To our dear friends and partners,

Today is Sunday, the 34th and hopefully the final day of this war.

This morning at 8:00AM (Israel time), a "cease fire" went into effect between the IDF and Hezbollah.

Yesterday was a difficult day for us all. The Hezbollah launched a vicious rocket and missile attack on all of the communities of the north, including Karmiel and Misgav that continued throughout the day. With nightfall came the constant roar of our jets and pounding of our artillery both along the border and inside Lebanon.

The next morning (today), a "countdown clock" began. Until 8:00AM, we weren't sure whether the "ceasefire" would take effect. All of us sat and waited 

Eight o'clock arrived and it suddenly became quiet. A fearful, tense quiet, no one knew what to expect.

The Home Front Command was taking no chances. They announced that at least for now and the following 72 hours they would issue no change in their instructions. Everyone was still required to stay in their shelters and secure rooms

Until the afternoon hours, the streets of Karmiel remained nearly deserted. The roads connecting Misgav and Karmiel weren't exactly laden with traffic either

During a tour of the city and from conversations with area residents, one could sense the fear; the stress of waiting to see what next would happen and the smell of smoke still filling the air where fires had broken our as a result of rocket strikes only hours and days before.

Towards the afternoon hours, the streets of Karmiel began to come alive. The roads in and around the city were once again filled with traffic. The public began to believe that the ceasefire would in fact hold

The municipalities and their employees, who for the past 33 days have worked around the clock, had time to breathe only a quick sigh of relief before they began to prepare for the days to follow. Shelters needed repair and maintenance. A large amount of the equipment that had been placed in the shelters now had to be returned to storage. Emergency warehouses need to be renewed. Schools need to be prepared for the new school year quickly approaching. Support programs need to be developed that can be integrated into the school curriculum. 

At the same time, we still need to continue to operate a wide range of activities for residents to get out, relax and breathe some fresh air after 33 days of fear, stress and sitting in shelters. We will continue to operate day camps for the city's children so that their parents can return to work. We need to continue various activities for our young people to help them "let off some steam" and "chill" after a month at war.

Finally, with the return to normalcy and quiet in our area and in the hope that this situation will continue, our next report will be issued on Friday August 18 and in it, we will report on the way we've returned to normalcy and our regular routine.

That's all for today, let us pray that quiet will prevail and peace and security will return to the region and the country.

Sincerely yours,

Yael Raich
Partnership 2000 Karmiel-Misgav-Pittsburgh/ the Jewish Agency for Israel