The terrorist campaign against Israel took a surprising turn on Sunday when the Israeli Defense Forces shot down a drone as it approached the city of Ashdod.
The IDF would not say what was on the drone, only that they had shot it down with a Patriot missile and it clearly originated from the Gaza Strip.
It marks the first time that a drone has been confirmed in the terror attacks against Israel.
The IDF reported that almost 1,000 rockets have been fired into Israel by the terrorists in the first six days of “Operation Protective Edge”, the Israeli response to the provocations of the terrorist group.
Israeli analysts say that the bombardment is likely to continue well into the future because of Iranian shipments of arms that have been brought into Gaza for years. The analysts estimate over 10,000 rockets, including some longer range weapons that could strike anywhere in Israel, are under the control of the terrorists.
Israeli ground forces continue to muster on the border with Gaza.
Hamas terrorists could be attempting to create a second front in their battle to kill Israel’s citizens.
A spokesman for Lebanon’s military says they found a group of terrorists working at a rocket launching location in their territory and there were at least two working rockets ready for launch into Israel at the time of the discovery. A man was arrested after soldiers followed a blood trail from the site.
Friday morning, rockets from that area were fired into Israel and the Israeli Defense Forces responded by firing heavy artillery into the area. At least 25 shells struck the site near the Lebanese city of Kfar Shuba.
A spokesman for the IDF said at this point they are not going to say if the attack was symbolic or an attempt to open up battle on a second front. They have referred the situation to the United Nations force in Lebanon for investigation into the incident.
A Hamas rocket that made it through the Iron Dome defense system struck a home in Beersheba today, injuring two people including an 80-year-old grandmother who had to be rushed to a local hospital.
The rocket came an hour after Iron Dome has intercepted two rockets over Tel Aviv and at least two over Herzliya. The Israeli Defense Force says that the percentage of rockets shot down by Iron Dome is around 70 percent.
The IDF says that more Iron Dome batteries will be deployed throughout the country to try and increase the interception percentage of the system.
Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon spoke with the people who manufacture the system to encourage them as they increase their output to meet the current battle situation.
“Your efforts, and those of your people in this operation is very impressive, and inspirational,” Ya’alon added. “In recent days, you and your people are working with dedication, day and night, to instantly set up more Iron Dome batteries, which will go into operation during [the current] Operation Protective Edge, and will defend the Israeli people.”
At least 90 rockets from Hamas have been fired into Israel in the last 24 hours.
Under attack from Hamas rockets? There’s an app for that.
A new app has been made available for smartphones that allow Israelis to track the incoming rockets from Hamas and give themselves time to get to shelter. Half a million people have already downloaded the app in just three days.
Many Israelis are seeing the app as vital because the traditional ways to inform citizens about incoming rockets was radio stations and television interrupting programming. However, with the increased use of satellite radio, iPod and other electronic devices, many Israelis do not have a television or radio on 24 hours a day.
“It gives us a sense of control in a situation where there is no control,” writer and journalist Debra Kamim, who lives in Tel Aviv, told the Washington Post. “It’s especially useful at night because people are worried they won’t hear the sirens while they sleep, and this way they can have the phone next to their beds.”
The app includes a social element where users can post comments about attacks in their area, damage from any rockets that land and requests for help if necessary.
The app is available in English for users in the West to keep track of the rockets if they wish to pray for Israelis when a rocket is approaching them. The app is available for iPhones, iPad and Android.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters on Friday that the current conflict in the Gaza Strip shows the importance of keeping control of the West Bank.
In a strongly worded statement, Netanyahu took several world leaders to task including U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry for their insistence that Israel give up control of the West Bank for a Palestinian State.
Netanyahu said that the fact Hamas has turned the Gaza Strip into a “terrorist bunker” shows that any land given up by Israel will just be used by Islamic terrorist groups to launch attacks upon Israel.
“I think the Israeli people understand now what I always say: that there cannot be a situation, under any agreement, in which we relinquish security control of the territory west of the River Jordan,” he said. “I told John Kerry and General Allen, the Americans’ expert: We live here, I live here, I know what we need to ensure the security of Israel’s people.”
Netanyahu noted that the West Bank is 20 times the size of Gaza and said the last thing Israel needs is “to create another 20 Gazas.”
Netanyahu also noted the tunnels between Gaza and Egypt that the Egyptians have sealed up to keep the terrorists from moving through their country.
“If we were to pull out of Judea and Samaria, like they tell us to, there’d be a possibility of thousands of tunnels,” Netanyahu said.
The Israeli ambassador to the United States says that his country cannot sit by and be passive while Hamas rains down rockets upon its citizens.
Ambassador Ido Aharoni told Fox News that his country will remain on high alert and that air strikes will continue because of the increased hostility toward Israel from the terrorist group Hamas.
“Hamas’ decision to escalate the situation puts us in a very difficult and unpleasant position,” said Aharoni. “We have to respond in a swift and comprehensive fashion because we are looking at a century-old Arab onslaught on Jewish national sovereignty in the land of Israel – that didn’t start yesterday.”
Aharoni said that Israel’s cabinet is currently debating a plan to send troops into the Gaza Strip to root out Hamas’ leadership and networks.
“One thing for sure we understand: We are in it for the long run, the goal of Operation Protective Edge, named for the offensive [against Hamas], is to bring about stability, calm and quiet to Israel’s southern and central region,” he said.
He said that Hamas has about 12,000 rockets in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli Defense Forces struck over 320 Hamas terror sites in the Gaza Strip overnight bringing the total to 750 in the last three days. The sites struck were mainly rocket launcher sites and areas connected to the terrorist organization’s tunnel system.
The strikes come as Israeli intelligence stopped an attempt by Hamas terrorists to sneak a bomb into Israel. Authorities stopped a car with Palestinian plates at a checkpoint and discovered the bomb inside. The suspects were arrested and admitted they were planning to carry out an attack on civilians.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters the situation is at a crisis level.
“This is one of the most critical tests the region has faced in recent years,” he said. “Gaza is on a knife-edge. The deteriorating situation is leading to a downward spiral which could quickly get beyond anyone’s control.”
Palestinians have been trying to claim that Israel is targeting civilians but the Israeli ambassador to the U.N. told reporters that Hamas has taken to hiding in civilian homes and businesses to try and avoid retribution for their activities. One Hamas headquarters is located within a working hospital.
Whatever we are going to do for Christ, NOW is the time to do it. Israel is God’s Time Clock and the alarm is telling us we are seeing earth-shaking events. The news is filled with reports of rocket barrages into and out of Israel.
Israel is surrounded by her enemies, just as the Bible says that they would be in the Last Days.
The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. Luke 19:43 NIV Continue reading →
The White House coordinator for the Middle East is blasting Israel, saying they’re to blame for the ongoing violence in the region.
Philip Gordon, a special assistant to President Obama, took multiple shots at Israel while at the same time claiming to be the country’s strongest defender.
“Israel confronts an undeniable reality: It cannot maintain military control of another people indefinitely. Doing so is not only wrong but a recipe for resentment and recurring instability,” Gordon said. “It will embolden extremists on both sides, tear at Israel’s democratic fabric and feed mutual dehumanization.”
Gordon called Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas a “proven…reliable partner” and singled out Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for criticism because he would not restart negotiations with the Palestinians.
“How will Israel remain democratic and Jewish if it attempts to govern the millions of Palestinian Arabs who live in the West Bank?” Gordon continued. “How will it have peace if it’s unwilling to delineate a border, end the occupation and allow for Palestinian sovereignty, security and dignity? How will we prevent other states from supporting Palestinian efforts in international bodies, if Israel is not seen as committed to peace?”
Gordon’s speech in Israel is the first time a senior White House official had addressed the Israeli people directly since President Obama’s visit in March 2013.
Officials say that half of the Israeli population is in bomb shelters because of ongoing rocket attacks in central Israel by the Islamic terrorist group Hamas. The terrorist group has declared in a public statement “all Israelis have now become legitimate targets.”
The leaders of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem opened their city’s public bomb shelters because of the level of the attacks. Officials also told residents to open and prepare their private bomb shelters for the possibility of a prolonged assault.
An Iron Dome battery was able to successfully shoot down an incoming rocket over Tel Aviv. Hamas announced they had fired four rockets at the capital but there was no evidence of three more rockets impacting in the city.
According to the Israeli Defense Force, over 120 rockets struck within the Israeli borders during the night. Iron Dome destroyed 23 rockets in Ashdod, Ashkelon and communities along the Gaza border.
Israeli spokesman Mark Regev told reporters that Israel had reached out to the terrorist group in an attempt to de-escalate the situation and found that the terrorist group was not interested in ending the current conflict. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called world leaders to tell them their position that they could not sit by and allow their country to be attacked by a terrorist organization and not respond to their provocation.