Dear Betty,

I just wanted to let you know about what is going on here. This is part of a letter which I wrote to my friends:

I don't know how many of you listen to the news, but early Sunday morning Palestinians attacked an Israeli tank, on Israeli soil, killing 2 of the soldiers, seriously injuring a third, and kidnapping the fourth. They had tunneled under the border fence, come up behind the tank, and then attacked it with explosives. The Israeli experience with captured soldiers is very grim. Nearly all of them have been murdered at some point, after having been tortured extensively first. There are still soldiers missing who were known to have been captured alive in Lebanon in 1982, a navigator who was captured in 1986 (it was rumored that he was transported to Iran, but the family doesn't know if is alive or dead to this day, although he was alive when captured), and the most recent occurrance was when 3 soldiers were kidnapped on the Northern border by people driving a United Nations vehicle. For over 3 years they played cat and mouse with the families, until Israel finally released several hundred terrorists, at which point we learned that all 3 were dead and had been since the start. At least the families got the bodies back after three years of literal hell. So the outlook for this poor soldier is not good.

The reason that Israel has tanks on the border with Gaza is that despite Israel's complete withdrawal from Gaza last summer, the Palestinians continue to attack Israel daily. An average of 50-60 rockets are fired on Israel's Southern population centers daily, and it is often more. One of the places where the rockets land more than any other is an elementary school. The parents haven't sent their children for weeks. Lately the type of rocket used has become more sophisticated, and the range and accuracy much better. If that weren't enough, the Palestinians are using the ruins of the Jewish settlements that were evacuated last year as the launching areas for these rockets. All Israel accomplished by withdrawing from Gaza was to give them closer access.

For those of you who know Sonia Malel (the Uruguayan sister in our branch), her grandson Leonardo is in the same tank unit as the captured soldier, and was in the immediate area when the attack occurred. The soldiers in the unit were allowed to come home for one day, but they have to go back tomorrow. Please realize that Israel is already moving tanks, etc. to the border, and there is a very real possibility that Israel will attack soon. My son Bryan is a squad commander on the Northern border, and if / when Israel attacks in Gaza, the Hisballa will probably attack our Northern border as well, as it did a couple of weeks ago. We also have 3 other Galilee branch members currently in the army: Alexi Rivkin (from the Ukraine), and Fausto and German Gutman (brothers from Argentina; German is an RM). Two are in combat units and the third is a truck driver.

Depending on the size of the conflict, all 5 of the soldiers from our branch could be involved in some way. It could also very well be that another member would be recalled to reserve duty.

My request is, no matter what your political leanings are, to please keep Leonardo, Bryan, Alexi, Fausto, German and the kidnapped soldier Gilead Shavit (and his family) in your prayers. I would also like to ask that those of you near a temple please put their names in the prayer rolls.

With my heart-felt thanks,

Ann

I live in Israel, on a little rise at the Northwest end of the Sea of Galilee. I have dual US - Israeli citizenship, as do my children. Therefore, all of my children will be drafted into the Israeli army, although they could get out of it if they chose to do so.

My missionary son (in Rostov, Russia) served first in the Israeli navy before going on a mission. My second son has 5 months left in a 3-year term of service. He is in an elite paratroop unit which is a volunteer-only unit. After his release in November he will serve at least a month reserve duty until he is about 50.

My daughter already has her draft date for next summer, as soon as she finishes high school. She will serve for 2 years. My husband came in 1973 as an immigrant with his family. He served in the tank corp (he was in the same tank brigade as those whom I wrote about) and then did 18 years reserve duty, much of it during the first intifada, and the 1982 invasion of Lebanon the summer we were engaged.

The Galilee branch is different than the Tel Aviv / Jerusalem branch groups in that most of our members are Israeli citizens, and our children serve in the Israeli army. As I wrote, we currently have 5 soldiers serving.

You may post my letter if you wish. The news is current as of a couple of hours ago. Since I wrote, Israel has conducted 2 air strikes at bridges out of Gaza. If we go in, it will probably be in about 3 hours, which would be just about dawn here. The news has just said that Israeli missiles have just knocked out the main power station in Gaza, so it looks like the attack will be very soon.

I know that the concept of terrorism is fairly new in the US, but for us it is a fact of life and has been since even before the creation of the country in 1948. If you read David O. McKay's writings, he writes about the massive anti-Jewish riots which broke out while he was in Jerusalem in the 1920's. The history is long and very bloody.

The situation in Palestine right now is that the president is from one faction, the prime minister from another. They hate each others guts, and have been engaged in horrific civil war. Their way of attracting support is to attack Israel, or Jewish targets. And whatever they do in the West Bank and in Gaza, the Hisballah have to outdo from Lebanon onto Israel's Northern border. My son was involved in a very nasty battle there a couple of weeks ago.

What is so hard for Europeans and Americans to understand is that it doesn't matter what Israel does in the name of peace, or how much they give into the Palestinian demands, it is never enough. The other side always takes every concession as a sign of weakness and they attack us more.

What you see in Iraq and Afghanistan -- the suicide bombings, roadside bombs. and kidnappings, is what we live with. In fact, since the US invaded Iraq the second time, the rate of successful terrorist attacks here has gone way down.

There was a period of about 5 years when there were 3-4 successful suicide bombings a day here, and the targets were always civilian. One was actually at my son's school (the one who is now a soldier). He is a volunteer medic and was the first one at the scene.

When you read in the Book of Mormon about various groups teaching their children to hate the Nephites, this is exactly what they were talking about. Children are being taught hatred and blood lust at a very early age, and suicide-bomber training summer camps are even held yearly for kindergarten kids. It takes generations to end this kind of hatred, and the desire to do so. Unfortunately, the desire is sadly lacking.

I am going to try to get to sleep for a bit. Thanks for listening.

Ann Hansen Galilee, Israel

"...please forward this short paragraph of thanks to all those who responded so warmly to my appeal for their prayers. I am literally overwhelmed by the love and concern expressed by so many for people they have never met in this life, simply because I asked for their prayers. I have passed on these messages to the families of those involved, and we have cried together in joy and humility at the extent of your love. I thank you with all my heart. I was reading a verse in Alma that fit the situation:

. . . let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you. (Alma 34:27)

You have all certainly done this, and we are strengthened by it.

The situation here continues to deteriorate. The terrorists holding the kidnapped soldier have set a deadline which will expire in a few hours. If Israel does not release the terrorists they are holding, this young man will be murdered. If Israel does release prisoners, then it just sets the ground for more kidnappings. Most of the prisoners on the list (including the women and "children") are termed those "with blood on their hands", i.e., someone who has planned or participated in a terrorist attack which has targeted and killed Israeli or Jewish civilians. Gilad's family, especially his father, continue to hope and to pray for their son's return, but as the father says, time is not on their side. He is an incredible man. In a heart-breaking interview tonight when he was asked how he could remain so strong, he nearly broke down. His reply: "I have to be strong. My son needs me." I can't even imagine what they are going through tonight.

Ann,
Galilee, Israel

Ann's email (12th):

It is now 2:25 am and I am obviously not sleeping. Another name of a soldier killed today was just released. He was 19 years old and in Bryan's unit. He was killed while the unit was trying to rescue the crew of the tank hit by a missile this afternoon. All four members of the tank crew were killed.

Also, because the bodies were so badly burned, the forensics people have only just been able to identify the remains of those killed in the hummers this morning. It was at first thought that the Druze soldiers were kidnapped, but it now turns out that they were killed. The Hisballah had actually taken the body of one of them with them, but ditched it soon after because it was slowing them down.

As I said, they will even bargain with bodies, and allow the families to think their sons are alive. The two soldiers who were kidnapped are Jewish, from Nahariya and Kiryat Motskin, and were just completing their annual reserve duty. They are both in their 20s. All together, 8 Israeli soldiers were killed in the fighting in the North today. The civilians on the border are still in bomb shelters.

Thank you for listening, and for your prayers.

Morning (13th):

I had meant to write earlier, but this is what has happened today. We woke up this morning to a literal rain of katushya rockets all along the Northern border. A woman in Nahariya was killed inside her house by a katushya, and about 25 others were injured. Extensive damage has been done in several places. The Nahariya hospital has evacuated the top floors (labor and delivery, ICU, pediatrics) and moved everything into the basement floors. Several katushyas have started brush fires, which are being fanned by strong winds. A fire on Mt. Meron is raging out of control. More than 10 rockets fell around Mt. Meron (there is an air force communications base on top).

What is even more disturbing is that the Hisballah are using a new type of katushya which can reach more than 20 miles, instead of the 5-mile range the old rockets had. So today for the first time katushyas fell on Sfat (where Spencer lives and I teach), Hatzor (where I used to live and work now, and where Yvonne lives), Mishmar HaYarden (where Michael's parents used to live), Kfar Hanassi, Rosh Pinna and Kibbutz Mahanaim. The security forces have drawn a line from Akko to Ammiad and asked everyone North of there to stay in the bomb shelters.

I just saw a picture on the news and one of the rockets that fell in Sfat fell on the building where my teacher's room is at the college. Another katushya fell on the wadi above our old apartment in Hatzor, and Mt. Canaan is on fire.

Israel destroyed the Beirut airport and most of the roads. Hisballa has said that if Israel continues to bomb Beirut, they will bomb Haifa.

I went up to Hatzor this afternoon and picked up Yvonne, Michael's sister. She will stay with us for the time being.

Until later,

Ann

One more email from MM, Ann in Galilee:

More developments. Just a short while ago we heard booms and just learned that an area close to us (just North of the Mount of Beattitudes) has now been hit with katushas. Haifa (the main city and port in the North) has also been hit with missiles, in the area of my missionary son's former base.

The authorities have just asked everyone in Haifa, Acco and all the places between to go down into bomb shelters. We have two families in Haifa, one with young children, and a young mother with a 2-week old baby in a neighboring community. I've called and checked with all of them. Tomorrow if it is necessary we will get Vika and her baby and bring them here to us.

We have a bomb shelter in the house, and we are in such a small community we probably won't be a target. It isn't safe to go tonight. We may end up having a slumber party with wall-to-wall people! I already picked up Michael's sister this afternoon and she is staying with us. She is partially blind. Several friends and church members in the Tel Aviv area have offered their homes to us as well.

I've been in contact with the families of all the soldiers. They have all heard from their soldiers and all are safe. I don't expect to hear from mine since he is probably in Southern Lebanon. In any event, we haven't heard from him and his phone is off, of course. It will be another sleepless night.

Ann in Galilee

Dear Betty,

Thank you for sending the article. I am not at all surprised by the Vatican's comments. The Vatican has always detested Israel and it was only under orders from the former Pope, John Paul II, that the Vatican even recognized Israel's existence. Israel became a nation in 1948 and the Vatican only recognized our existence in the year 2000, and that was only because the pope at that time was an exceptional human being. The current pope is nothing like him. Whereas John Paul II hid Jewish children and helped others to escape from Poland during World War II, the current pope was an active member of Hitler's Youth in Germany. The pope at the time of world war II actively collaborated with the Nazis. I don't expect the Vatican's opinion to change substantially.

If I were in a debate meet, I would point out that Israel is also a sovereign nation whose civilians were the targets of an unprovoked attack from forces outside of our borders, and have been for years. However, when it comes to world opinion Israel is always the nasty aggressor and never the victim. Much of the world have the mentality of Governor Boggs. My family survived him and we will survive this. (That sounded quite dramatic, didn't it!)

Just an update. First, we are in contact with all the branch members every day, with the exception of my son, of course. All are safe and we are still planning to have church meetings in the morning, unless something changes during the night.

Secondly, the rockets / missiles continue to fall. As of this afternoon, more than 800 missiles have fallen in Israel since Wednesday. (Please try to remember the words of the Vatican condemning attacks on civilians in sovereign countries, which naturally wouldn't apply in this case.) It will probably be well over 1,000 by the end of the sabbath tomorrow evening. More and more are falling farther South, and even our village was asked this afternoon to stay inside, close to our bomb-shelter rooms. It is just a precaution, but why take chances. Early this evening a missile fell into a house in the town of Meron, which is where our area council (like a county government) is. The grandmother and 5-year-old granddaughter were killed immediately, and several other family members injured.

The economic damage is considerable. Two major sources of income in the North are tourism and agriculture, both of which are impossible at the moment. This is going to be a very long, but necessary operation.

Thank you for your friendship, Betty and Karl. It has made a real difference to all of us here.

Ann in Galilee

Hi everyone,

First, condolences to Ann's sons for the trauma of losing a team mate. Even though he may never hear of this, (a colleague of mum's commiserating) I feel a stab of pain over every reported every death, as I know we all do.

Just to say that Flor phoned me immediately after the college was hit, and I turned on the TV pronto. There was Hevron (very photogentic I must say) giving a little speech; saying very dramatically that the library had been destroyed. Then we saw Nissim, Silvie (from Mador bechinot); Tsafie and Chaim from the office in front (opposite Rivkah's) and Mimi one of the librarians sitting in the back of an ambulance looking a little shocked with some blood on her arm. Remember what Andy Warhol said about being famous for 15 mins. Later on I got through to Rivkah who said that Chaim and Tsafie's office was damaged, as were the teachers' rooms on that side but "our" side wasn't. But the Katyusha evidently did land in the library. However everyone was in the shelter, I understand (so how did Mimi get her arm grazed?)

Back here on Malkiya we haven't had a katyusha fall (I suppose I should say 'yet'). There is a big battery of guns below us in Dishon which hammers away loudly, seemingly shooting right over our heads (the border is above us - well, here on the 'harhava kehilatit' we are on a hillside below the border). The theory seems to be that the Katyushas sail over our heads and fall lover down (though one fell very close for comfort in Avivim, the nextdoor moshav. There are also tanks stationed in various places around the kibbutz but I, being inherently lazy, have forgone my morning walk for the last 2 mornings out of sheer laziness so I haven't seen where the tanks are. Perhaps tomorrow I'll take a walk round the new kvish ma'arechet that goes down around the new section of the kibbutz (my section).

I am also taking this period of enforced inactivity to do gardening which I am enjoying immensely; having waited so long, I'm not going to let a war get in the way.

So while we wait this out team, lets send each other emails to say what we're doing to get through all of this. But Ann, please update your mailing list for Zefat - I noticed that Natalie and Sharon aren't on it. Finally, I've just heard on the evening news that Zahal knows that the hizbollah have missiles with a range of 150 km capable of reaching Tel Aviv. In view of the numerous invititations we're had to go down to the center, this sounds bizarrely ironic. Malkiya may well be the safest place iin the country - well okay, I'll concede that Eilat might be safer!

Keep in touch, all - may be a pleasant alternative to news overdoses.

Best to all,

Sandy.

Now a response from Ann:
----- Original Message -----
From: Ann
Subject: fun weekend?

Hello everyone. I just wanted to tell those of you who are a little closer to the news than they would like to be that I am thinking of you. We in Livnim were even told to go down into our bomb shelters this afternoon. At least mine is in my house. I understand that there is a steady exodus to the South, kind of like the first Gulf War in reverse.

By the way, my son is serving in Sandy's neighborhood and one of his men was killed trying to rerieve the bodies from the tank the other day. We haven't heard from Bryan and don't expect to. No news is good news in this case.

Seriously, eventhough there isn't anything of a concrete nature (I guess I was subconsciously thinking of concrete and the effect of katushas on it) I can do, you are all in my thoughts and prayers (there should be a good snort about this point from Sandy).

Keep well.

Ann

Hello everyone.

It has been an eventful day. First of all, my daughter managed to get through and talk to Bryan for a couple of minutes this afternoon. She said he sounded in good spirits. I didn't have the same luck, but at least we have had contact.

Well, today over 100 rockets fell on Israel, quite a few of them in our area. In the first couple of days the old katushyas were used, with a 20-pound war head and a range of about 5 miles. The holes they made on impact were about 2 feet in diameter. The ones being used now have a range of at least 40 miles, and Michael thinks the war head is about 65 pounds. As a former tank corp member and the one responsible for loading the shells, he knows his ordinance. If you watched the news at all yesterday or today, you will see that the hole they make is considerably larger than 2 feet. Today Carmiel, Margrar, Bet Jahn, Tuba-Zangaria, Amiad and a host of other places got hit. There were even a couple of places on the Northern Golan Heights which got hit (Ein Kenia, Merom Golan [by the bunkers and the Golan "key"], the Odem forest). Hatzor HaGlilit (where I work and where I used to live) got pounded. After the sabbath was over I called several friends. Someone's parked car got hit. One rocket fell on the street behind my old apartment (right in front of Mrs. Reinus's house, Eliana). Two more fell onto the house of the woman who took care of my three oldest children when they were in day care (Aliza Ben Zaken). Luckily she was in Jerusalem with her daughter, because there is almost nothing left of her house. She had started with two small rooms and has worked for 45 years to turn her house into a beautiful home. Now it is all gone, and it will be hard for her to start over again now that she is close to 70.

I spent the morning in church in Tiberius. We had quite a few people because the Bowden family have finished their assignment and are returning to Oregon soon. Scott is/was in the branch presidency and Tiffany is/was the YW president / teacher, so they needed to be released. We had a member of the district presidency, Brother Cox up from Jerusalem to do that. Michael and Anatole were called to replace Scott as counselors (it shows how much Scott did that it takes two men to replace him). After the meetings most everyone was upstairs preparing the monthly pot-luck supper, while I Yaron and I were downstairs while M and A were set apart. Towards the end of Anatole's blessing we heard two sharp, loud cracks, (like thunder, but much louder), the ground felt like it rolled, and the building started to shake. I was really praying the blessing would be over soon. Anyway, two rockets had landed about 2 blocks from the church building. Three more had landed nearby (they are fired in banks of 5 at a time). I had never imagined that Tiberius would ever be hit. Old timers said that the last time there was shelling in Tiberius was in 1970 by the Jordanians. For those of you who know Tiberius, one fell in the football stadium, another 3 just up the hill by the turn off to Kfar Hittim, and the fifth in a field by Kfar Hittim. We got everyone downstairs fast, put the children in the office (the most protected room), and President Whitehead offered a prayer. Afterwards the food got brought downstairs and we had our potluck in the chapel. Spencer had her emergency radio with her, which is what you would expect from a Relief Society president who has preached preparedness for as long as I have known her. About then we heard more booms close by and learned that another had fallen at the Mitspor restaurant on the hill above us, and another had hit a house. Luckily no one was home. We also heard lots of sirens. Everyone in the branch reacted a little differently, but it was beautiful to see the interaction between the members, and to watch how they tried to cheer each other up or calm them down.

After phoning the district president in Jerusalem, President Luthy, it was announced that those who wanted to could go and stay in Jerusalem at the BYU Center. In addition to the empty dorm rooms, there is a huge bomb shelter which can house a couple of hundred people. In the end, everyone who lives in Tiberius, except for Ulyssia, decided to go. The Cox were very patient in waiting for everyone to pack, then took them back down in the transit van to Jerusalem.The Sitonins and the Whiteheads drove down later. Vitali was in a truck that got hit broadside a couple of days ago. He now has a broken leg and both arms are quite cut up, so he can't use crutches yet. He is also about 6'5", so Anatole thought that it would be best if he were somewhere where he could get help if needed. Luba, Vika and Leor (her baby) are also now in Jerusalem. President Luthy was wonderful through it all. Spencer decided to stay in the building at least for tonight. We decided to stay at home, because we already have a bombshelter, the trip to Jerusalem is really hard physically on Michael, and I wanted someone to be home if Bryan ever gets off for a few hours. On our way home the police boat was even chasing everyone off the beaches. During the afternoon and early evening more rockets hit, a couple in the street behind the chapel and the rest in the neighborhood. If you see on the news a white multi-storied building with blue curved balconies, that building is very close to the Whiteheads' apartment. They have also been showing a house with fancy furniture which was destroyed by a rocket. That is also in the neighborhood of the chapel. Spencer said that in the aftenoon blast the windows at the back of the chapel (mainly in the kitchen) broke. This evening the Pagoda Chinese restaurant also got hit. It is down on the lake front next to the Lido and Decks.

Planes and helicopters have been flying low overhead most of the afternoon and still are now (it's 4:30 am). Also late in the evening I heard fairly regular booms for a few hours. The Defense Ministry has now officially declared a state of military emergency, which gives different government and military bodies the authority to close down businesses, schools, etc. and decide who needs to go to bomb shelters. They have already said that all summer camps and summer school activities for children will cease as of the morning, at least in the North (which now means from Haifa - Tiberius North). You probably also saw that one of our naval ships off the coast of Lebanon was hit by a drone loaded with explosives. One body was found, but three others are still missing. Israel has said that the type of missile used is produced and operated by Iranian military personnel.

So, that was our day. I expect Haifa to get hit again, as well as Tel Aviv. It will probably be tomorrow late morning, since it will be at about the time when most people will have just gotten to work and therefore provide lots of targets. I hope I am wrong. At least we are all still safe and sound.

Thank you for your continued prayers.

Ann

I am so sorry for making everyone worry even more than they already are. They place where we live is actually still pretty safe, although the rockets are falling closer and closer to where we live, and we can hear the booms throughout most of the day and evening. The planes and helicopters we hear all the time. I was talking to one of our members, whose house is on a rise above the main air force base where the planes take off to Lebanon. As of Sunday the AF had flown over one thousand missions, which also means one thousand landings. She says she is going deaf! And as much as I agree that these bombings need to happen, I still can't help thinking what it must be like for the mothers in Lebanon who are on the receiving end. How all of this must be breaking our Father's heart. This same member came from Argentina 3 years ago and has two sons serving, one in the West Bank (although he might have been moved this week), and one as a driver. She grew up in the Argentina of Peron, where the army had similar connotations to the Nazi SS, and where tens of thousands of civilians (including from their families) routinely disappeared and never returned home. Gloria and her husband are both profoundly anti-war, etc., and never allowed their sons to play with anything that even remotely resembled a war tool. They know that the army here is very different than what they grew up with, and that it is necessary for our survival, but Oligario (Gloria's husband) told me that everytime he sees one of his sons in uniform, his stomach instinctively clenches. This is hard on them, but they are doing remarkably well with everything.

As to our soldiers -- First of all, one of the reasons I didn't write yesterday was that yesterday evening I heard the dog barking, and looked around to see Bryan walking through the door. It was heaven to be able to hug him again! He looked scruffy and very tired, and as usual he had his gun and more than the normal number of clips with him. He told us that the artillery unit down the road was deafening them, and made another comment about "this mess", but other than that he didn't talk about anything army-related. He was definitely in shut-down mode. He didn't even want us to call his sister in the US. They are very close and she has a way of ferreting out of him exactly what is going on. So we fed him and did his laundry and made brownies (plus another batch to take back to his men today), and let him have the computer. He spent a lot of time planning his next overnight hike (he loves nature and frequently goes hiking on the Golan when he is on leave). And special thanks to you, Mary Abbot. Within minutes of getting home he honed in on the boxes of Mac and Cheese which you left us. They are hard to get here in the North and they are one of his favorite foods. (Yes, mac and cheese is a luxury item. I've even bought them for his birthday, he likes them so much.) It was the first thing he ate, and he did it with a huge smile! Bless you. He went back this morning. Leonardo is now in officer training school, so he is away from the action for a couple of months. He would only be called up if the situation in Gaza gets to desperation point. German (pronounced Herr - man) is driving in the North, so he could be in areas which are being hit, but he is alright. Fausto and Alex are also okay. This, folks, is the result of your prayers. As parents yourselves, you know how much their safety means to us. There are not words to thank you enough.

The rest of our members are safe. Most are still in the BYU Center, although one young mother took her baby and returned home yesterday afternoon. I advised against it, but she wanted to go home. Sister Spencer also returned to Sfat, which is getting hit several times a day. She said she felt that she needed to be in Sfat, but doesn't know why. As someone who tries to follow promptings myself, I can't argue with her. Sfat has been pounded. One rocket fell through my classroom at the college, made its way to the offices and test archives on the floor beneath, and continued on to the basement to explode in the library, which was totally ruined. Luckily the two librarians had stepped out to go pick up something from the post office. This building was built by the British during the Mandate period (in the 1930s), and had just been remodeld and reopened this school year. Other missiles have fallen on the Immigrant Absorption Center, several stores and a factory, and a few apartment buildings. The news was interviewing one old man who was quite a character. He said that he and his wife were in the protected room, but one boom sounded very close. His wife started to panic, so they decided to go to the community bomb shelter. He couldn't find his cell phone, so he started looking room to room. When he opened the door of his workshop he was greeted with a huge fire, and the remains of a rocket! In his words, "At that point my wife went from panic to hysteria!" Another rocket hit the air-conditioning plant of the area hospital where all my children were born. It was a miracle that the hospital itself wasn't hit.

The towns around are also getting hit. Hatzor, where I work and used to live, has taken a beating. More than a third of the population has left. I think the rest would like to but don't have anywhere to go. The other day 5 buses were brought in to evacuate senior citizens and families with young children. They were taken to the center of the country. I am in contact with friends, and have been trying to call at least once most of my students. On the first day Hatzor was hit, two katushas fell into the house of the woman who used to take care of my children in day care. In the days since, rockets have fallen on the street behind my old apartment, the yard of the mayor, two other houses, and in several roads. Luckily the personal injuries have been light so far.

Haifa and Nahariya have not been so lucky. One of the things that has happened is that the smaller katusha rockets can't reach that far, so heavier missiles are being used, so the damage is greater. In fact, one of the missiles that Israel found in Lebanon and blew up was a scud-type. In addition, those preparing the missiles and rockets are employing the same tactics that the suicide bombers use. They add a huge amount of steel ball bearings (the suicide bombers also add bolts and nails) to the pay load, so in addition to the regular shrapnel you are hit with the bearings, like getting hit with shotgun pellets at high speed. The damage is multiplied. The other day an apartment building was hit. Many apartments have a breezeway on the groundfloor level, with the apartments starting on the level above. In this case, the missile / rocket went directly into the second floor apartment. The floor of the apartment above collapsed, and the ceiling of the apartment below collapsed. The whole corner section of this building was gone. In the midst of all this devastation, in the upstairs apartment the curtains were still intact, the clock on the wall was still ticking, the ceiling light still hung, and the chairs were still neatly aligned around the dining table, although there was no floor next to them. The chairs and table still survived in the first floor apartment as well. On the second floor, which was nothing but rubble, two beautiful red blossoms still survived in a flower pot which had been in the window sill. It looked like a Dali painting.

On Sunday morning already all ships were asked to leave the port of Haifa and head out for open sea for the time being. Some missiles have fallen into the Mediterranean. That may actually be a good thing. Before the war started we had a jelly fish invasion, so the beaches couldn't be used anyway. Maybe the missiles will get rid of the jellyfish! I have never seen the port so deserted. Besides being one of the busiest ports in Israel, Haifa is also a liberty port for the US navy. Until the second invasion of Iraq, we used to get a lot of ships in from the 6th fleet especially, but they are now in the Persian gulf. It was fun to meet the LDS sailors, either on board ship or to have them in our home. We also got to go out on several ships. My kids remember especially the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt. We had to ferry out in a highspeed boat which looked like a giant rowboat, which was in itself exciting. We got the royal tour of the ship, and then there was special treat for the kids. Some of the LDS sailors on board had enough ranking and pull to arrange for the SEALS on board to give the boys (and my daughter too) a special tour and explanation of their equipment and the kinds of operations they did. The adults were asked to stay behind for security reasons. My children and those of our friends in the Tel Aviv branch were thrilled, as you can imagine. On another ship the cook gave the children slices of the freshly baked sheet cake, and the marines fed them red hots (something they had never had before, but loved) and other American candy. We also once had to church General Young (a descendant of Brigham) and about 20 sailors and marines. In those days my husband was the only priesthood holder. It was really beautiful to watch the black sailor with about 20 years in the navy bless the sacrament while the marine general passed it. They were the last group out of Somalia in the 90s. But I digress.

In addition to the fighting in Gaza and the North, we still have to contend with terrorist attacks in the cities. A terrorist was intercepted in Jerusalem the other day. He was within two blocks of his target, and had about 10 kilos of explosives in his bag. A load of 5 kilos is enough to kill about 30 people. Another terrorist attacked a female soldier in the Negev desert. He had a butcher knife and was trying to force her into a car, but she managed to fight him off. She was cut in several places, and he was later caught. This morning there are roadblocks in the Tel Aviv area and a massive search. Security forces received specific information on another terrorist in the area. These are all things that we contend with on a regular basis, but in conjunction with the intensity of the fighting and the rockets, it is stretching resources, and our nerves.

Two of the major supermarket chains are sponsoring summer camps in the center of the country for children from the North. Our area council is also organizing trips to water parks and sports centers for the children, as long as they are accompanied by a parent. The government-owned children's channel is also broadcasting from different bombshelters in the North, and one of our famous singers in going from bombshelter to bombshelter giving concerts. Hotels in the Tel Aviv area are offering 45 - 65% discounts to residents of the North, and have organized activities for residents of the North. Several families have offered to host others from the North. That is the good side of Israel. On the other hand, the hotels in Eilat, the resort city in the South near the Red Sea, have raised their prices by 20-40%. And people are paying it.

Part of the reason I haven't written is that the rockets are now hitting closer to us, on the Southern Golan, Tiberius and into the Sea of Galilee. My youngest son suffers from extreme anxiety anyway, and hearing the booms so close has increased the problem. He has needed a lot more attention from us. Last Thursday I was also supposed to pick up his medication for this month, but I haven't been able to get it yet. All things considered, I think we he is handling things quite well.

As for what happens next, more of the same, at least for a couple of days. I still think that Tel Aviv will get hit, probably on Friday before the Jewish sabbath starts. The UN sent a delegation here yesterday. Hisballah immediately rejected our offer, as we did theirs. There has also been talk of deploying UN intervention troops in Southern Lebanon, but everyone seems to have forgotten that the UN has had troops in Lebanon since the 1970's. We see how effective that has been. Of course, the fact that they are not allowed to use their weapons may have some bearing on how much the warring parties fear them. Israel has suggested that the Lebanese army move into South Lebanon instead, which is actually quite logical considering that they are supposed to be the defense forces of the nation. We didn't get much response. As a friend put it, Hisballa has kidnapped a nation. Yesterday Iran held a huge military parade, with children dressed as bombers and the army marching in the formation of arrows and rockets. Iran has said that they will support the Hisballah in attacks against Jewish and Israeli targets around the world.

And on another note, other victims of the war have been the farmers, who either can't get to their fields, or who have no markets to sell their crops. And many of the families who have left home and gone South have left behind their pets, who are wandering the streets. On a lighter note, yesterday a goat from Lebanon wandered over the border into Israel, but was eventually returned to his side of the border, and hopefully his goatherd.

Our dear sweet teenage volunteers have just called to tell us that in a short while the army's music and entertainment corp will be doing a performance here in our village, so we will get ready and go up. This spirit of brotherhood in times of emergency is one of the things I love about Israel. I thank you for your brotherhood as well.

Ann

I am so sorry for making everyone worry even more than they already are. The place where we live is actually still pretty safe, although the rockets are falling closer and closer to where we live, and we can hear the booms throughout most of the day and evening. The planes and helicopters we hear all the time.

I was talking to one of our LDS members, whose house is on a rise above the main air force base where the planes take off to Lebanon. As of Sunday the AF had flown over one thousand missions, which also means one thousand landings. She says she is going deaf! And as much as I agree that these bombings need to happen, I still can't help thinking what it must be like for the mothers in Lebanon who are on the receiving end. How all of this must be breaking our Father's heart.

This same member came from Argentina 3 years ago and has two sons serving, one in the West Bank (although he might have been moved this week), and one as a driver. She grew up in the Argentina of Peron, where the army had similar connotations to the Nazi SS, and where tens of thousands of civilians (including from their families) routinely disappeared and never returned home. Gloria and her husband are both profoundly anti-war, etc., and never allowed their sons to play with anything that even remotely resembled a war tool. They know that the army here is very different than what they grew up with, and that it is necessary for our survival, but Oligario (Gloria's husband) told me that everytime he sees one of his sons in uniform, his stomach instinctively clenches. This is hard on them, but they are doing remarkably well with everything.

As to our soldiers -- First of all, one of the reasons I didn't write yesterday was that yesterday evening I heard the dog barking, and looked around to see Bryan walking through the door. It was heaven to be able to hug him again! He looked scruffy and very tired, and as usual he had his gun and more than the normal number of clips with him. He told us that the artillery unit down the road was deafening them, and made another comment about "this mess", but other than that he didn't talk about anything army-related. He was definitely in shut-down mode. He didn't even want us to call his sister in the US. They are very close and she has a way of ferreting out of him exactly what is going on. So we fed him and did his laundry and made brownies (plus another batch to take back to his men today), and let him have the computer. He spent a lot of time planning his next overnight hike (he loves nature and frequently goes hiking on the Golan when he is on leave).

And special thanks to you, Mary Abbot. Within minutes of getting home he honed in on the boxes of Mac and Cheese which you left us. They are hard to get here in the North and they are one of his favorite foods. (Yes, mac and cheese is a luxury item. I've even bought them for his birthday, he likes them so much.) It was the first thing he ate, and he did it with a huge smile! Bless you. He went back this morning.

Leonardo is now in officer training school, so he is away from the action for a couple of months. He would only be called up if the situation in Gaza gets to desperation point. German (pronounced Herr - man) is driving in the North, so he could be in areas which are being hit, but he is alright. Fausto and Alex are also okay. This, folks, is the result of your prayers. As parents yourselves, you know how much their safety means to us. There are not words to thank you enough.

The rest of our members are safe. Most are still in the BYU Center, although one young mother took her baby and returned home yesterday afternoon. I advised against it, but she wanted to go home. Sister Spencer also returned to Sfat, which is getting hit several times a day. She said she felt that she needed to be in Sfat, but doesn't know why. As someone who tries to follow promptings myself, I can't argue with her. Sfat has been pounded. One rocket fell through my classroom at the college, made its way to the offices and test archives on the floor beneath, and continued on to the basement to explode in the library, which was totally ruined. Luckily the two librarians had stepped out to go pick up something from the post office. This building was built by the British during the Mandate period (in the 1930s), and had just been remodeld and reopened this school year. Other missiles have fallen on the Immigrant Absorption Center, several stores and a factory, and a few apartment buildings. The news was interviewing one old man who was quite a character. He said that he and his wife were in the protected room, but one boom sounded very close. His wife started to panic, so they decided to go to the community bomb shelter. He couldn't find his cell phone, so he started looking room to room. When he opened the door of his workshop he was greeted with a huge fire, and the remains of a rocket! In his words, "At that point my wife went from panic to hysteria!" Another rocket hit the air-conditioning plant of the area hospital where all my children were born. It was a miracle that the hospital itself wasn't hit.

The towns around are also getting hit. Hatzor, where I work and used to live, has taken a beating. More than a third of the population has left. I think the rest would like to but don't have anywhere to go. The other day 5 buses were brought in to evacuate senior citizens and families with young children. They were taken to the center of the country. I am in contact with friends, and have been trying to call at least once most of my students. On the first day Hatzor was hit, two katushas fell into the house of the woman who used to take care of my children in day care. In the days since, rockets have fallen on the street behind my old apartment, the yard of the mayor, two other houses, and in several roads. Luckily the personal injuries have been light so far.

Haifa and Nahariya have not been so lucky. One of the things that has happened is that the smaller katusha rockets can't reach that far, so heavier missiles are being used, so the damage is greater. In fact, one of the missiles that Israel found in Lebanon and blew up was a scud-type. In addition, those preparing the missiles and rockets are employing the same tactics that the suicide bombers use. They add a huge amount of steel ball bearings (the suicide bombers also add bolts and nails) to the pay load, so in addition to the regular shrapnel you are hit with the bearings, like getting hit with shotgun pellets at high speed. The damage is multiplied. The other day an apartment building was hit. Many apartments have a breezeway on the groundfloor level, with the apartments starting on the level above. In this case, the missile / rocket went directly into the second floor apartment. The floor of the apartment above collapsed, and the ceiling of the apartment below collapsed. The whole corner section of this building was gone. In the midst of all this devastation, in the upstairs apartment the curtains were still intact, the clock on the wall was still ticking, the ceiling light still hung, and the chairs were still neatly aligned around the dining table, although there was no floor next to them. The chairs and table still survived in the first floor apartment as well. On the second floor, which was nothing but rubble, two beautiful red blossoms still survived in a flower pot which had been in the window sill. It looked like a Dali painting.

On Sunday morning already all ships were asked to leave the port of Haifa and head out for open sea for the time being. Some missiles have fallen into the Mediterranean. That may actually be a good thing. Before the war started we had a jelly fish invasion, so the beaches couldn't be used anyway. Maybe the missiles will get rid of the jellyfish! I have never seen the port so deserted. Besides being one of the busiest ports in Israel, Haifa is also a liberty port for the US navy. Until the second invasion of Iraq, we used to get a lot of ships in from the 6th fleet especially, but they are now in the Persian gulf. It was fun to meet the LDS sailors, either on board ship or to have them in our home. We also got to go out on several ships. My kids remember especially the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt. We had to ferry out in a highspeed boat which looked like a giant rowboat, which was in itself exciting. We got the royal tour of the ship, and then there was special treat for the kids. Some of the LDS sailors on board had enough ranking and pull to arrange for the SEALS on board to give the boys (and my daughter too) a special tour and explanation of their equipment and the kinds of operations they did. The adults were asked to stay behind for security reasons. My children and those of our friends in the Tel Aviv branch were thrilled, as you can imagine. On another ship the cook gave the children slices of the freshly baked sheet cake, and the marines fed them red hots (something they had never had before, but loved) and other American candy. We also once had to church General Young (a descendant of Brigham) and about 20 sailors and marines. In those days my husband was the only priesthood holder. It was really beautiful to watch the black sailor with about 20 years in the navy bless the sacrament while the marine general passed it. They were the last group out of Somalia in the 90s. But I digress.

In addition to the fighting in Gaza and the North, we still have to contend with terrorist attacks in the cities. A terrorist was intercepted in Jerusalem the other day. He was within two blocks of his target, and had about 10 kilos of explosives in his bag. A load of 5 kilos is enough to kill about 30 people. Another terrorist attacked a female soldier in the Negev desert. He had a butcher knife and was trying to force her into a car, but she managed to fight him off. She was cut in several places, and he was later caught. This morning there are roadblocks in the Tel Aviv area and a massive search. Security forces received specific information on another terrorist in the area. These are all things that we contend with on a regular basis, but in conjunction with the intensity of the fighting and the rockets, it is stretching resources, and our nerves.

Two of the major supermarket chains are sponsoring summer camps in the center of the country for children from the North. Our area council is also organizing trips to water parks and sports centers for the children, as long as they are accompanied by a parent. The government-owned children's channel is also broadcasting from different bombshelters in the North, and one of our famous singers in going from bombshelter to bombshelter giving concerts. Hotels in the Tel Aviv area are offering 45 - 65 0iscounts to residents of the North, and have organized activities for residents of the North. Several families have offered to host others from the North. That is the good side of Israel. On the other hand, the hotels in Eilat, the resort city in the South near the Red Sea, have raised their prices by 20-40 and people are paying it.

Part of the reason I haven't written is that the rockets are now hitting closer to us, on the Southern Golan, Tiberius and into the Sea of Galilee. My youngest son suffers from extreme anxiety anyway, and hearing the booms so close has increased the problem. He has needed a lot more attention from us. Last Thursday I was also supposed to pick up his medication for this month, but I haven't been able to get it yet. All things considered, I think we he is handling things quite well.

As for what happens next, more of the same, at least for a couple of days. I still think that Tel Aviv will get hit, probably on Friday before the Jewish sabbath starts. The UN sent a delegation here yesterday. Hisballah immediately rejected our offer, as we did theirs. There has also been talk of deploying UN intervention troops in Southern Lebanon, but everyone seems to have forgotten that the UN has had troops in Lebanon since the 1970's. We see how effective that has been. Of course, the fact that they are not allowed to use their weapons may have some bearing on how much the warring parties fear them. Israel has suggested that the Lebanese army move into South Lebanon instead, which is actually quite logical considering that they are supposed to be the defense forces of the nation. We didn't get much response. As a friend put it, Hisballa has kidnapped a nation. Yesterday Iran held a huge military parade, with children dressed as bombers and the army marching in the formation of arrows and rockets. Iran has said that they will support the Hisballah in attacks against Jewish and Israeli targets around the world.

And on another note, other victims of the war have been the farmers, who either can't get to their fields, or who have no markets to sell their crops. And many of the families who have left home and gone South have left behind their pets, who are wandering the streets. On a lighter note, yesterday a goat from Lebanon wandered over the border into Israel, but was eventually returned to his side of the border, and hopefully his goatherd.

Our dear sweet teenage volunteers have just called to tell us that in a short while the army's music and entertainment corp will be doing a performance here in our village, so we will get ready and go up. This spirit of brotherhood in times of emergency is one of the things I love about Israel. I thank you for your brotherhood as well.

Ann in Galilee, Israel

The Israeli news just reported that it was actually 2 Apache helicopters which somehow hit each other. Two are dead, and the injured were taken to hospital. Ten years ago we had two large troop -carrying choppers flying soldiers into Lebanon. They got a little too close to each other and their rotors touched. Both choppers crashed and all the soldiers were burned to death. I still remember driving home that night and seeing all the flares in the sky. Since that time the air force has changed the flight formation pattern so that this won't happen again.

I would imagine that the pilots were probably both exhausted -- the AF has been flying non-stop for 8 days now -- and the sky was full of katushyot as well. Helicopters are still continuing to fly overhead. I wonder how their pilots must feel, knowing that two of their colleagues have just been killed and the wreckage is below them. We also had 3 more soldiers killed in the ground fighting today. Tomorrow will be worse, I think.

Ann
1:30 am

This will be very short today. For the past two days there has been more of the same, which means more shelling. After more than a week, the Hezbollah has honed their aim and are much more accurate with where the rockets and missiles hit. The damage also seems to be much greater. We have had both civiilians and soldiers killed. Today more than 150 rockets fell on the North. Many of the people in the bombshelters of the places hit the most and the hardest, like Nahariya and Sfat, are complaining of running out of food and medicine. In a beautiful gesture, a produce supplier from an Arab village near Nahariya took a whole truckload of fresh fruit and vegetables to be distributed in Nahariya. It was his contribution to raising morale.

Another problem is that of the brushfires. Many of the rockets fall in fields, which are always dry at this time of year. There are fires everywhere, and the firemen are working flat out, but there is always more to do. On Thursday I went to volunteer at a "kindergarten" which some of the women here have organized in the village. We had gathered the children together and were talking about saying thank you to the soldiers, and what they would tell them if they were here. There were some interesting statements, like please make it not so loud, and please make it end, and please be safe, and lots of things about heroes. One boy raised his hand and reminded us that the firemen were also heroes doing important work. His father is the best fireman in the North, according to my soldier son who did a lot of shifts with him while volunteering as a medic with the emergency services, and has been up on the border fighting fires since this started.

Israel has started sending in units to clean out the bunkers and positions in Southern Lebanon. The troops are special forces and paratroopers, so I am assuming my son is among them. We have had no contact with him since he was home last week. In the village captured yesterday, a woman my age and her son were injured, so the Israeli army took them both for care to the hospital in Sfat. I couldn't help wondering if her son hadn't been born in Sfat, since during the period that Israel occupied Southern Lebanon the Lebanese were allowed to cross the border and come to Israel for medical care, until Israel built two hospitals and trained the necessary staff. I know that when my oldest son (the missionary) was born in 1984, the Sfat hospital was full of Lebanese patients, especially the maternity ward. We have also lifted the naval blockade so that humanitarian supplies can get through, but there are so many people who need help.

I expect that this state will continue for a long time.

I want to thank all of you who responded to the request for the video tape. And I would like to especially thank the person who brought over the macaroni and cheese for my son! It was above and beyond the call of duty. Bless you all for being such good people. It gives us all hope.

Happy Pioneer Day, and I feel for you in the horrible heat wave you are experiencing. Be well.

Ann

How are you doing? The news we hear is not good. This is an awful situation. Last night we watched a short news special on terrorists, who they are, and what they want. They are truly the Gadianton Robbers of today. In fact, I don't know if it is possible, but could they be worse than those who destroyed so much in the BofM times? People lived in constant fear of them.

Ann's reply is below...

Betty Pearson, Lehi UT, LDS Missionary Moms Listowner

----- Original Message -----
From: Ann Hansen
Sent: Thursday, July 27, 2006 10:35 AM

In answer to your question, I believe that Hisballah, Hamas and al-Quaida are fast approaching the status of the Gadiantons. When we pulled out of Lebanon 6 years ago there was a picture on the front page of busloads of young Lebanese children being shipped to the border as part of a Hisballah-sponsored summer camp. When they got to the border the children were provided with bags of stones and toy rockets to throw over the border fence at the Israelis. It went perfectly with my Bof M lesson that week, which dealt with the Lamanites teaching their children to hate. Terrorism gains power by the use of terror, and it doesn't matter who the victims are. Michael has horrific stories about the victims from his time in the army. The reason that first the PLO, and now Hisballah, have gained such a foothold in Southern Lebanon is because the residents were too frightened to stop them. It reminds me of how the mafia worked in the US during the 50s and 60s. A lot of what they do is evil for the sake of evil. They revel in blood. About four years ago two 11-year-old boys were kidnapped while hiking, and then were tortured to death over a period of days. Months later when the torturers were caught, they admitted that they had done it as part of their initiation into Hamas. The stories go on and on. The only way to deal with terrorists is to destroy them. It is just a pity that more people do not understand that. You cannot be nice to them. You cannot negotiate with them. Your cannot appeal to their feelings. By the way, the Vatican has now castigated the US for not forcing Israel to give in to the Hisballah's demands.

Today has been a bit tough. The stress is beginning to tell on all of us, and the lack of sleep doesn't help. And just after I finished writing the update for today, the Israeli news showed pictures and gave a short biography on each of our soldiers who were killed the last two days. Some were killed on Wednesday, and some on Tuesday. Their bodies just couldn't be retrieved or taken behind the lines before then. Many of them have brothers and fathers who are serving in Lebanon right now as well. Many, like my son, are / were due to be released soon. One was to be released next Sunday, and wasn't scheduled to go into Lebanon because of that. He said that he was a part of the squad, his friends needed his help, and he wasn't going to leave them. Then Fox News showed a segment which was filmed early this morning using a night scope. Mike Tobin, whom I respect as a reporter, was reporting from the area where my son is now. His first sentence was, "The first thing that you notice here is the stench of death. It is obvious that a horrible battle is taking place." I can't even imagine what it must be like for them.

Thanks for listening.

Ann

Yesterday we had over 150 ketushas fall on the North, as well as those being fired by the Palestinians from Gaza. There are more and more missiles being used as well -- longer range, more accurate, cause lots more damage. I live in a relatively quiet area, yet we got several close by yesterday. This morning there was a period of 45 minutes when we heard the booms every few seconds. The rest of the day it has averaged about 2 - 3 an hour. As of Tuesday at least 1,450 rockets had fallen on Israel, all on civilian targets. Not bad for 14 days of fighting. The local news just reported that in the last hour katusha landed in Carmiel, Majd 'l Krum, Tiberius,Marar (where the girl was killed this week), Sfat, Rosh Pina, Maalot, Shlomi, and K. Shomna. In Kiryat Shmona rockets fell directly on 6 houses; luckily the homeowners were in the bomb shelters. Another fell on a "dangerous target" and started a big fire. As of today, cities have been hit 350 times by rockets (the rest fell in open areas), 19 people have been killed and 1,300 injured. The hospitals are full of injured, soldiers and civilians. All of the hospitals in the North are in areas which are getting hit regularly.

On the nicer side, we had a pleasant surprise yesterday. The local radio station paid for one of our residents, a professional clown and party organizer, to organize something for the children. She had the kids (and the adults) well occupied and laughing for almost 2-1/2 hours. Then at the end two delivery trucks pulled up. One of the big banks has its management from the center of the country driving to different locations in the North and delivering care packages. I like the idea that they aren't just paying for it, but having their senior management actually doing the work. Each child received an age-appropriate bag filled not only with snack foods, but also with a book, a crossword book or toy, writing materials and a DVD. If that weren't enough, each family got a big box of food and a nice cake. They also brought new fans for all of the public bombshelters and buildings, plus lots of extra mattresses (our mattresses are made of foam rubber and look like thick gym mattresses) for the shelters. It was a real lift to our spirits.

They've just shown the pictures and read a short biography of each of the 9 soldiers killed yesterday. Many of them had brothers and / or fathers serving in Lebanon at the same time, most of them were called up to do emergency reserve duty. At least I only have to worry about one family member. I can't imagine what it would be like to have my husband and 2 or more sons serving at the same time. All things considered, we have been very blessed.

I thank you for your prayers and letters. If more people had hearts like yours, there would be a lot fewer conflicts in the world. Hug your family members and keep safe.

Ann

Michael and I had a very rude awakening this morning, literally. There was a huge thump, and a distinct change in the air. It is hard to explain, but everything was more intense somehow. Even the sound was different than the normal boom. A few minutes later someone who lives in a village on the next rise South of us called in to say he had seen the smoke a landing rocket makes in a field about 2 kilometers North of him - in other words, close to us. About ten minutes later the rural police patrol came very slowly down my street, looked around for several minutes, then backed up and went to the upper end of my street and did the same thing. My street, which is actually a dead-end street connecting 8 houses, is the last one in the village. I am surrounded on two sides by fields. That just confirmed our impression that this one fell very close.

Because Sec. Rice is here to work out an agreement, I think things will heat up a lot this week. Yesterday we started getting hits in our area at about 2 pm. They usually go on for about 4 hours. However, we were hearing the booms every few minutes, some of them close enough to vibrate the house a little. This went on for over 13 hours. I heard the last one about 3:30 in the morning. The area around Tiberius got hit hard, including two factories, some houses and the road from Tiberius to Golani junction, for those who know the area. Afula also got hit with another missile, not a rocket. Needless to say, we did not hold church meetings for the second week in a row. When the rockets started I happened to be reading in the Book of Mormon in Alma 43. I found that verses 7-9, 13-14, 30, 45-47 had gained new meaning for me.

Last Friday we got hit hard all across the North. The big regional hospital in Nahariya took a hit on the top floor which also caused a lot of damage. Luckily, on the first day of the war this hospital moved all above-ground wards to the basement levels, so there were no injured. This hospital sits very close to the border. Nahariya has been the victim of terrorist attacks for decades, and has also been the victim of katushas for over 30 years. When the new building was built about 10 years ago, the director insisted that it be built so that the entire hospital could move underground if necessary. His precautions have saved a lot of lives. Many of the hospital staff have actually moved into the hospital with their families for the duration.

Already by 7:30 this morning 15 ketushas had hit Kiriyat Shmoneh. One of them fell inside a mall and did a lot of damage. It is just lucky that no one was inside at the time. I am still hearing occasional thuds, but they should increase about 2 this afternoon.

As to our branch members, Spencer is still in Sfat. She says she would now be willing to leave (Sfat gets close to 20 rockets every day), but that she is apprehensive about the drive out. She has a point. Still, she calls all the members every evening, and does what she can with volunteering in the city. She is one tough lady. Our Romanian member Angela is still in Nahariya (she takes care of an elderly woman), but hopes to go back to Romania soon. Our 3 Phillipino ladies (Flora, Beverly and Leah) are all in areas getting hit. They are also care-givers, and all have children and husbands back home in the Phillipines. Ulysia and Anatole are still in Tiberius, working. Ulysia's daughter Anna (12) is being taken care of by one of the couples in the BYU Center. Anatole's wife and daughter are living in Canada, and his younger son Nicky is in the Center with his grandfather. Sonia is still in Upper Nazareth, which has been hit a couple of times. Her grandson Leonardo was pulled out of officer training and is with his tank group in Gaza now. Gloria is still in Migdal HaEmek, but may go to her daughter in Tel Aviv this week. Her nerves are shot, especially from the noise of the air force base nearby. Her son Fausto is still serving in Hebron, and her older son German is a truck driver for the army in the North. The Rivkins live farther South and are not within range of the rockets being used up till now. Their son Alexei is serving in Sfat. Mary Kahn is in Utah with my daughter (thank heavens for the Powells), her mother is in Canada with Mary's father, and her grandmother Reisa is in the BYU Center. The Whiteheads (our service couple) went back to Canada today for two weeks. This is a necessary visa-trip and was planned weeks ago. The Schegalovas (Anna and her 3 duaghters) have gone back to Russia. I didn't get to talk to them before they left, so I don't know if this is permanent or temporary.

My son Bryan called us on Friday afternoon. His unit had been pulled back across the border for 48 hours of R & R before going back Saturday night. He was in excellent spirits. Some of the kibbutzim (collective farming settlements) on the Northern border had taken them in and pampered them with swimming pools, sports facilities, telephones, and homemade goodies from everyone old enough to cook. He said they were being treated like kings. He was really touched by the attention they got from the civilians. I slept really well that night. Thank you for all your prayers. They are obviously being heard.

And before I close, I just wanted to share with you some of the things I have been thinking about this week.

Two of our three hospitals in the North have now been hit by rockets. As far as I know, Israel hasn't hit any hospitals in Lebanon, and certainly hasn't tried to. There have also been reports of severe shortages of medical supplies in the Lebanese hospitals. Israel's hospitals have been building up reserves for years. The Lebanese have the same problems we do, and have some extremely rich citizens who could help. Why hasn't Lebanon built up a reserve of medical supplies as Israel has done? By the way, during the 18 years that Israel was in Southern Lebanon, the border was always open for the Lebanese to cross the border and receive free medical care in Israel. (When my oldest was born, the majority of patients were Lebanese.) Then Israel started training Lebanese medical personnel in Israeli universities and hospitals. Next, Israel built and equipped 3 entire hospitals in Southern Lebanon and staffed them with Israeli medical personnel until the point when the Lebanese staff were ready to take over. These hospitals are still standing and still in use.

Next, Israeli has been building bombshelters since the 1950's. Since the 1990 Gulf War there has been a law stating that every new house and building has to have a bombshelter in it. My son uses our bombshelter as his bedroom. Lebanon has been almost entirely rebuilt in the last few years. Why haven't they done the same?

Citizens in central and Southern Israel are opening their homes to perfect strangers from the North. Are Lebanese citizens doing the same? Since the third day of the war Israel has maintained open supply lines for emergency relief to get into Lebanon. Also, for more than a week they have coordinated with the Jordanians so that the Jordanian air force can bring in a cargo plane full of humantitarian supplies to Beirut each day. If the Jordanians, one of the poorest countries in the Middle East, can send humanitarian relief, why can't the other Moslem countries in the area? Last, when you next see a broadcast by Nisralla (Hisballa's leader), pay attention to the flags behind him. The yellow flag is Hisballa's; the red flag with the cedar tree is Lebanon's. The symbol on the Hisballa flag is a machine gun, which should tell you something about their national goals. Anyway, the Hisballa flag's rifle is aimed directly at the Lebanese symbol, the tree. A coincidence?

As for the chances of reaching an agreement to end the war (which is officially called "Peace for Israel" here), the latest polls show that 800f the Lebanese population support Hisballa. That fills me with optimism. What does bring balm to my soul is that the Church is providing both humanitarian relief to Lebanon, and donating $50,000 to the emergency services (Magen David Adom) of Haifa in Israel. By the way, both my daughter and my son Bryan are volunteer medics with Magen David Adom. Before he was drafted into the army, Bryan was given a special award by the national director for his outstanding service. He started when he was 15 in the city of Netanya. In his first two months of volunteering, there were 5 major suicide bombings in Netanya with dozens of dead. One of the attacks was in his school, and he was the first medic on the scene. He still volunteers often when he is home on leave. That is the personality of the "barbaric, inhumane" Israeli soldier.

Be well, love your families, and may we all be more appreciative of what we have.

Ann

Short - term:

1. Israel will cease all air activity for 48 hours, so that they can investigate how civilians came to be killed in a war, a very rare occurrence in the history of the world. [Editor's note: That's not true. In most wars, civilians are purposely targeted to put fear in the military leaders to force them to surrender to save their people.]

2. Israel ground forces will cease all activity for 24 hours in Southern Lebanon so that everyone can leave the South of Lebanon and so that humanitarian aid can get through. However, why they need to send humanitarian aid to the South if they expect everyone to leave I don't yet understand. And of course, if they don't leave there will be more civilian casualties, so there can be more investigations.

   Long - term:

3. A multi-national force will sit on the Israeli and Syrian borders within Lebanon until Lebanon is ready to take over. I thought that was what the UN forces were supposed to have been doing for the last 30 years. In addition, so far only France has volunteered its services. This is the same France which had one of the worst records in Europe for turning in its Jewish populations to the Nazis, those that were left after the French themselves murdered most of them. This is the same France which hates Israel, has the largest Muslim population in Europe, and the highest rate of current anti-Jewish violence. I am filled with reassurance.

4. The Lebanese army will become stronger and replace the multi-national forces at the borders. Considering that several high-ranking officers and a significant percentage of the soldiers are pro-Hisballa, they will of course do their utmost to see that there are no aggressive actions against Israel in the future.

5. The government of Lebanon will be strengthened, unite the Lebanese people, and take control of the South once again. They will exercise control over Hisballa and keep everyone in line so that peace will reign and everyone will smile. This agreement will of course wipe out all vestiges of the sectarian fighting which has been Lebanon's trademark for centuries, and is even taken into account in the Lebanese constitution which specifically designates how many percentages of the parliament seats and cabinet have to go to which ethnic and religious groups. But it doesn't matter anyway. At least 80 - 90 percent of the Lebanese population now support the Hisballa, and the president of Lebanon actually thanked the Hisballa publicly for all that they have done for Lebanon. I am sure that the Lebanese will be smiling; those of us South of the border definitely won't be. Oh, I nearly forgot. It will also be up to the Lebanese president to decide which foreign nations (Syria is their closest neighbor, and they have excellent relations with Iran, of course) will be allowed to cross his borders.

How did this happen?

1. Our prime minister has no military background, he consults with no one, and very much wants to play with the big boys in world politics. In fact, our own defense minister found out about this agreement from press reports in New York! As Michael says, Olmert has the mindset of a clerk.
2. Israel's defense minister is a megalomaniac. He headed the labor unions for years and loves to flex his muscles just to show that he can. He is a master at organizing crippling strikes. He hates Netanyahu and during the year that Bibi was prime minister, Peretz organized more than 50 national strikes which lasted for weeks. That's basically one every week. He loves attention, and in every news conference he always smiled like he was going to a birthday party.
3. The chief-of-staff is an air force general and has almost no understanding of (and little respect for) how to use ground troops. For example, after the first soldier was kidnapped near Gaza it was nearly 3 days before Israel started sealing off exits to Gaza, and it used helicopters instead of ground troops. You can't search a rabbit warren from the air. I wrote to a friend in the early days of the war that we were making a lot of noise but not doing some of the essential basics.
4. We were trying to wage a "humanitarian" war -- as few civilian casualties as possible. We dropped leaflets over Southern Lebanon for days, warning the people to leave before we invaded. There were even messages left on people's telephones! I remember seeing the news and watching the Lebanese wadding up the leaflets and laughing at the messages. And when the ground forces went in, it was in limited numbers. They only attacked one village at a time, instead of all of them at once. This gave time to organize the defenses in the next ones up the line. And now, when we have just started the ground offensive, we are pulling back for two days!

I wrote yesterday that rockets had begun to fall already at 7 in the morning. By midnight last night Kiriat Shmonah had been hit by 90 katusha rockets. That is as many in one town as the entire North has been getting in a day. If you do the math, that means about 1,500 kilos (1-1/2 tons) of explosives hit the town. To put it in perspective, the suicide bombs which kill about 20 -30 people are usually about 5 kilos each. Another 70 rockets hit other places along the Northern border, and there were also rockets launched on the South from Gaza. In the West Bank, soldiers at a temporary roadblock caught a suicide bomber on his way to an attack in Israel, and the bomb squad blew up his bag in a controlled explosion. Also, the 4 members of a terrorist cell who killed the doctor a few days ago were caught and are now in Israeli custody. If I didn't mention it, a few days ago a Jewish doctor living in the West Bank was called one evening to a house in a neighboring Arab village, where he treated many people. He never came back. His body was found a day later. He had been tortured in an especially cruel manner, and then his body put into his car and both burned. When the news of Qana broke, there were riots in Gaza and Beirut. People attacked the UN offices in both places, destroying what they could and trashing what they couldn't. To me this is so typical of the mentality. The UN has never been a friend of Israel's, and especially in Gaza the UN administers food and medical aid to the people on a regular basis. So naturally the UN humanitarian relief office in Gaza should be attacked for something that Israel did in Lebanon. Again I am filled with hope about arriving at a diplomatically-negotiated solution with both Palestine and Lebanon.

On the bright side, I have just learned that Bryan has been pulled back across the border again during this 24 hour "cessation", so I am going to try to call him.

I'm sorry I depressed you, but thanks for listening. It was either write things down or punch the wall. I appreciate your friendship.

Ann

Our family was pretty well prepared, but most weren't. This is what has helped us:

1. Having the computer has been wonderful for me, because it forces me to concentrate, and put the events of the day into some order. A journal would do the same thing at a slower pace.
2. We (Michael) have updated phone numbers for all of the members, and we call them every day. Every member should have a list. I would recommend that we add contact numbers and addresses for extended family or close friends of the members who live outside of the area, so that contact can be made in a case of emergency (next of kin), or to see if missing members are perhaps there. I would further add the email addresses of members.
3. Have an emergency radio that doesn't require electricity. When the rockets hit by the chapel, Spencer's crank-handle radio was a big help for us downstairs to know what was going on. However, the news can be addicting. We are trying to ration ourselves to the news headlines at the top of the hour only.
4. Have something to break the boredom: cards, games, puzzles, crosswords, reading books, knitting, drawing and coloring supplies, a book of games or songs or camp songs, a musical instrument, etc. Nearly one third of Israel's population has been in bombshelters for over 2 weeks now, and a big problem is boredom. Scott had written that they played "Memory" with their children until they wanted to scream. A change of games will prevent a lot of violence.
5. Have enough food for at least a month, especially beverages. Put in a couple of "luxuries" (cookies, special crackers, hard candy, a can of soda) and bring them out when people are starting to get tense(r). Bowdens left us a 6-pack of root beer when they left. I put two cans aside for Bryan for when he comes home, and on a night when the shelling was especially close to us and very frequent we opened two more cans and shared them between the four of us (Yvonne is with us). Nothing ever tasted better. And I told you how Bryan was with the macaroni! It will be different in the SL valley of course, but our little market is already running out of supplies, especially eggs and dairy, and there will be a horrific shortage of fruit this winter because the orchards have had to be abandoned.
6. Read your scriptures and pray together.
7. Have an adequate supply of medications, including those you don't normally take. I have found myself taking more aspirin (or whatever pain reliever you prefer), and MIchael's Maalox intake has increased substantially.
8. Make sure to get some sort of exercise, even if it is a walk around an enclosed space like a bombshelter.
9. Make sure to have sanitary supplies: handiwipes, diapers, feminie hygiene, and especially a covered bucket to use as a toilet if needs be. Have lots of plastic bags for the garbage, etc. During the gulf war when we had to be in sealed rooms with our children for hours, we did use the bucket. That is still one of the children's strongest memories from that period. We are going through a lot of toothpaste, toilet paper and deodorant.
10. Check that the items in your 72-hour kits are actually things you would use or eat. If you had to leave within ten minutes, would you have everything in them that you would need? Do you have your important documents (passports, licence, social security number, insurance info . . .) in one place so that you could pick it up and go? Do you have copies of these documents in another place besides your home? Can you actually pick up your 72-hour pack and carry it yourself? And if your children are young, remember that you may have to be carrying them as well.
11. I also have a tag prepared for each family member, including adults, which has the name of each family member, their age and sex, and where each is supposed to be, as well as a second location. I also put a contact name and number for someone in Israel and my sister in the US. In case the family is separated, or one of the parents is unconscious or dead, the rest of the family can be located.
12. Have at least two light sources, and extra batteries. Candles can't be used in a closed space like a bomb shelter.
13. Remember that everyone will be nervous and very touchy, and say or do things they normally wouldn't. Try to be extra patient and tolerant, and set a positive mood. In all the conversations with people in bomb shelters, and with the experience of our branch staying in Jerusalem, you can see that in those places where everyone is glued to the news, or complaining, everyone is miserable. People in the same circumstances who can laugh get along a whole lot better. I guess this means that you two need to be like Santa and go from crisis to crisis. I defy anyone not to laugh around you two.

I hope this helps, and good luck!

Love, Ann in Galilee

Hello all, and thank you for your tolerance when I let off steam the other day. Today is Tisha b'Av, a day of mourning for the destruction of the first and second temples in Jerusalem. It is a day when we remember past attempts to destroy the Jewish people, so it is especially poignant today.

Israel's self-imposed pause didn't last very long. It started at 2am and already in the morning there were katushyas, albeit a lot less than we normally get. By about noon or so Israel had already bombed targets in Southern Lebanon in support of ground troops, so the pause lasted less than 6 hours. Even so, there was considerably less air activity for those 48 hours.

Monday night / Tuesday morning Israeli attacked about ten Lebanese towns simultaneously, whereas before we had been attacking only one place at a time. Most of these towns sit up on a series of ridges, so they control the highground and can control the flats below them on either side. All of them are Hisballah operational centers, and all have been used for launching rockets and mortars. Our goal is to take control of these towns first, then clean out the areas between them and the Israeli border later. We are trying to push the Hisballa back far enough to reduce the places their rockets can reach within Israel, which is what the 1982 war was all about, and the Litani Operation in the late 70s. We also want to be in control of as much strategic area as possible before the international troops, whoever they may be, are brought in. I think that this change in tactics (before we were only focusing on one village at a time) was a result of the extremely stormy meeting which our prime minister had with the 7 members of his special military advisory committee on Monday afternoon. Israeli reporters said that they could hear the shouting out in the foyer where they were waiting.

Tuesday morning about 3 am I am pretty sure that I saw my son on Fox news. I knew he had gone into Lebanon just west of Metulla, to the area around Taibe (Altaybeh). The news clip was filmed through a green night lense and showed soldiers getting ready to go in. I saw him twice for just an instant. I am not 100 percent sure it was him because it was at night and his face was painted green, but he had the same hair, the same ears and the same walk. It was really exciting to see him, if I ignored the "why" part of it.

On Tuesday there were already rockets fairly regularly throughout the day. We have been averaging about 100 rockets a day throughout the North.

Wednesday morning everything changed. I had been up all night following the reports of the Baalbek raid and the fighting in Taibe (Altaybeh), where Bryan is. I went to bed about 8 in the morning. Just after 9 in the morning we were told to go to the shelters immediately. Within about 40 minutes we got over 70 rockets just in our area alone (around Tiberius and the Golani Junction). Several fell in houses, on main streets, etc. A lot fell in the upper part of Tiberius, including one by the Paz gas station and another by the turnoff to the road that goes to the hospital. One fell about 100 meters from my friend Gary's house, which is just a couple of streets above where Reuben, Susan and Mary Kahn live. Another fell by the bank in Kfar Tabor. Another fell near Kanaf on the Golan. We also got several quite close to us. We think that one fell on the hill behind us which separates the Beduoin camp from Migdal. It was intense. There were another 70-80 rockets around the rest of the North as well. Laurie and Todd, one fell in Dir El Asad, the Druze village where you stayed, the one with the great breakfast. The area of Haifa didn't get hit, but the areas to the east did.

Also, in the early hours of Wednesday morning (1-2 am) Israeli helicopters dropped paratroopers into the Northern Lebanese city of Baalbek. Baalbek is on my list of places I would love to see for decades, but that is beside the point. Baalbek is the spiritual center of the Hisballa, the city where they were founded, and where many of their top leaders live. Israel had received credible information that our two soldiers, whose kidnapping triggered the war, were being held in Baalbek. Three or four groups of paratroopers were dropped at different sites around the city, the most important being a private "hospital". There were several hours of fighting, and the Hisballa kept reporting that they had captured soldiers and had others "trapped", plus they had shot down a helicopter. In reality, Israel captured several of their leaders and returned safely home a few hours later. At the military briefing which we get nearly every evening from the army, they showed the films not only of the troops landing, but also some of what they found in the "hospital" : anti-tank missiles inside of filing cabinets (the anti-tank missiles are just slightly larger than hand grenades), kalatchnikov rifles, recoiless rifles, etc. There was no sign of anything even remotely medical-looking. Even the beds were large, and set inside very ornate rooms. Outside, the building looked like a villa. In addition to the information which the captured fighters may provide, the attack was a huge morale boost for Israel, and a huge morale blow to the Hisballa.

My sister sent me this quotation which says it all:

"Even when the armaments of war ring out in deathly serenade- there stands immovable, reassuring, comforting, and with great outreaching love the quiet figure of the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world."
Gordon B. Hinckley,
Ensign, May 2003

The rockets seem to be taking a break for a bit. A few minutes ago the phone rang and the caller identified herself as Bryan's company clerk. I had a short heart attack. She immediately reassured me and said that she was "just" calling all the parents to let them know that their sons were okay, to ask if we had any messages for them, and to wish us Shabbat Shalom. I wanted to kiss her feet. She explained that none of them had phones because they were "deep inside Lebanon", but that all were well and accounted for. I thanked her probably about a thousand times (she was very sweet) and then had a short but intense cry for a couple of minutes after I hung up. You can find plenty to complain about here, but the acts of true kindness like this are why I love this country. Bless that clerk! And bless her parents too!

Ann

Hello Everyone.

I apologize about the frequent delays in writing, but I keep getting interruped! Wednesday my area got hit very hard. 231 rockets hit Israel, most of them within a 7-mile radius of where I live. The average has been about 100+ per day until now.

Thursday was the same. The area North of us had been getting hit heavily all day, but we were only getting a few. In the afternoon I went to take a nap, and just as I lay down the radio told us all to get into the shelters immediately. I told everyone and we went into the shelter. Within a couple of minutes we heard several booms very close, and then the electricity went out. I got out the battery-operated emergency radio, but our local station wasn't broadcasting, so it took a while to pick up another station. One of the rockets must have knocked out a local transformer, because we were without electricity for nearly two hours (we got off lightly). It is very disconcerting to be sitting in a closed room, hearing the booms, and not being able to know what is going on. I keep thinking about people all over the world who live with this kind of tension for years on end, even more than we do. I also see the faces of people I saw in newsreels from WW II. You would think we would learn. On Thursday more than 240 rockets fell, over 100 of them within 30 minutes. It was a particularly bad day. 8 civilians died from the rockets. They were in 3 separate places. We also lost 4 soldiers.

One of the things that was different during these two days is that more of the "improved, 2nd generation" katushyas were used. They can go a lot farther and hit harder. In addition, different kinds of rockets were used, many of them older Syrian and Iranian types like the Frog 7. (Maybe the Hisballah got them at a clearance sale.) One actually hit close to Jenin in the West Bank. Several others flew over Bet Shean, and still others hit in the areas of Nazareth and Migdal HaEmek.

Another disturbing development is that Bin Laden's son Sa'ad is now in Syria. Within a day of his arrival an explosive device went off on the Israeli patrol road near Kuneitra on the Golan Heights. Kuneitra is a "ghost" town which sits on the border between Israel and Syria, (by the Golan "Key", for those of you who have been there). This is the first time in nearly 30 years that there has been an episode on that border. There have been a couple of other incidents as well, so it looks very much like they are being done deliberately to provoke Israel into attacking Syria. There have also been several katushyot which have fallen on the Northern Golan. The current leader of Syria is a very weak man with little political or military experience. He is a dentist by profession and only became president because the real heir was killed when he was driving his car close to 200 mph and lost control of it. The problem is that because he is a weak leader with little popular support, it would be very easy for him to be manipulated by his Iranian allies, Bin Laden, etc., or for his regime to be toppled.

The close ties between Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and the president of Iran worry me greatly as well. With Castro's health failing Cuba is ripe for Chavez to step in and "help", much like Syria did in Lebanon. In my opinion, Chavez is one of the most dangerous and evil men in the world today. With Chavez controlling the Northern part of South America and much of the Caribean, and his friend sitting in Iran controlling Syria and Lebanon, and much of Iraq as well, the Western world could very well wake up one morning and find itself in a position which will be very difficult to get out of. It is a classic pincer movement-- Iran from the east and Chavez from the west. Iran has repeatedly stated that part of its goal is to completely wipe out the state of Israel. They are not exagerating, and they are not joking. Remember, the current president is the student who organized the storming of the US Embassy in Teheran and the taking of American hostages in 1978 - 79. France, who will supposedly be "leading" the international forces which will come into Lebanon to maintain the peace after we withdraw, is strongly urging the UN and the US to include Iran in the ceasefire discussions. France claims that Iran is a "stabilizing" influence in the MIddle East. In the meantime, Venezuela withdrew their ambassador and diplomatic staff from Israel this week.

Friday morning was a lot like Thursday. Rockets hit throughout most of the day. The town of Magrar, which is about 6 miles from us, had its second casuality. Magrar is a "mixed" town: Druze, Catholic and Bedouin. Both victims were Druze. A high proportion of the town's men serve in the army. The Druze also have a lot of family in Lebanon. The Druze take the idea of revenge very seriously. Last week a rocket fell through a house roof and landed on a 15-year-old girl, killing her instantly. Yesterday the victim was a young mother. She didn't have a bombshelter, so she had followed directions and taken her two young children to a hallway in the center of the house. A katusha fell next door, and the concussion from the explosion broke the glass in her mother's kitchen. A piece of glass flew down the hallway and hit her in the head, killing her instantly. The children in her arms were unhurt. She was 27 years old, and died in the same house where she was born. She and her husband were building their own home, and had planned to move in next week. It does have a bomb shelter, but too late to help her.

In the evening, several longer-range rockets fell farther South than they ever have, about half-way between Haifa and Tel Aviv. Three fell in Hadera and a couple of others nearby. The question on everyone's mind is whether Hisballa can hit Tel Aviv. During the first week Israel hit a warehouse in Beirut which had several missiles in it. They were probably the long-range type. There may or may not be more. Israel has said if Tel Aviv is hit then all gloves are off and they will flatten Lebanon.

Already today (Saturday) dozens of rockets have fallen across the North. One fell directly on a house and killed 3 people. (I just learned that the victims were a mother and her two children from an Arab village near the border.) Kiryat Shmonah is getting the brunt of them today. This afternoon two rockets were fired across the Northern Golan and landed in Syria. Again, I think they are trying to provoke the opening of another front with Syria.

One of the reasons our civilian casualities have been so low is because most of the population of Northern Israel is either underground or has gone South. In effect, about a million Israelis have left their homes. This week, for example, 20 busloads of people were evacuated from Kiryat Shmonah. Only a couple of thousand remain out of a population of 25,000. Looting has become a big problem. On the other hand, two men from Jerusalem showed up at a neighborhood grocery in K.Shm. this week and asked the owner if people bought on credit. When he answered yes, they asked him to mark those on the list who were truly poor. After the owner did that, they pulled out a wad of cash and asked him to put several hundred shekels on the bill of each of those he had marked. When he asked who they were, they said it didn't matter. When he asked how they could be reached so that the people could thank them, they also said that the best kind of good deed is where the recipient doesn't know who the benefactor is.

When Israel pulled out of Lebanon in 2006, thousands of soldiers from the South Lebanese Army (they formed their own militia to fight against the Hisballa, and Israel later armed and trained them as well) and their families came to Israel as well. If they go back to Lebanon they will be fined, imprisoned and tortured. Most of these "Sadalnikim", (from the initials of So. Leb. Army in Hebrew) live in communities across the Northern border of Israel. Not only are they getting hit by rockets, they have to be wondering what is happening to their extended families on the other side of the border as well. They fought against the Hisballa infilitration for twenty years, and lost everything they have because of it. They don't even have a country.

One of the things less-talked about are what happens when all these rockets hit "open" areas. The entire North is a series of forest and brush fires. We could see fires just South of Sfat today. The firemen have been working non-stop since the war started 25 days ago. Jewish firemen from NYC have even come over as volunteers to provide extra manpower. Most of the trees that are burning are 60 years old. They were planted by the Jewish Fund even before Israel became a country. Early Jewish settlers hiked up the hills carrying buckets of water in order to keep the seedlings watered. They transformed bare hills into forests. If you look on the news you can see how green Israel is compared to what is across the border in Lebanon. Now many of these trees are gone and the hills are once again barren. They will all have to be replanted, and meanwhile the rains this winter will cause problems of erosion. Another problem is the sea. During the 4 days fo relative quiet over last weekend, several fishermen from Haifa and Akko went out. There were almost no fish. Several katushyas have landed in the sea, and the constant percussions from the explosions under water have scared away the fish. If that weren't enough, many of the fishermen's nets got torn up by the remains of the katushas they caught instead of fish.

I also wanted to share a note from a friend who lives in Rosh Pina:

On Wednesday one of the rockets fell in my neighbours garden! We got broken windows and holes in the netting, shed and my grandaughter's playhouse! Matti and co heave been in moshav Nov since the beginning of the war TG. Let's pray it will be over soon-

Be well and safe,

Bryan called this morning to tell us they were out for a day of R&R, were staying near us and that we could visit him later this afternoon. We called several times and got his answering machine, so late in the afternoon we went over anyway. We found some of the soldiers in his platoon, and they told us he was asleep in his room, and showed us where. The door was locked and no amount of noise woke him up. Bryan has been like this since he was tiny. If he knows he has the time, he can sleep so deeply that we can literally sit on him and it doesn't faze him! So we weren't surprised by the Rip Van Winkle impersonation. In the end we left all his treats in the care of the guys across the hall and went home. If we can see him before he leaves tonight then we will go back over, but if not, at least I know he is rested and more alert for the next stretch of fighting. It is more important to me that he gets some good sleep than that I get to hug him, although it would have been nice to be able to do both.

May we all be more appreciative of what we have.

Ann>

Hello to All.

I wrote that on Saturday we went to visit Bryan (Bryan is Ann's returned missionary son in the Israeli army), who was so fast asleep we couldn't wake him up. He did call later in the evening, so we went down and had a good visit with him. He was also in a relatively talkative mood (he doesn't usually talk a lot), so he took the time to explain to his woefully ignorant mother how the company is broken down, what each part does, and -- more importantly -- what it is that he does. I am glad that he did, and now I finally know, but there is a lot to be said for having your head in the sand.

I have also seen on some news clips that in the villages where the infantry is that some houses have been demolished, so I asked him about that. He said that they try to leave houses intact as much as possible. They are told to remember that these are people's homes, and that if nothing is found to move on. The only buildings which are demolished are those where they have found a lot of arms, and the demolition is mainly to destroy the arms caches, because chances are there is a lot more hidden than they have time to look for.

Another interesting tidbit he told us was that when they first went in, they tried using llamas, yes llamas, as pack animals. A retired general owns a llama farm in the Negev in the South, and it was his idea. Lllamas can go longer without food and water and carry more than donkeys or mules. Some of the commando units have been using them successfully for awhile, so they decided to see how they would do with larger units. They did quite well for a few hours, but then one got a stubborn bee in its bonnet and refused to move, so the rest of the llamas followed suit. It was fun while it lasted.

It was strange for me to walk around all the equipment on the ground, and have Michael (Ann's husband) casually point out the different kinds of weapons, including a rocket-launcher. It was also strange to sit back and listen to Michael and Bryan compare notes on their experiences in Lebanon (Bryan's doing a lot of what Michael did back in 1982), and even stranger to watch Bryan show his little brother how to use the grenade-launcher apparatus on his gun. As for the sniper gun, Yaron couldn't even lift it (way too heavy). Another moment of family bonding.

Sunday was a very sobering day. A neighbor came by about 11 to say that the Border Patrol had called and asked everyone not only to be inside, but to be inside the bombshelters from about noon to 3 in the afternoon. They were expecting a heavy barrage. We of course did what they asked. You need to understand that my sister-in-law is claustrophobic, and my husband cannot be for more than a few minutes in a closed room with other people. He had no problem being in a tank, because each crew member is in his own little cell with something to do. Michael just can't be in a room with lots of people. My son is also hyper and likes to pace. The bombshelter is a room barely big enough to put in two beds and a small closet. The only calm one was the dog. At least we have a bombshelter, and electricity, and a TV.

Sure enough, at twelve o'clock a huge barrage began. There had been rockets all morning, but nothing like this. It also started out in a deadly manner. One rocket fell directly on a group of reserve soldiers who were outside, killing 13 and wounding several more. Most of these men are middle-aged with families. It also didn't need to happen. They were a reserve unit who had been called up and were having a general briefing before getting their equipment, etc. to go into Lebanon. The meeting ground was the parking lot near a cemetary and national monument (the Roaring Lion statue) at Kfar Giladi. KG sits just above Kiriat Shmonah (which is actually named after those buried at that cemetary) and is right on the border. The place is easy to find, but it is out in the open in an area which has been getting hit frequently from the beginning. The officer in charge was also told personally at least 30 minutes before that they were expecting a barrage and to move the meeting place to somewhere inside (there are several within 5 minutes of the place). The officer didn't listen, and now 13 men are dead, and several others maimed for life.

In the evening, 6-7 rockets hit Haifa again. It has been nearly a week since Haifa was hit. These were also not the regular katushas, which have a warhead of about 20 pounds. It is thought that they were actually Fagger missiles, which have a warhead of between 200 and 350 pounds. Whatever they were, the result was lethal. Two of them fell directly on a 4-story apartment building. The building was quite old, and totally incapable of withstanding the effects of the missile's impact and explosion. The building collapsed and a huge fire started inside the ruins. It looked like the fire inside a furnace. Three older people were killed immediately, and the death toll will probably rise. Over 200 people were injured, several of them seriously.

Within an hour the air force had destroyed both launching pads. One was inside of the city of Tyre. The other, the one responsible for the deaths in Haifa, was in the village of Kefar Qana. What a surprise. Qana is the same village which we bombed last week, bringing international condemnation on our heads because of the civilian casualities.

We have rockets falling very close (I can feel the ground move a bit), so into the shelter I go.

Ann

Hello again.

We have spent most of the day in and out of the bomb shelter. It is now 6:30 in the evening and it is still very noisy. It sounds like a lot of rockets are still hitting the wadi just North of us, and probably the area around Magrar, the Druze / Christian / Beduoin town where the young mother was killed last week and the teenage girl the week before. By about 1 pm K. Shmonah had already reached the 100 mark.

A lot of reporters keep asking why we don't stop the rockets and how can they keep launching rockets at us. The missiles need a bigger launcher which is easy to find quickly and wipe out, as the air force did twice last night. The katushas, however, are another matter. First, the Patriot anti-missile system doesn't detect them. Secondly, you only need two men to launch them. They weigh about as much as an irrigation pipe, and are as mobile. They can be hidden under trees, by houses, buildings and walls, put in the back of a truck or the trunk of a big car. You can put them nearly anywhere, so you go out at night and hide them, then in the day you pick them up and launch them. It only takes about two minutes, and then you disappear. So figuring the number of katushas we estimate they have, you only need a maximum of 30 men in the entire South of Lebanon and you can fire from anywhere at anytime. They won't be in uniform either, so theoretically a man could step out into his yard, fire the rocket and go back in for dinner. How can you distinguish him from anyone else in the village? And how can you find those specific 30 men in the hills of Lebanon, an area the size of Northern New Jersey? And anyway, who says that it will be the same 30 men who launch the rockets each time? It's like being in a classroom and asking who was the one who was humming.

The news has just said that we are up to 170 rockets, and they are still falling.

I just wanted to share with you a couple of personal interest items. Two of the reserve soldiers who were killed at Kfar Giladi were cousins. One of them was named for an uncle, who was killed in the Six Day War. I heard a radio interview with another cousin of theirs, who spoke about them, their families, etc. She also mentioned that the same day that her two cousins were killed, the family was holding the memorial service for another cousin -- twenty years ago on that date she had been kidnapped, raped and murdered by terrorists from Nablus. As the cousin tearfully asked, "Can you even begin to imagine what our family is feeling at this moment?"

Another of the Kfar Giladi dead was an Ethiopian. Because of his encouragement and example, one of his cousins (friends?) had joined the paratroopers as well. That cousin was killed in Lebanon last week.