Almost all the reservists called up for the war have now been released. The war is being fought by the regular active duty army.
There is still a constant exchange of fire on the northern border, Hezbollah sends rockets (and occasional drones) Israel replies with artillery and air attacks. The commander of the UN forces on that border (who has no mandate to use force) has reported that his efforts to get Hezbollah to comply with UN resolutions have been ignored. The numbers of rockets launched has been slowly going up, and Hezbollah no longer pretends to be shooting only at military targets. In Gaza, the Islamic Jihad actually managed to launch a rocket last week. That’s a sign that there are still lots of tunnels that have not been dealt with.
I reported the case of the Jordanian parachute drop into the sea. Well, they did it again. And so did a French airdrop. Getting aid to civilian Palestinians is not easy. The Saudis sent truckloads of meat for the Palestinians to have for breaking their daily fast during the upcoming month of Ramadan. Hamas terrorists hijacked the trucks and are now selling what was originally intended as free aid for $50 per kilogram in Hamas supported stores.
If that strikes you as problematic, consider that the US government has asked Israel not to shoot at Hamas terrorist police that are accompanying the trucks from the time they cross into Gaza from Egypt. Yes. We seem to be talking about the same people who are stealing the cargo from the aid trucks. It’s almost too ridiculous to be true, but it is.
The US has also requested that Israel allow Palestinians from the West Bank to return to Israel to work in agriculture and construction. I believe the Israeli government simply told them that other arrangements were being made. Israel has issued permits for workers from Sri Lanka to come in place of those that left.
Wetherhorn 