Grad rocket blasts injure three Palestinians in Ashdod
Three Palestinian workers working in Israel were seriously injured Saturday morning when an unidentified number of Grad rockets exploded in southern Ashdod, Magen David Adom paramedics reported. A number of hours prior, Hamas's armed wing had announced an end to a two-year old truce with Israel.
Israel Radio reported at least 35 rockets landing in Israel since Thursday afternoon.
A short while earlier, a separate Kassam rocket exploded in the Eshkol Regional Council in an open field, causing no injuries or damage.
Hamas announced early on Saturday they were no longer committed to a more than two-year de facto truce with Israel since the end of a war in early 2009.
The statement was broadcast over a Hamas radio station in Gaza after Israel pounded the Strip for two days with air strikes in response to rocket fire and terror attacks on Thursday that killed eight people.
Hamas Ends Ceasefire with Israel
Hamas’ military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, called off a ceasefire with Israel late Friday, Hamas’ Al-Aqsa radio reported.
According to the report, which was quoted by the Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency, Hamas will allow terror factions in Gaza to respond to Israeli attacks in the Strip.
A representative of the militant group was quoted as having said, “There can be no truce with the Israeli occupation while it commits massacres against the Palestinian people without justification.”
The representative added that Al-Qassam “calls on all factions to respond to the Israeli occupation’s crimes.”
More than 20 rockets, missiles and mortars were fired by terrorists from Gaza into Israeli territory on Friday. Luckily, most of them exploded in open areas and did not cause physical injuries or damage. In at least one case, the Iron Dome defense system was able to shoot down a rocket before it hit the city of Ashkelon.
One attack on the city of Ashdod resulted in a rocket landing in a synagogue in the city. Several people were wounded.
The IAF retaliated several times, identifying terror targets and striking them.
Egypt Complains Over Deaths of its Security Forces
Egypt lodged a formal complaint with Israel on Friday over the killings of three members of its security forces overnight Thursday, Reuters reported.
The three, an Egyptian army officer and two other security men, were killed when Israeli forces launched an operation to pursue terrorists who launched the multiple attacks in southern Israel on Thursday. Seven other security men were injured.
“Egypt has filed an official protest to Israel over the incidents at the border yesterday (Thursday) and demands an urgent investigation over the reasons and circumstances surrounding the deaths of three of Egypt’s forces,”
The circumstances of the deaths were not immediately clear. An official in the Egyptian army had told Reuters following the incident that the three were caught in the line of fire, but the army said Friday it had launched its own investigation.
Egypt summons Israeli ambassador over killings
Egypt's cabinet has summoned the Israeli ambassador in Cairo to protest shootings on the Israeli side of the border that led to the killing of three Egyptian security personnel, state TV reported on Saturday.
"The Cabinet assigns the Egyptian foreign minister to summon the Israeli ambassador in Cairo ... in protest over shootings on the Israeli side of the border that led to deaths on the Egyptian side," state TV reported.
"The Cabinet demands a joint official probe to ascertain the circumstances of the incident ... and take the necessary legal action to protect the rights of Egyptian victims and injured," state TV said.
if that isn't enough, we also see this:
Thursday's attack represented a major test for ties between Israel and Egypt following an uprising that ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and strengthened forces hostile to the Jewish state.
A cabinet spokesman said the government of Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf also planned to hold an emergency meeting later on Friday to assess the situation in Sinai. The spokesman said members of the ruling military council and Egyptian intelligence would attend.
The protests have already started - public pressure will be immediate and it will request strong action against Israel - you can count on that:
Egyptian protesters amassed outside of the Israeli embassy in Cairo and the consulate in Alexandria Friday, Israel Radio reported. Some called for the annulment of the Camp David accords, while in Alexandria a group of men climbed on a car and attempted to hang Egyptian flags on the building itself, the report said.
Dozens of Egyptians demonstrated outside the Israeli embassy in Cairo following Friday prayers, denouncing the Israeli attack on the Egyptian border.
Egyptian presidential candidates Amr Moussa and Hamdeen Sabbahi also denounced the killing of three Egyptian security men.
"Israel must realize that the day when Egypt's sons are killed without an appropriate and strong reaction are over," Moussa said in comments on his web site.
This situation could spiral out of control quickly.
Hamas triggered this episode and now states that it wants out of the mythical ceasefire. It seems obvious that they were attempting to trigger this last round of violence. The question becomes "why?". We know that Iran controls things with Hamas, so we really need to look towards Iran to see why this is happening now, and those answers aren't readily available.
Regardless, if Hamas states that they will continue to attack Israel, and we already have Netanyahu stating that he hasn't even finished responding to the first round of violence, where does that leave the Middle East?
It appears that we are in for a significant cycle of violence. Both sides are promising more, that much is clear.
We may be seeing the beginning of the last epic battles in the Middle East. Most of us assume that we'll see the scenario described in Isaiah 17 before the Gog-MaGog scenario of Ezekiel 38-39.
Could we be seeing the very beginnings of this series of battles?
The key could be what happens in Egypt and Syria. Egypt, because of public pressure to hit Israel in response to these deaths (which will become a story in a matter of days - just watch), and Syria, because of the Golan Heights and as a diversion to their internal problems.
We should know soon enough.
Is it September yet?
Yikers Scott!!!!
ReplyDeleteGet a grip, Brother! Looking at the times of your posts, ya musta been up all night. Them chickens you live around are country Roosters, not the city variety. Ya don't gotta manually wake um up, they got the automatic feature enabled.:)
Somehow, when I read about the 3 Egyptians killed by the IDF in their response something stirred and wouldn't let go. This just seems the type of thing that isn't earth shaking in and of itself, but could build and take on a life of its own until......
You can almost envision the Chess Board, as all the players maneuver their pieces-n-reactions-n-responses to get Israel into the corner and a check mate. This has got to be so nerve wracking if your flag is blue and white.
Its also, IMHO, the exact type of scenario.....relatively small and insignificant in origin....that can either fizzle out and die or quickly grow into the monster and be the short fuze that makes it to the first of the multiple barrels of dry powder.
Caver grabs the coffee and staggers back outside to listen for trumpet sounds......
Morning Scott! God Bless You Brother...up till the wee hours of the morning were you? My goodness, hope you get some rest :) We could see this nonsense was going to happen before Sept. Its a trap, to lure Israel into. What, suddenly Hamas starts showering Israel with rockets and mortars, AGAIN! only weeks before the Sept. fiasco!
ReplyDeleteThen immediately we have Abbas (supposedly somewhat moderate)calling on the UNSC, to order Israel to stop attacking Gaza. Obviously, a planned event happening here. Its the good cop bad cop ploy with Hamas and Fatah as the players.
At the same time, we have Lebanon now showing their power at the UN, by "blocking" a statement on terrorist attacks. This is a wink, wink to the Palys, this fix is in! As the Palys admitted, they chose Sept.20 to present their request to the UN, because thats when Lebanon (Hezbollah basically) will be in the rotating position of UN Security Council President.
They also intentionally drew Egypt into this too. Bibi has stated for many years, that Iran is the "head of the snake" that needs to be taken out. Iran is possibly loosing its power in Syria, should Assad flee. However, if Assad flees, who will fill the void? Perhaps the heads of Hamas and Hezbollah that are headquartered in where...DAMASCSUS. For a very long time, Ive been convicted that all it will take is not necessarily some prominent group, but rather some fringe group, to launch a chem weapon on Israel, and that will be it. The fuse will be lit. It could end up being as simple as some wacky guy named Habib hiding out in the bushes, who decides to be a martyr and blow himself up with a dirty bomb in a populous area in Israel.
Most, most importantly, what does Gods Word say about all this? This starts off well for Israel but then turns to "desolation" for Israel as God tells us.
1) It begins with Damascus being gone in one day.
2) Israel will take Syrian prisoners, and interestingly, back to Israel.
3) West Bank, and Jordan fall.
4) Then absolute disaster strikes Israel, to the point they barely survive. God tells us why He allows this to happen.
5) God steps in at the last minute, before the evil surrounding nations rush in to finish off Israel. I believe this will also be when He fulfills the Ezekiel 25-32 Judgments against these nations: Jordan, Gaza, Lebanon, and Egypt.
Is the U.S. in this? Sadly..no, as Gods Word tells us. This fact, ought to have all of us prepared for who knows what's to come.
What is the Hope in all this death and destruction to come? The most important thing of all, Gods Purpose in all of this!
It is the beginning of His turning His attention, away from us...the Church, and you know what that means! And it, is the beginning of His Restoring His relationship with His People.
WOW! Look up Brothers and Sisters, our Redemption draws nye!!! Hallelujah!!! Praise You Father for ever!!!
God Bless You All!
We actually went to see our favorite worship band, Hillsong last night in G-boro and it was an amazing, fantastic worship experience. As expected. To see ~ 20,000 (or whatever the number was) people earnestly worshiping together intensely was so uplifting and it reminds me of what worship will be like in heaven,
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful experience it was. We also ran into some friends from Church and got to experience it with them which was all the better. It also takes me a while to wind down from something like that, so what better way than to wind down by looking at the signs around us that tell us Jesus is on His way.
Mrc C - One point I think we have both made before, so I agree - I believe CHemical weapons (missiles) from Syria will precipitate much of the sequence events and Israel has been firm that they would see such actions as the same as a nuke. Syria has manufactured those weapons for a reason, and they certainly intend to use them. No doubt.
MrC - I also agree about the Egypt set-up...But remember, the public will want to see ISraeli blood, and the question then becomes, will the military worry more about the volatile political situation or will they want to appease the angry mobs....We'll see.
Yep! We be on the same page.....
ReplyDeleteSounds like a wonderful experience last night.....but just gotta ask, did ya hear anything that sounded like trumpets being warmed up to come on center stage??? You know the type, maybe a real big, very powerful one?
Yep - the usual "tuning up" before the big blast :)
ReplyDeleteYou might not be able to hear it, when it comes, being so far out in the country :)......So it might catch you by surprise :):)
Mrs. C, have you ever thought about writing novels? Something in the suspense/intrigue/prophecy realm? (I'm thinking novels like Joel Rosenberg's.) I love your writing style!
ReplyDeleteOf course, I'm kinda hoping there's no time to launch a new career right now... ;)
Dear Sis Alice,
ReplyDeleteGod Bless your Sweet Heart. Thank you so much for such kind words :) Truly, all credit is always to the Holy Spirit.:)I must say I’m a little taken back, surprised, at your comments. Honestly, I never considered myself as having any kind of writing style at all.:)
I just kind of type what the Holy Spirit convicts me to type. Sometimes I'll read something I posted, and kind of chuckle out loud saying "did I write that?" lol
If there is any "style", I guess it goes to how I read His Word, and that is like a child...lovingly...excitedly...
trustingly...sitting at the feet of our Lord. Listening to every Word He says with great fullness of joy and delight! No great academics here...just the simplicity of a child...just like He said for us to be. Its awesome to know, that He knows my name, your name, all of our names...since the beginning of time :)
As for a novel, my goodness, I don’t know if He would call me to do such a thing. As you said, there sure isn’t enough time for a project like that! lol
After all, a novel pales in comparison, to the most awesome Book ever written! We are so Blessed, to be Witnessing the Best Story Ever Told! Unfolding before our very eyes...Glory be to God Forever!!!
God Bless You Sis! Big Hug
"Sometimes I'll read something that I posted and kind of chuckle out loud saying "did I write that"?
ReplyDeleteMrs C - this happens to me all the time - I can so relate. I do think its the power of the Holy Spirit at work....I can't think of any other explanation. :)
Mahmoud rose slowly to his feet from his cross legged position under the Date Palm. Carefully he secreted a small, leather bound book into the folds of his loose robe. Squinting into the sky, his eyes searched the lightly clouded sky tinged with rose by the setting of the sun; then turned abruptly on his heel with a set and determined jaw.
ReplyDeleteHis family would be in bed by now, fast asleep as his wife gently rocked the babies cradle. His father would still be in the square talking with the other men - his mother would be preparing for the morning meal. He stopped abruptly; unsure which direction to take first; it was time, he must prepare his family to leave immediately.
His hesitation was short lived as his fathers loud voice boomed above the voices of the other men. He quickened his pace muttering under his breath; we must waste no time, take the barest essentials and leave the rest in God’s hands.
Finally the old truck was bumping and rattling over the dusty terrain holding its precious cargo. They weren’t alone; not many, but a few other vehicles were coughing and belching their way across the arid landscape. Dusk was falling quickly now and the tense drivers breathed a sigh of relief as they passed the city boundary. Mahmoud’s eyes filled with tears, this would be the last time they would ever see the road sign in the Arabic sprawl of Damascus.
Over to you Mrs C
hahaha! Oh my goodness! EI, you are very talented, too!
ReplyDeleteI think you two have a future together! Since it truly appears that we are running out of time, perhaps there will be need for talented writers during Jesus' millennial reign... ;)