Gaza - Day 8

Ann wrote:

January 4, 2009



As you can imagine, it has been a very tense morning here. Emergency call-up
orders were
issued last night to thousands of reserve soldiers, so we are all busy trying to
find out
who we know who got called up. I finally got hold of my son this morning, and
he has NOT
been called up yet. I hadn't even realized I had been holding my breath until I
heard his
voice! It is still very sobering, though, to think of the thousands who are
involved in
this. Our school is being used as one of the meeting / pickup points for the
called-up
reservists. It is such an eerie feeling to look into their faces, knowing where
they are
going and what they will be going through. When I stopped at the bakery to buy
bread, I
was talking to the lady who owns and operates it. I've taught all of her
children, so we
visit a lot. She told me that a reservists had stopped in before 6 this
morning to see
if she was open yet, and to buy something for breakfast. She wasn't open, but
she gave
him a huge case of breakfast pastries fresh from the oven to share with the
others when he
got to the gathering point. As I was doing errands this morning after work,
everywhere I
went people had on their radios or TVs, keeping an eye on the news. At school
this
morning I got the list of our school's graduates who are in Gaza. I taught most
of these
boys.



On my way home I stopped to pick up two guys who were trying to catch a ride.
They were
both in uniform, and had huge backpacks with them. When I asked them where they
needed to
go they grinned sheepishly and said "We don't have a clue!" They gave me the
name of the
base, but more than that they didn't know. Since the base isn't too far from
me, but on a
road not heavily travelled, I decided to take them to the base. As we were
driving past
the north shore of the Sea of Galilee, heading up to the Golan, the view was
absolutely
glorious. They looked over at the water and mumbled, "Look at this place, and
we're going
to the Strip!" They had travelled up from the center of the country to this
base, where
they will get their equipment and then go to the south. They will have
travelled most of
the length of the country by the time they get there! It had been a long time
since they
had eaten, so I gave them the borekas I had bought for my kids. They were
really touched,
but I was thinking of how many women had done the same for my son. It wasn't
much, but it
was something I could do. Then on the way home, with the green hills around me
and the
lake below, I just started crying. It was a good release of tension.



The army went in with a very specific list of objectives, and so far it seems to
be
sticking to the agenda. They have basically split the Gaza strip into two or
three pieces.
The army has been very stingy with information, especially in real time, which
is
frustrating the foreign journalists but is much safer for our soldiers. You
can pick up a
general picture by listening to a combination of Israeli and Arab sources.
Israeli and
Al-Jazeera have both confirmed that a top Hamas leader, who was in charge of
their special
forces, was killed this morning. Arab stations, quoting Hamas leadership, have
been
reporting all morning that two Israeli soldiers have been captured, but the
Israeli army
has said that none of our soldiers is missing. The assumption is that Hamas is
using this
to hit at the morale of the Israelis.



One interview yesterdat really touched me. Ten months ago an Israeli
infantryman was
killed by an IED on the border with Gaza during an operation to clear out
smuggling
tunnels. Both of his parents are deaf, so his first language was sign language,
not
Hebrew. And because this is a special neeeds family, his parents didn't need
to sign
permission for him to serve, either. Anyway, his parents live in Ashkelon,
which is now
being hit by rockets which were most likely smuggled in through the tunnels he
was trying
to destroy. The other members of his company still come and visit his
parents.. Because
they can't hear the sirens, they have a special beeper that they carry on their
hips which
vibrates when the siren sounds. At the end of the piece, a phone number was
posted for
people who wished to donate so that other deaf people could receive these
buzzers as well.



And one last note about the "humanitarian crisis". Nearly every day of the war
Israel not
only allowed through, but actually donated some food and medical supplies
destined for
Gaza. What happens is that they pass through the Israeli security point, and
then are
unloaded in a secure area. Israel then closes the gates on our side, and the
gates into
Gaza are opened.for the supplies to be taken by Gazans into Gaza. That the
supplies are
not arriving at their destinations is the fault of the Gazans. Also, the only
Arab
countries donating supplies are Jordan, one of the poorest Arab countries, and
Qatar. None
of the other, far richer countries, is helping. It shows how much the Hamas are
liked by
most Arab governments.



A