Yes we know..

[Gusher Castaignede]

May what is happening in Israel right now de-escalate and we pray and hope that those of you living there stay safe....

[Kimm Starr]

praying for everyone. Stay safe.

[Ilan Tochner]

Thank you Gusher,

My family and I live in the Tel Aviv area and have a fortified room in our apartment where we are protected from everything short of a direct hit on our building. We are relatively safe but the massacre that happened in Israeli towns on the boarder with Gaza and the kidnapping of more than 100 young and elderly Israelis from their homes into Gaza is prompting the Israeli government to draft a lot of reservists. Both Oren and myself are too old to be called but this war will be a lot more devastating for both sides than the wars we've had with our Arab neighbors since 1973.
 
I fear that even though many countries are siding with Israel now we'll suffer widespread condemnation by the time this is over. This is Israel's 9/11, worse proportionally if you consider the relative population sizes of Israel and the US. Israel is going to respond a lot less carefully than it has in the past, and many innocent civilians will be hurt in the process.

Many people in Israel are very much opposed to the current right-wing Israeli government but even a left wing government would have had to respond with devastating force to this type of an attack on our boarder towns.

These are dangerous times in many places in the world. I hope we'll all come out of these wars wiser and more open to the compromises that are required for living together in peace.

[Trouble Ahead]

Im very sad to hear for you Ilan , Oren and family and friends you are living in more dangerous conditions there. We always hope for deescalation but looking at history and all events happened before this new wave of violence , all involved parties have a long way to go I am afraid. Please stay safe.

[Gregg Legendary]

Don't Hate me for my words here but...first I find all violence to be evil. Second this part of the world bugs me as both parties Jews and Palestinians are both children of Abraham and should unify and celebrate unification not kill each other ...sheesh the horror. In one of my stays at a nursing home my main nurse was Palestinian, we once sat down for an hour and talked and she agreed with me on this point. I pray Ilam and everyone in harms way will be safe, and pray common sense will prevail and that those who seek peace on both sides will come to power and make it so.

[Constance Peregrine]

I'm very saddened by this escalation. Though not a Jew, I have always felt a poignant sense of concern for the trials and tribulations of Jewish people.

It is a tribute to the people that they can withstand and put into perspective the historical plights that have come to them.

I can't even imagine how things would be here in America if something similar were to happen to us. My thoughts horrify me.

I only hope that the deaths are as low as can be done. My sincere condolences to you, Ilan, Oren, your families, and the people of Israel.

[Christine Nyn]

What happened to start this latest horror is certainly not the path to any kind of peace.
I cannot imagine the stress that must be involved living in the midst of that.

This:

...My family and I live in the Tel Aviv area and have a fortified room in our apartment where we are protected from everything short of a direct hit on our building...

really underlines what it means to live in the area, and frankly it horrified me to read it and realise the measures you feel you have to take.

I do hope that the whole situation can eventually calm down and some lasting solution be achieved.

[Dot Matrix]

Very best wishes to you and your family

[Ilan Tochner]

Thank you all for your concern. More than 300,000 Israeli men and women have been drafted in the past 48 hours, which is most of Israel's army reserves. As stated previously, Oren and I are too old to be called and so are sheltering at our respective homes, which are both close to Tel Aviv and far from Gaza and Lebanon. That said, things are volatile in Israel and we all hope they will not escalate further by attacks from Hezbollah and other Iranian-affiliated forces in the middle east.

As for Kitely, I want to reassure those of you who've asked: all Kitely's servers are located in California and are safe from anything happening in the Middle East or Europe. Our systems are also highly automated and can continue functioning indefinitely even if Oren and I temporarily lose electricity or Internet access. In other words, all your worlds, avatars, and bought content are safe.

I'll try to provide an update in this thread once every few days until this was is over. I'll also continue attending the Kitely community meetings every week on Sunday at 1pm PST in the Kitely Welcome Center. In any case, please feel free to continue using all the support methods we offer if there is anything you need (these forums, PMs, emails and IMs). We have been here for you since we opened to the public in March 27, 2011 and we'll do our best to continue being here for you regardless of events in our region of the world.

Thank you all for your continued moral support. It means a lot to us.

[Owl Night]

Ilan,
I am glad you are safe and have a safe-room just in case. I cannot imagine what you are going through right now. I know that myself and others here are praying / sending energy into the universe/ hoping that you remain safe and as unaffected as possible.

That being said, if you need anything that sim owners like me can help with, please let me know. perhaps you/ us sim owners can set up a help group for new arrivals that can help new people when you are unavailable like the firestorm help group in SL and set a contact station in the welcome area. Either way, please let me know if I can help you in some way.