be no ceasefire.
The prime minister enjoys the support of opposition parties, with opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu announcing that as long as the government continues the offensive to eradicate Hizbullah, the opposition will stand firmly at its side, supporting efforts towards eliminating the constant threat of rocket attacks against Israel.
On the southern front, Kassam rocket attacks aimed at Sderot and western Negev communities continue, with the IDF working in northern Gaza to create a buffer zone to place rocket launchers out of range from southern Green Line Israel. Military officials early Tuesday morning announced that an operation in the Beit Hanoun area of northern Gaza has been completed after some 20 terrorists were arrested and bulldozers have destroyed area infrastructure used to launch the rocket attacks.