The Balloon Peeks Over the Upper Galilee Hills

 From my friend JeanIne Hirschhorn in Haifa this morning

I was woken up at 6AM by faint explosions occurring a few seconds apart that went on for several minutes.  I knew immediately that they were the sound of mortars/rockets being lobbed into Israel by Iran's proxy Hezbollah.  I didn't bother looking out my bedroom window to see what I could see, because the air is so moisture-laden from  days of August high humidity that I can barely see Akko across Haifa Bay.

It's being reported that Hassan Nasrallah claimed that "320 missiles targeting military and other "special targets" were lobbed into Israel. Blatant nonsense as, like Hamas, Hezbollah shoots unguided missiles into the air and where/what they hit, Nasrallah doesn't care. As long as they kill as many Jews (and Muslims, Christtians, Druse, Maronites, Circassians, Achmedi, Baha'i and Beduin) as possible. Like the Druze children killed on a Majdal Shams football field by a Hezbollah missile.  Perhaps they were one of Nasrallah's "special" targets.

There were reports of air raid sirens blaring "in the North" and I thought, gee, I slept through another one.  But in this case, "the North" is right on the Israel/Lebanon border in Kiryat Shmona and Ma'alot/Tarshiha (Tarshiha is Christian/Muslim/Druze).  

Other reports include Ben Gurion Airport diverting flights to "other capital cities", a 48-hour "state of emergency" has been declared", residents "north of Tel Aviv" are advised to "stay near bomb shelters and "protected rooms".  I look out my living room window and see people at the bus stop waiting for the bus, a few cargo ships in Haifa Bay awaiting port clearance.  A normal start to the week. 

Unfortunately, Israel learned nothing from Hezbollah's 2006 34 day bombardment of the North.  Instead of dicking around with mortar/missile sites in southern Lebanon, they should do what they did back then; systematically bomb Hezbollah's missile batteries, command centers, underground tunnels and hidey holes located in/next to/under Beirut schools, apartment buildings, mosques, churches, hospitals (yep, just like Hamas in Gaza). (Ed - in fact the air force did just that soon after writing) It not only hastened the end of the bombardment, but convinced the Hariris, Frangeyehs, Gemayels, Geageas and the other chieftains that they had a far greater enemy than Israel and it was right on the outskirts of Beirut.  But it's early days and events may yet repeat themselves.

Some of you may be wondering why Lebanese lawmakers are largely silent about Hezbollah shenanigans.  Whelp, it's because Lebanon as an independent entity largely ceased to exist in 2008 when the various confession chieftains signed the Doha agreement, which gave Hezbollah veto power over any Lebanese cabinet decision.  Since then, nothing happens in Lebanon without Nasrallah's (and Iran's) nod/instigation.