I know that one day this horror will all be over, and I will look back and think: how did we survive all this?

So many heartbreaking stories. So many fallen soldiers, widows, orphans, bereaved parents. Thousands injured. Thousands displaced. So many hostages still in Hamas tunnels. So much political turmoil, hate, public unrest. So much conflict between the Haredim who will not serve their country, and the rest of us, including Haredim who will and are serving. So many reservists whose wives are being crushed by their absence, so many businesses falling apart because the owners are serving in the reserves. So many soldiers with PTS. It’s a miracle any of us is still sane.

And yet, we are still here, and still victorious. We have destroyed Hamas, and Hezbollah, and shown the world what a paper tiger Khomeini is, so that his proxies are falling apart, his “axis of resistance” – those murderous terrorists – downed like bowling pins. The shocking ease in which Syrian rebels (themselves former or current al Quaida members) took over Syria and are now busy peeing on Hafez al Assad’s grave and freeing his prisoners from their horrific prison cells is astounding. They could never have done it if not for Israeli strength and determination. If not for our brave boys and girls. The world owes Israel such a vote of thanks.

Israel has no illusions about our new neighbors. Fully aware of the nature of these “rebels” the IDF has attacked and destroyed the planes, weapons and biological warfare Assad left behind, blowing it up before the “rebels” can get their hands on them. And now, in the Syrian territory on Mount Hermon, highest point in our area, an Israeli flag now waves and Israel is settling in for the long run. We are so proud.

But the price continues to be heartbreaking.

It was a deadly week. Four soldiers were killed in a Hezbollah tunnel explosion: Master Sergeant Binyamin Destaw Negose, Major Yevgeny Zinershain, Captain Sagi Ya’akov Rubinshtein, and Staff Sergeant Erez Ben Efraim.

The incident occurred during an operation involving the 226th Reserve Brigade operating in the Lebanese village of Labouna, an area where IDF forces have been active multiple times in recent months. The unit has been conducting patrols, searches, and reconnaissance activities in this zone. During one of these patrols, the soldiers entered an underground area where they discovered a shaft used to store weapons and ammunition. An explosion ensued, resulting in the deaths of the reservists. The IDF is investigating the incident, including the possibility that the explosion was caused by a device deployed by Israeli forces.

Major Zinershain was a resident of the town I live in, Zichron Yaakov. The small cemetery of the township, filled with some of Israel’s earliest pioneers from the 1800’s, was packed with local residents who came to honor Yevgeny.

In another incident, two other soldiers were killed in Lebanon: Erez Ben Ephraim, and Sagi Ya’akov Rubinshtein.

In addition, in Gaza, we lost three more: Barak Daniel Halperin, paramedic Ido Zano, and Omri Cohen, graduate of Amit Yeshiva in Ashdod. This breaks our hearts.

There is a ceasefire in Lebanon, but the IDF has full power to respond to any infringements, and it is doing so aggressively, protecting Israel’s borders from a renewed presence of Hezbollah fighters. According to the ceasefire, the Lebanese Army is supposed to take up positions inside Hezbollah villages along the border to prevent the terrorists from returning. Israel is helping the Lebanese Army to do so.

When will there be a hostage release and ceasefire in Gaza? President Trump’s strong words of warning to Hamas about releasing the hostages before he takes office – or else – seems to have lit a fire under them. President Herzog said Trump’s words have produced a major shift in Hamas’ negotiation stance towards the hostages.

Since hostages are being held by numerous terrorist factions as well as Gazan civilians, Hamas has apparently – at this late date! – finally done the work of gathering all the names from all the different sources to produce a list of hostages to turn over to negotiators. This means in the entire year when Israel was “negotiating” with Hamas, and demonstrators viciously denouncing our Prime Minister’s refusing to cave into Hamas demands, that terror organization had no idea who the hostages were, or where they were. Let that sink in.

Why can’t there be a permanent ceasefire in Gaza? Because even though it has been reduced to rubble in many areas, the Biden administration’s fanatical insistence on providing truckloads of humanitarian aid has filled Hamas’ empty coffers again and again, leaving them in control and reviving their power among the people, from who they are stealing the aid. It is Biden’s fault they are still in power. And Israel cannot stop fighting until Hamas is crushed.

Signs of life from the north! My friend’s daughter who lives in Kiryat Shmona spent the weekend there with other families. Her home was undamaged. Residents aren’t able to return permanently because their children are enrolled in schools elsewhere. But the desire is there. Volunteers are forming groups to rebuild, clean up, and ready the north for the return of residents.

A terrorist attack near the Gush Etzion tunnels wounded several bus passengers and took the life of twelve year-old Yehoshua Aharon Tuvia Simcha: “We didn’t have time to buy him his first pair of teffilin” his heartbroken parents said, “and now we are arranging a gravesite for him.”

According to the IDF, a terrorist opened fire on a civilian bus that was on its way from Beitar Illit to Jerusalem then fled the scene. The bus continued driving until it reached the “Tunnel” checkpoint, which was closed to traffic in both directions after the attack. After a joint manhunt in search of the terrorist throughout Wednesday night conducted by the IDF, Israel Police, and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), and the exertion of heavy military pressure, terrorist Ezz Aldin Malluh from the town of Bayt Awa near Hebron turned himself in on Thursday morning.

A widely-circulated video this week shows a gathering of Druze leaders in the village of Hader near the Israel-Syria border on the Golan. In the clip, they ask Israel to annex them so that they do not have to live under the new Syrian regime. Hader was separated from the four Druze villages on the Golan Heights in the Six-Day War in 1967.

“What is our destiny?” one asks in the video and the crowd responds: “Israel.”

He continues: “On behalf of all the residents of Hader: If we have to choose, we choose Israel. We want to be annexed to the Israeli Golan Heights in order to preserve our honor. This concerns all the villages in the area, because the destiny of Hader is the destiny of the entire region. We want to join our people in the Golan and live in freedom and dignity.” Israeli Druze are among the most loyal and fierce fighters in the IDF. We welcome them.

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