15-Aug-06: The Outbreak of Quiet

It's been 36 hours and thankfully the ceasefire between Hizbollah and the state of Israel is holding so far. While it does, here are some more dry statistics to offset the striking disinclination of the media to give coverage outside Israel to what Israel has endured since the outbreak of fighting on its northern border on July 12.

Hezbollah missiles and their consequences: The damage and destruction have been tremendous.

• Missiles fired into Israeli territory by Hizbollah: 3,790
• Missiles that landed in Israeli cities, towns, settlements and houses: 901
• Israel civilians killed by Hizbollah missiles: 42
• Israeli civilians injured by Hizbollah missiles and requiring hospitalization for their injuries: 4,262. Of these, 33 are classed as seriously injured. 68 as moderately injured. 1,388 lightly injured.
• Israeli civilians treated for shock and anxiety: 2,773
• Israeli servicemen and -women killed in the fighting: 114. (All the names and many of the portraits are on the Yediot website.)
• Missile attacks on Kiryat Shmona and surrounding communities close to Lebanon: 1,012 missile landings. 372 inside Kiryat Shmona itself, 354 within its municipal boundaries. 25 residents of Kiryat Shmona were injured; 81 suffered from shock. 2,003 houses and apartments and 151 vehicles are damaged. In addition, dozens of schools, factories, businesses, synagogues, kindergartens and other public facilities were hit and damaged.

It's still not clear whether the school year will open as scheduled on September 1. Some 10,000 northern residents have been housed on an emergency basis in boarding schools. Until they are able to return to their homes, preparations for the school year will be uncertain.

IDF activity: In military terms, this has been an intense period.

• Israel Air Force sorties over Lebanon: 15,500. Made up of 10,000 combat sorties, 2,000 battle helicopter sorties, 1,000 helicopter sorties, 1,300 reconnaissance flights, 1,200 transport sorties
• Targets struck by these sorties: 7,000
• Israel Navy vessels spent more than 8,000 hours sailing off the Lebanese coast
• Israel Navy vessels fired 2,500 rounds at Lebanese targets.
• IDF air and naval activity was targeted at missile launch sites, launchers, weapons stores, roads, Hezbollah infrastructures and radars, fuel depots and the coastal road.

Blockade: While conducting a naval blockade of Lebanon, the IDF has permitted more than 200 ships to reach Lebanon to evacuate civilians and deliver relief supplies. The IDF says the blockade is going to continue until a way is found to prevent the smuggling of war materials into Lebanon.

And now? While Israel is focused on rebuilding, restarting, recovering, and burying its dead, voices from Syria and Lebanon keep reminding us that this has been about a decades-long desire to throw us into the sea, a process which - to judge from the triumphant tones - has merely been interrupted. We'll come back to this theme later.