Red sky at night, sailors’ delight– Red sky at morning, sailors take warning.

We landed home in Israel early Friday morning. There’s something special about flying with a plane full of Israelis. It’s tradition for all the passengers to give a hearty round of applause to the pilot when the airplane lands. It’s their way of saying thank you and I just love it.

My Hebrew nickname on social media is “eemahleh,” little momma. As we got to the train station, the conductor said, “Shabbat shalom, Savtahleh,” which translates little grandma. After the past week with all the grandkids (6 and counting), it suited me quite well. The airplane was jam packed with returning vacationers. ElAl is the only airline flying in and out of the country now. The train out of Tel Aviv was more than packed, with lots of soldiers on leave for Shabbat. Caked with dirt, many were serving in Gaza. I absolutely love the fact that a young woman was going through the train cars handing out Shabbat candles and prayers and miniature challah breads. This is home!

After shopping and cooking for the weekend, I was more than ready to fall into bed early. John and I were emotionally and physically drained. We slept soundly until 11am. Max, whose bedroom is downstairs, was incredulous that I had actually slept through all the action. At around 1:30am, Hizbulla launched three missiles on their way to Haifa. Iron Dome took them out almost directly overhead. Max said that two explosions were incredibly loud and that they shook the whole house.

When we were in the States all of our friends and family were glad we had decided to return… for good. Many thought we were crazy for living in a war zone. For being so far from family. For being away from America. But this is home for us now. And we have been spared most of the action. We are safe thus far and have no fear of things to come.

Things to come happened last night. Both John and I had a difficult time falling asleep, which usually means we need to pray (and I need to take my melatonin). It was unusually quiet with only the sounds of jackals in the distant hills. No jets. No drones. Finally, we drifted off, but I was awakened around 5am to the sound of jets and distant booming, kind of like rolling thunder. For a second I thought I was back in Florida, and that another storm had moved in. But the sounds continued and the room had a red glow to it. I looked out the window, and the sky was flashing red and gold. The jets circled overhead and the sky grew lighter with the dawn. The booming stopped by 8:30.

As it happened, Israeli intelligence spotted the thousand missiles on launch pads pop up in southern Lebanon. That and the letter the government received from Hizbulla operatives (they have official letterhead???)

At 4:45 am, over 100 IDF jets from airbases all over the country made a preemptive strike against Hizbulla. The terrorist group had been preparing a mass attack against Israel targeting Tel Aviv, military headquarters and intelligence, and central Israel. Over 6,000 targets were hit including rocket launch pads, missiles, drones and more. They, in return, fired off over 300 rockets and drones at northern Israel. There were two direct hits on homes in Akko. This is far short of what they intended to do. Thee were no reports of casualties in Israel. It’s a huge blow to Iran and its proxy. Thank the Iron Dome, the IDF and especially G-d, for His miraculous protection.

Supposedly, that was all Hizbulla intended to do as “payback” for Israel’s killing of their general, Al Shukri. As of a few minutes ago (I’m writing this on Sunday afternoon), Prime Minister Netanyahu warned “Israel isn’t done yet. This is only the start of changing the game in the north.” Home Front Command and our local municipality have issued directives to limit both indoor and outdoor gatherings (we are invited to a wedding September 4). All northern beaches are closed to the public today. We are to be prepared and to stay within access to a bomb shelter if sirens are heard. We are on extra high alert over the next 24-48 hours.

Ben Gurion Airport and all Israeli airspace was closed last night. It finally resumed operation at 10 this morning. It’s a good thing we made it home when we did. This morning, we had to travel to Ma’alot to pick up our dog. I got pictures one of the men at the kennel took earlier in the morning (see above). They are much closer to the Lebanese border than we are, and although the traffic was much lighter than usual, no we were not scared traveling the roads. Patrols were out, and we proceeded as usual.

Getting back to our city, I decided to do some more grocery shopping to last us for the next week or so. We were surprised with how many people were in the store. Everyone we spoke with felt the same sentiment. Israel has been putting up with these terrorists for way too long now. Thousands of rockets and suicide drones have been unleashed upon us since 8 October. Over 80,000 people have been displaced from their homes for the past year. They are true refugees, giving up home and businesses. Everyone wants Israel to finish off Hizbulla (not the Lebanese citizens) and restore safety to the North. Just do it and get it over with.

Also this morning, the Houthi terrorists of Yemen blew up an oil tanker causing over 150,000 tons of crude oil to pollute the Red Sea. This is expected to cause an ecological crisis larger than when the Exon Valdez incident. Will all of this go reported by the mainstream media?

It is widely believed that the ongoing war with Hamas in Israel and with the Houthis and Hizbulla have just been a distraction used by Iran to cover up its nuclear weaponization. Iran is thought to be a née week or two away from a nuclear bomb. All it needs is now in place. It has the delivery methods ready. All that is needed is additional work to make them nuclear capable. The only nation acting to stop them is Israel. U.S. intelligence agencies previously assured the world that the Iranian regime was not interested in weaponization. Unclassified documents are now stating otherwise.

In the meantime, the bombing seems to have stopped. The ‘first phase’ of the attack against Israel has been declared over by Hizbulla. Nazralla, the leader of Hizbulla, is supposed to make a televised speech at 6pm. The IDF was extremely successful in fending off a massive attack against its citizens today. We sit and wait. Will any of this be covered on your news, and if so, in what way? More updates to follow.

A lovely reminder at the entrance to our city declares that “G-d is King. There is no one else but Him.” “Ayn ode mil-van-DOE”. We have no one to fear. We have the L-rd.