The IAF struck over 20 targets in Lebanon overnight, including a Zelzal rocket launcher (capable of firing long range missiles), an arms cache, a truck carrying ammunitions, a road serving rocket launchers, buildings used by Hizbullah operatives, and building used to finance terror activities. In addition, IDF cannon batteries fired artillery rounds at Katusha launch pads in southern Lebanon. This morning, IDF ground troops launched a limited cross-border operation into Lebanon, with the purpose of destroying Hizbullah outposts.The IDF estimates that they will need another 10-14 more days to meet the military objectives of the operation in Lebanon, which is to “to significantly weaken Hezbollah.” According to a senior IDF source, crushing Hizbullah is not feasible since “it is impossible to crush a popular, religious movement.”
For their part, Hizbullah have continued to fire Katushas on our northern communities, with no damage nor injuries being reported.
On the southern front, 5 IDF soldiers have been wounded in a Gaza operation. According to palestinian sources, 3 Hamas terrorists were killed while trying to fire a rocket at Israeli tanks, and 5 more wounded. The IDF also arrested 5 wanted terrorists in overnight raids, and blasted a tunnel near the Karni border crossing.
Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)
12:10AM: More discussion on the now infamous “girls-drawing-on-artillery-shells” photo (see 11:55AM update).
Thursday updates here.
12:10AM: More discussion on the now infamous “girls-drawing-on-artillery-shells” photo (see 11:55AM update).
12:05AM: Statement from The Lebanese Foundation for Peace, in a press release to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert:
We urge you to hit them hard and destroy their terror infrastructure. It is not [only] Israel who is fed up with this situation, but the majority of the silent Lebanese in Lebanon who are fed up with Hizbullah and are powerless to do anything out of fear of terror retaliation.On behalf of thousands of Lebanese, we ask you to open the doors of Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion Airport to thousands of volunteers in the Diaspora willing to bear arms and liberate their homeland from [Islamic] fundamentalism. We ask you for support, facilitation and logistics in order to win this struggle and achieve together the same objectives: Peace and Security for Lebanon and Israel and our future generations to come.
Make sure you also listen to the interview with Brigitte Gabriel here to get an idea as to how many Lebanese support Israel’s actions.
11:45PM: Some statistics from this war:
3000 IAF sorties, with 1200 targets struck
590 Israelis needing medical treatment
25 Israelis killed
10 Israelis seriously injured
25 Israelis moderately injured
183 Israelis lightly injured
347 Israelis suffered from shock
11:52PM: Ravia Taluzi, 3, and Mahmoud Taluzi, 7, whose lives were ended today by Hizbullah.
11:45PM: Some statistics from this war:
3000 IAF sorties, with 1200 targets struck
590 Israelis needing medical treatment
25 Israelis killed
10 Israelis seriously injured
25 Israelis moderately injured
183 Israelis lightly injured
347 Israelis suffered from shock
11:36PM: Just completed my interview about the current situation with WORD FM in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Did any of my Pittsburgh readers catch it?
10:30PM: Bunker: All in the Family: My wife informs me that the pre-school children’s cable channel Hop is broadcasting overnight now (normally, it ends transmission around 8:00PM, and resumes at 5:00AM). A sign of the times I guess..
10:10PM: The second soldier killed today was Staff Sergeant Yotam Gilboa, 21.
9:40PM: 
One of the two soldiers killed today on the northern border has been identified as Staff Sergeant Yonatan Hadassi.
He was 21.
The name of the other soldier has not yet been released.
9:13PM: According to a top intelligence officer, over 100 rockets have been fired today, including some Syrian made ones.
He also said that “voices in Lebanon are growing against Hizbullah activities.” This is good news if it is indeed the case. I just wish these voices had grown 6 years ago.
9:05PM: Now for some positive news: Depeche Mode are still coming to Israel. Let’s just hope they don’t get any ideas from Roger Waters.
8:52PM: The 2 children killed in Nazareth were Arab: Ravia Taluzi, 3, and Mahmoud Taluzi, 7. I suspected as much when I heard it was Nazareth, but awaited confirmation.
8:49PM: Back on the southern front, the IDF has killed 8 terrorists in Gaza. Getting dizzy? I know I am.
8:48PM: The IDF has foiled a Hizbullah attempt by Hezbollah to infiltrate the Israeli town of Metula.
7:29PM: The Israeli cabinet has decided to delay the beginning of diplomatic talks over a possible cease-fire.
7:27PM: At least 2 more rockets have hit Haifa.
6:24PM: The Jerusalem Post reports that an explosion has occurred in the parking lot of a Rehovot mall, wounding 6 people. The cause of the blast has yet to be determined.
6:18PM: 2 soldiers have reportedly been killed in a gunbattle with Hizbullah on the northern border.
6:12PM: The 3 critically injured in Nazareth have died. The dead include 2 children.
5:30PM: According to OC Home Front Command Maj.-Gen. Yitzhak Gershon, the IDF has so far removed 94% of the dangerous chemicals stored in the area of the Haifa port.
5:20PM: 15 cows have been killed. Still awaiting word from PETA.
5:18PM: 3 people in Nazareth have been critically injured by Katushas.
5:08PM: Free Republic have some pictures that you won’t see in the mainstream media.
5:00PM: Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz:
“We remain adamant that Hizbullah will not return to our northern (border) fence..We shall absolutely not allow the Hizbullah flag to fly up to Israel’s (border) fences.”
4:50PM: Prime Minister Olmert has called Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to convey his condolences and regret over the death of 8 Canadian civilians killed during the IDF operation in Lebanon.
4:48PM: Our navy battleships are attacking Hizbullah strongholds and missile launch pads in southern Lebanon.
4:41PM: Police have captured the would-be suicide bomber in a construction site in Hod Hasharon.
4:40PM: From my inbox:
Mr. David
What do you say about the civilian victims killed by your forces in Lebanon, dont say we have victims also (only 8 or 9 Israeli civilians) because yur forces strat targeting and killing lebanese civilians (not Hizbullah guarellas) and the number reach more than 300 inluding childrens, what do you expect a nutral guy like me, to support you ? what ever you say , nothing justify killing childrens & women and building distructions by your forces, by the way your forces act reminds me of what Nazi had done to your people, do you want to be better than what thay had done to you?Essel
Mr Essel. I say what I have been saying all along on this blog, and on my podcast, and during the BBC interview I was on: my heart goes out to the innocent Lebanese victims of this war. But what do you expect Israel to do when it’s cities are being attacked? When it’s civilians are being deliberately targeted? Do you expect us to lay down and absorb the casualties? No other country on this planet would do that, nor be expected to. If the IDF had not been fighting back against Hizbullah, then the casualties would no doubt be far greater.
Your statement that Israel is targeting civilians is palpably false. The opposite is true; the IDF has been dropping pamphlets asking residents to leave those areas being targeted. Funnily enough, I do not recall the Nazis requesting that the Jews leave (By the way, your Nazi analogy is highly offensive, and makes a mockery of your claim that you are a “neutral guy”).
Perhaps you should direct some of your anger towards Hizbullah, Iran and Syria, who are responsible for this war, as well as the Lebanese government, who had 6 years since Israel’s withdrawal to disarm Hizbullah.
4:05PM: Today’s interview schedule: I will be talking about the current war, on 101.5 WORD FM in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at 4:00 PM Eastern Time. I will also be appearing on Shire Network News with Tom Paine and Sandmonkey.
3:38PM: Katushas have struck Haifa, Carmiel, and Tiberias, with injuries being reported. According to Israeli television, approximately 70 Katyushas were launched at northern Israel in the last hour.
3:07PM: The IDF has killed a Hizbullah terrorist on the northern border, and is pursuing a second terrorist who fled.
2:25PM: Ynetnews reports that 4 people have been injured from a rocket blast north of Safed; 1 critically, 2 moderately, and 1 lightly injured.
1:25PM: The IDF is laying siege to a Nablus compound housing palestinian security forces. 3 terrorists have so far been killed.
1:10PM: An earlier rumor that an IDF troop was kidnapped from the Herzliya area was false.
1:08PM: IDF troops are clashing with Hizbullah terrorists across the Lebanon-Israel border, with helicopter gunships being called to the area.
12:03PM: A rocket fired from Gaza today has been identified as a homemade Katusha, not a Kassam.
11:57AM: Just saw that Sandmonkey has – to his credit – posted an explanation to the pictures.
11:55AM: Many people are angry about this picture of Israeli girls writing messages on some missiles artillery shells, which I posted on my blog yesterday:
Here are some of the comments:
wow! Young israel girls writing messages on MISSILES? What are those israelis thinking when they let girls younger than 10 years old, write their own messages on missiles used to distroy and kill people, instead of teaching them tolerance sympathy and love? This is a great example to demonstrate how hatred is indecently planted in the souls of the innocent young. These acts are simply despicable and should not be passed unnoticed!
Hey, Israel, losing the Moral Highground quickly , are we?Disgusting.Congratulations, you are no better than Hamas now. You have become what you hate!
My response is that these girls are writing the messages to Nasrallah (Nazrala with love From Israel). Clearly, they are hoping that Hizbullah are taken out with the missiles, not the Lebanese people. And I don’t think you can blame them, considering that Hizbullah are deliberately trying to murder them.
Of course, some of these missiles could very well hurt or kill innocent Lebanese civilians – such is the nature of this war. So the Israeli girls are not being sensitive. But I do not accept that these girls are showing hatred towards those who don’t deserve it. And to say they are no better than Hamas is ludicrous.
11:25AM: Ha’aretz reports that there has been a high alert declared in Tel Aviv over a suspected terrorist infiltration near Kfar Sava (I work near Kfar Sava).
11:05AM: Within the last hour, Katushas hit Haifa and Nahariya. Ynet reports that in Haifa, the siren did not sound, possibly due to the power shortages in Israel. So far, no injuries have been reported.
10:25AM: 
Andrei Zilensky, 36, yesterday’s Katusha attack victim.
Andrei Zilensky, 36, yesterday’s Katusha attack victim.Andrei Zilensky scrambled to the shelter with his family yesterday in Nahariya. He hastened his wife, Radmilla, and 4-year-old daughter Galit to shut themselves in the shelter. And they did. But then Andrei decided to go back out to bring his daughter some clothes. He didn‚Äôt make it back: the house received a direct hit from a Katyusha. Andrei was killed on the spot and wife ‚Äì who heard the fatal blast ‚Äì was left only to identify his body in the hospital.
9:58AM: Power shortages have been reported nationwide. Here at work, the lights are off, and we have been asked to log off in a couple of minutes for a server shutdown.
9:45AM: According to the local head of a foreign airline carrier, foreign airlines could be forced to reduce their scheduled flights to and from Israel, or suspend operations here entirely, if their insurance premiums go up due to the fighting in the North.
