The last few days have been without any sirens or running to shelters.  It’s been very quiet in Tel Aviv.  There are visibly fewer people on the streets and in stores.  Many people are not coming into the city from outside of Tel Aviv to stay closer to home.  Jim has been going to work and I have been continuing with my regular routine.  This morning on my run I saw two military helicopters flying over the beach.  I have never seen that before. 

Josh went back to school and the girls’ have been doing zoom classes after school was cancelled for the week. 

It feels almost like corona times, in fact, the government put out some of the same guidelines that were put in place during corona including limiting gatherings.  It felt like Israel was getting back to normal after a successful vaccination drive before all of this started.

Although we feel safe, I know that’s not the case in Gaza and the surrounding communities.  I feel fortunate my kids (and me for the most part) are emotionally doing fine.  That is not the case for many people.  Our babysitter has been living with us since Sunday.  She lives alone on the top floor of her building and does not have a Mamad in her apartment.  The first night the sirens went off she was here, but she went home and there were more sirens that night and over the following days.  She was so nervous about being alone, she went to Eliat (a 6 hour drive from Tel Aviv) ago spend the with a friend.  When she returned, we told her she could stay in Josh’s room since he went back to school.  She has been here since.

I’m watching the news like a hawk and Jim mentioned maybe too much.  I’m anxious with every new report including one yesterday that Lebanon fired some rockets.  I watched the news conference when Netanyahu addressed all of the Ambassadors in Israel.  I also have a new app that gives more detailed information about what is happening including photos and videos.  I feel both better and worse with all the information I’m consuming.

I have discussed the situation in detail with my Israeli, Arab and Palestinian friends.  I was asked to do a story with my old news station and I wanted to hear all perspectives.  I realize they have a different views living here. I am very much an American who has only spent a short time here in the Middle East.  But, I do realize these are difficult days for everyone involved and hoping for a ceasefire soon.

I woke up this morning to a ceasefire being announced.  I haven’t seen any reports of anything happening overnight. This is the start of the weekend and more people were out around town during my run this morning.  I’m hoping the peace will last for a while.