The 29th day of Operation Protective Edge is over.
The Tower today reported on the initial hours of the latest 72 hour ceasefire. One of a last minute barrage of rockets fired towards Israel from Gaza hit a house in the Palestinian town of Beth Sahour. Israel withdrew its remaining ground troops from Gaza by the time dictated by the ceasefire.
Israel has every right to defend itself. If you don't want a fight with Israel, don't pick one.
— Jon Lovitz (@realjonlovitz) August 4, 2014
Israel21c reported that despite the war Israel’s tech sector is thriving. This prompted investment guru Jon Medved to observe, “Go figure that out. This is a pattern that’s repeated itself in the last three wars. Israelis are pretty resilient.” Among the big deals was Mobileye’s initial public offering last week that brought in nearly $1 billion.
You only win if you lose if you're Obi Wan Kenobi. Not Hamas. My column (ignore typo in headline). http://t.co/qUyn4UwrPN
— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) August 6, 2014
Acceptance of the Egyptian sponsored truce – three weeks after Israel accepted – leaves Hamas in the awkward position of having to explain what it accomplished. As one reporter noted, “Hamas spent five years preparing this strategic threat; the IDF wrecked 31 tunnels in two weeks.” Given that Hamas wasn’t able to fulfill its boasts, “the Palestinian organization will have difficulty spinning the results as a victory.”
More than 1800 people have been killed in Syria over the past ten days. The Syrian civil war has also spilled over into Lebanon with ISIS forces killing a dozen Lebanese troops and wounding many more.
Italy fights "Israel criticism:" Expels Imam who calls for killing Jews "one by one" Read more http://t.co/IbajURPkDk
— Benjamin Weinthal (@BenWeinthal) August 5, 2014
The Israeli media reported that a mastermind of the kidnappings of Eyal Yifrach, Gil-ad Shaar and Naftali Fraenkel was arrested by Israeli security forces. The mastermind, Hussam Kawasme, a cousin of one of the kidnappers who is still at large, admitted that the abductions were carried out at the behest of Hamas’ leadership in Gaza. A number of media outlets reported last month that according to one Israeli official Hamas was not behind the kidnapping and killings of the three teens.
Israel21c reports that despite the war going on at home, IsraAid offered assistance to residents of Washington state who survived a recent wildfire. “Our team is working hard alongside residents who lost their homes in Pateros, [Washington State], USA,” reported IsraAID Founding Director Shachar Zahavi. “The local community is amazing and receiving us with open arms.”
[Photo: Israel Defense Forces / Flickr ]