Death Tolls and Inauspicious Periods

With the cease-fire in effect, the current war may be over.  Did it achieve quiet?  Temporarily.  Did it achieve peace?  Nope.

So, who won? Of course, it depends whom you ask.

I've seen:

a) Israel won
b) Hamas won
c) Nobody won (51%, compared to 36% who said Israel won and 6% who said Hamas won)

So, it appears that another round of fighting may be in the works sometime in the future.  But as for Tzuk Eitan, Hashem has an interesting way of planning these things during our mourning period.  If, in fact, the war is over, it's quite interesting that the casualties on the Israeli side occurred only during the 3 weeks.

The war had no direct casualties until the 17th of Tammuz, which commenced the period of the 3 weeks.

Eicha 1:3:

כָּל-רֹדְפֶיהָ הִשִּׂיגוּהָ, בֵּין הַמְּצָרִים

which can be translated as "all her pursuers overtook her during the 3 week Bein Hametzarim period."

There were 64 soldiers and 3 civilians killed during the war, plus another killed in a terrorist attack on Erev Tish'a Be'av, totaling 68 lives.  The very next verse (Eicha 1:4) has exactly 68 letters:

 דַּרְכֵי צִיּוֹן אֲבֵלוֹת, מִבְּלִי בָּאֵי מוֹעֵד--כָּל-שְׁעָרֶיהָ שׁוֹמֵמִין, כֹּהֲנֶיהָ נֶאֱנָחִים; בְּתוּלֹתֶיהָ נּוּגוֹת, וְהִיא מַר-לָהּ.

and perhaps, this verse can mean that we were in mourning during the 3 weeks, but מבלי באי מועד - the casualties occurred until Erev Tish'a Be'av, but not on Tish'a Be'av itself, which is called a Mo'ed.  A Nehama Purta.

As we recite Nahamu Nahamu Ami this Shabbat, may all those who lost loved ones be comforted among the mourners of Tzion and Yerushalayim and may they be comforted in Yerushalayim.