Day 12

18^th October 2023

It has started. The disinformation about just about everything has started and the media is lapping it up. Yesterday it was the siege, the supposed bombing of the Raffiah Corridor which prevented essential aid when the only aid came through the very border crossing, Kerem Shalom, that Hamas breached! Egypt has not opened any form of open crossing for aid, because they have not given aid, it only came through Israel. Hundreds of lorries per week, each filled with aid of every form, came through Kerem Shalom – Ironically called the Vineyard of Peace and now of course the hospital and the tragedy of 500+ dead Gazans.

Last night, after I wrote to you, I received a video clip of a rocket launch which almost immediately failed, turned and landed within 100 metres of its launch. It is believed that this was the rocket, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket that landed on the hospital with horrendous results. Over 500 rockets and missiles launched from Gaza fell inside Gaza causing untold damage. Understand, every single bomb dropped or rocket launched from Israel has to be accounted for. We are not terrorists nor are we the Gazan version of ISIS, we have a highly organised army and every bullet, every missile, every piece of equipment has to be accounted for. If, God Forbid, it had been ours, we would have known. The loss of life is horrific, our hearts goes out to the ordinary people of Gaza but we have to defend ourselves, we have no choice, they left us with no choice.

The explosion of the hospital in Gaza is tragic. Was it an Israeli missile? Highly unlikely but we will know because every single missile is accounted for, requires a chain of command before a launch. It will not be the first time that Hamas-ISIS has lied. A video clip shows a missile being launched and immediately coming back on itself. The IDF is investigating as we speak. We have in our hands a conversation between two members of Hamas describing how the missile that hit the hospital was one of theirs but the media has already jumped to its own conclusions – as usual, Israel is guilty. I just received the recording of said Hamas conversation, loud and clear. Here, I just received this https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-768942#768942 It is now irrefutable.

Did you know that 3 days ago, Hamas raided a UNWRA depot and confiscated fuel and medicines? UNWRA tweeted the fact, sent a communique and then retracted because UNWRA is 99.9% Palestinian workers, everyone except the Director, and they are scared, scared of their fate with Hamas ISIS too.

Did you know that when bags of rice, destined for Gaza, were opened we found bullets hidden inside? The lies are everywhere. Did you know that the lorry-loads of aid which goes into Gaza, temporarily withheld, is more often than not commandeered by the terror organisations? The supposed siege is a figment of the media’s imagination – until October 7^th. From that diabolical day we stopped the humanitarian aid, from bags of rice to the gas and electricity that we provide through international funding. By the way, did you know that the funding provided by YOUR governments doesn’t go to the people of Gaza, it too is commandeered by the ruling class, ISIS.

King Abdullah of Jordan has uninvited President Biden. It’s true but they have spoken long and hard already, with President of Egypt Sisi too. Both have made it very clear; they will not accept any refugees from Gaza, not even one. President Al-Sisi is, was and probably always will be a member of the Moslem Brotherhood, but he is very much a realist and Jordan and Egypt cannot risk importing terrorists. History tells us that this minute dot of land is a crucible of hate.

I wish I could have written about the togetherness of Israelis pulling together, but you are going to need hard information because the lies have started. Yes of course we will continue to meet, indeed this lunchtime a get together of women in our village will be held in the library, supporting each other, whether we have children or grandchildren in the IDF or because it is all just too much to bear.

Shalva has become a National Crisis Centre. Already over 100 young girls have been moved to Shalva from a Youth at Risk Centre in the South and families seeking refuge have moved in too. https://www.instagram.com/reel/CygTMp5tRKQ/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D

I understand that it is all confusing, but so many of you have asked me where to send your donations and I tend to support the smaller, individual organisations and as you know, Shalva is where my heart is.

President Biden arrived and went straight to his meeting with Netanyahu. His absolute support, the fact that he understands what we face, which is not “just” a terrorist group but the representatives of ISIS, indeed he said that Hamas is even worse than ISIS and most importantly he stated that the explosion at the hospital was a Hamas mis-guided missile (as proven by the recorded conversation between the Hamas operatives). President Biden is the first American President to come here during war-time to express his absolute support and the support of the American people. Anthony Blinken has been here from the very beginning, hasn’t left in panic, has been following, advising and helping our government on every level. This administration has been with us as no other. What struck me is that Netanyahu read his speech to the public and to “his friend Joe”, the first time ever that he was not “off the cuff” whereas President Biden was clear, firm and clearly determined to express his horror

Dear Friends, I am signing off for now. Writing to you is undoubtedly cathartic, forces me to rationalise the irrational, express my fears and put my addled, distressed brain into some kind of order. Please, I beg of you, share my missives, share the information, write to your media outlets and make sure that they tell the truth (yeah right), it’s probably the most important thing right now.

Sending you love

Sheila