Shalom friends,

Yesterday 260 missiles fell in Northern Israel – a new record for hits in one day.  37 missiles fell in Haifa, and 6 in the Afula area.  It was the first time that the police issued an order early in the morning to the residents of Haifa forbidding them to leave the bomb shelters.  Fortunately I managed to leave the city on my way to Afula early, before the first of 20 missile attacks occurred. 

At 3 PM Iris, my wife, called me from home and said that during the seventh or eighth attack that morning missiles fell in the center of Haifa, and the smoke billowing from that blast reached the bomb shelter in my apartment building. 

In Afula, any idea of leaving the building where our office is located was quickly abandoned in light of the real and palpable danger and the numerous air raid sirens that sounded throughout the city.  From my office window I was able to make out the sites of the missile hits throughout the region. 

I hoped that in the evening I would be able to travel home without fear, but then it became clear that Nassrallah decided to provide us with a grand finale, bombarding Haifa as well as Afula with missiles even after nightfall.  Missiles fell along my route from Afula to Haifa as well.  Finally, at 9 PM, I was able to leave Afula on my way home.

Today brought with it hopes as well as concerns.  On the one hand, the sudden quiet and decrease in tension; on the other hand – we have no illusions.  We've been there before.  Honoring agreements is not our enemy's strong suit and the general feeling is that this is just a hiatus until the next stage.  But the longing for some quiet and peaceful routine will soon put life back on track until the next time we are reminded that we live in the Middle East, surrounded by neighbors who are not necessarily keen on building neighborly relations. 

Eshel