Shabbat , Operation Cast Lead Expands

The day was spent in Arad, I walked around the city in the morning and played soccer in the afternoon. I found one lookout point where I was able to see the Dead Sea, and beyond that the mountains in Jordan. After Shabbat we headed to Jerusalem where we were supposed to go to Ben Yehuda St. to eat shop and go to the bars, but we were told we could not go because of security threats. Late in the afternoon Israeli ground troops entered Gaza. For the past few weeks Israel had only been using its air force in fighting the terrorists in Gaza but today expanded the operation. Hundreds of rockets have been fired from the Gaza strip since the beginning of November. Since Israel disengaged from Gaza in 2005 over 2000 rockets, and since 2001 over 8000 rockets – almost 3 a day for 8 years! Israel has finally said ENOUGH!
We headed to a mall for dinner and some shopping instead of Ben Yehuda St. which was disappointing because I was looking forward to going to Zolly's (a bar).

The Dead Sea, and beyond - the mountains of Jordan.

As usual, before we got off the bus to check in to the hostel our tour guide Yishai told us our plans for the next day. He reiterated as he told us on the first day that given the war he might be called up for reserve duty. He said that he had spoken to his commander and did not think that he would be called up at this time. Ten minutes after checking in we get called down to the lobby for a quick important meeting. Yishai told us that immediately after he got off the bus he got a call from his commander saying he had to get on a bus at 6AM (in 8 hours) to get to his army base. This was the end of the trip for him, and it was sad to see him leave in such an abrupt manner, but this is life in Israel. He did not know where he would be placed, and if he would be going into Gaza.