Israel Update 27.8.20

TWO STABBING TERROR ATTACKS

A Palestinian stabbed to death Rabbi Shai Ohayon, 39, a father of four, in the Tel Aviv suburb of Petah Tikva on Wednesday. The attacker was in Israel with a legal work permit. The victim’s children are aged 4-13. Read more here

A stabbing last week in Rosh Ha’ayin in which an Israeli man was seriously injured is being investigated as a terror attack. The suspect, who initially fled the scene, was arrested last Thursday in Jenin. Read more here

TERROR ATTACKS FROM GAZA CONTINUED

A man & his wife had a miraculous escape when their home in Sderot suffered serious damage in a rocket attack from Gaza overnight last Thursday. “It cut the house in two.. Suddenly we heard explosions and smelled smoke”. Twelve rockets were fired at southern Israel overnight Thursday/Friday. Nine were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system. Read more here

Gazan terrorists fired a rocket at Israel on Friday evening that was intercepted by Iron Dome. Rocket warning sirens wailed in southern Israel, sending thousands of Israelis running for bomb shelters as they sat at their Sabbath meals. Read more here

Israel’s new Light Blade laser system has intercepted 150 arson balloons in 10 days. However, a single system can only cover a small part of the Gaza border. Read more here

View Light Blade video here

Dozens of fires in Israel were caused by incendiary arson balloons.

NORTHERN BORDER

After Hezbollah attacked Israeli army positions Tuesday night, the IDF targeted their observational posts in Lebanon early Wednesday in response. Read more here

Aerial footage showed that Hezbollah’s firing position was situated right inbetween two UN posts, barely 110 yards from one. Israel demanded that the UN crack down on UNIFIL its peacekeeping force in Lebanon. Read more here

ISRAEL & THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE)

The health ministers of Israel and the UAE agreed on cooperation on health issues, with a focus on the coronavirus pandemic, Read more here

The first commercial flight between Israel and the UAE is scheduled for next week, carrying American and Israeli delegations to Abu Dhabi. Read more here

CORONAVIRUS IN ISRAEL

Israel’s Health Ministry reported Thursday morning that 1,937 new coronavirus cases were diagnosed in Israel within of 24 hours, bringing the number of active patients to 21,145. The condition of 428 patients is defined as serious, of whom 124 require respiratory aid. The coronavirus death toll in Israel has risen to 877. (Source: ynetnews.com)

TEST

An Israeli COVID-19 breath test has correctly identified all positive patients in a clinical trial in Wuhan, China, according to a newly peer-reviewed study. The device uses nanotechnology to identify compounds from the lung that are present in the breath of coronavirus patients. Read more here

MEDICAL

Barts Health, one of the largest healthcare NHS providers in Britain, will use the software developed by Israeli tech firm Medial EarlySign to identify patients at high risk of developing colon cancer.Read more here

A stroke detection platform developed by Tel Aviv-based medical imaging startup Viz.ai uses artificial intelligence to identify the source of a stroke in seconds. Read more here

Israeli medical device company Nanox is developing what it says is the first fundamental change in X-ray technology since its invention in 1895. The company’s Nanox.ARC is more compact and lightweight than conventional X-ray machines. It produces 3-D images, emits less radiation, and costs a fraction of the price of conventional imaging devices. Read more here

Israeli company BrainsWay has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for its deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (Deep TMS) system aimed at helping people to quit smoking. Read more here

ECO TECH

Tel Aviv-based ECOncrete designs innovative concrete structures for seawalls and other coastal projects that mimic local marine ecosystems. The technology incorporates a biological-enhancing concrete admix; rough surface texture; and locally attuned 3D designs that foster the growth of native plants and animals. Read more here

AGRI TECH

Israeli company Salicrop has come up with an innovative way of enabling a wide range of crops, including rice, wheat and cotton, to grow in saline soils on a large, commercial scale.Read more here

CYCLING

Israel Start-Up Nation, the Israeli professional cycling team, will using the SonoMask – an innovative Israeli-made protective mask – throughout the 21 stages of the Tour de France. Tests showed that the fabric has a 99.8877% viricidal effect. Read more here

ENTERTAINMENT

Two trailers were released for new films starring Israeli actress Gal Gadot: “Wonder Woman 1984” and “Death on the Nile. View here:Read more here

Tel Aviv recently launched a sail-in floating cinema on the boating lake in Park Ha’Yarkon. Read more here

DOGS

On International Dog Day (August 26^th), Tel Aviv was ranked third in “Best Cities For Dogs,” a global research study conducted by a German insurance company. Read more here

COMMENT & OPINION

Herb Keinon: Within the span of 24 hours beginning mid-Tuesday afternoon, 39-year-old Shai Ohayoun, a father of four, was stabbed to death on the streets of Petah Tikva by a Palestinian from Nablus; IDF soldiers patrolling the Lebanese borders came under fire from Hezbollah and hit back against Hezbollah observation posts; inflammable balloons from Gaza continue to set fire to fields near the border fence, something that over the last week has triggered nighttime IDF action against Gaza.

All of that has served as a painful reality check.

Despite everything – despite the recent normalization of ties with the United Arab Emirates and all the promise that holds with other Arab countries, despite the coronavirus fundamentally altering all aspects of society, despite the unending political machinations – a tenuous security situation remains a permanent feature of Israeli reality.Read more here