I went out to the grocery store to buy a few items this morning. When I got to the curb I saw army van after army van interspersed with army police cars passing, one after the other. I had to wait quite a while for them all to pass. They were traveling in the direction of the main highway.

At first I was positive about seeing them. I thought that a "big fish" had been caught and that they were on their way to finish a mission.

When I got to the grocery store I asked the owner what the procession was. He saw that there was a note of positivity in my face. He looked at me squarely and said: "Coffins".

I somehow managed to buy what I had to, having gone into a state of shock. I returned home and I told my husband what I had experienced. For the first time since the beginning of the war; I broke down in hysterical tears. My husband came over to me to comfort me.

That picture doesn't leave me. I can't get it out of my mind. I've been sleeping a good part of the day and I had a rather long angina attack. The pain ran into my arm and my jaw even though I am now on medications to stave off a heart attack.

I can stand the danger that I'm in, but I can't stand to think about the boys and men that are dead, wounded and, especially, missing.

Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan, Tzfat, Israel
DoreenDotan@gmail.com