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JPost Middle East- Analysis: Why has the West Bank been quiet? January 6, 2009
- Lebanon doubts Hizbullah will open second front January 6, 2009
- Jordan, Egypt strike balance between Israel ties, angry public January 6, 2009
- Doctors stuck at bottleneck on Egypt-Gaza border January 6, 2009
- Analysis: Hamas desperate for lull January 6, 2009
- ynet - Updates for RSS
- Venezuela's Chavez calls Gaza attack 'holocaust' January 6, 2009
- Senior officer's trial postponed due to Gaza op January 6, 2009
- Rehovot mayor strives to calm residents January 6, 2009
- Qaeda's Zawahri says Gaza raids attack on Islam January 6, 2009
- Obama breaks silence on Gaza, voices concern January 6, 2009
- Haaretz.com - News
- Obama breaks silence over Gaza, calls civilian death 'a deep concern' January 6, 2009Barack Obama, who takes over as U.S. president from George W. Bush on January 20, broke his silence about the violence in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, calling the loss of civilian lives in Gaza and in Israel a "source of deep concern for me." ...
- Turkey-Israel basketball game canned after pro-Gaza protesters storm court January 6, 2009A basketball game between a Turkish and an Israeli team was suspended on Tuesday after Turkish fans erupted in protests against the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, Turkish media reported. ...
- French TV airs photos billed as damage from Cast Lead, actually from 2005 January 6, 2009French public television network France 2 on Tuesday revealed they had aired photographs that allegedly showed destruction caused by the Israel Air Force during Operation Cast Lead, which were in fact taken during a different incident in 2005, one in which Gaza civilians were killed by an explosion caused by militants in the Strip. ...
- French President Sarkozy: Deal on Gaza truce 'not far away' January 6, 2009French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Tuesday a deal for a cease-fire between Israel and the Gaza Strip was "not far" away. ...
- Olmert to Haaretz: The sooner Israel can end its Gaza offensive, the better January 6, 2009Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Haaretz on Tuesday that Israel has no interest in a prolonged offensive on the Gaza Strip. ...
- Obama breaks silence over Gaza, calls civilian death 'a deep concern' January 6, 2009
ARMAGEDDON WEEK
By Joel C. Rosenberg
(Washington, D.C., January 5, 2009) — Last night, “Armageddon Week” began on The History Channel. This is a series of several documentary films every night dealing with different angles on — and different perspectives of — the End Times.
In August, I was interviewed by a producer and film crew for this series and asked to describe an evangelical Christian perspective on Bible prophecies regarding the last days. The producers have emailed us to say portions of my interview will appear on tonight’s (Monday) broadcast at 9pm eastern in a special entitled, “Seven Signs of The Apocalypse.”
The description of the program reads: “The Seven Signs are clear: We will be struck by deadly plagues, famines and earthquakes, the sky will turn dark and oceans will turn to blood, and the antichrist will emerge to fight the final battle between good and evil. Could this all be true? Experts decode this powerful prophecy and come to a startling conclusion: there is now scientific evidence that many of these catastrophes could, in fact, be occurring….To reveal the ultimate truth behind the prophecy, this investigation will turn to the past to reveal why the prophecy was written, and why it keeps such a powerful hold on our imagination today.”
I have no idea how the program has turned out, as I have not had the chance to see it. Moreover, I’ll be traveling all day so I won’t have a chance to watch tonight. But I did want you to be aware of the week-long series, and tonight’s show, if you’re interested.
God bless.
UPDATE ON HOW THE JOSHUA FUND IS HELPING ISRAELIS IN THE WAR ZONE
The Joshua Fund is moving quickly to bless Israeli caught in the crossfire of this escalating war between Israel and Hamas.
On Friday, TJF helped fund a project to care for 150 elderly Israeli Jews trapped in the city of Sderot, right on the border with Gaza, which is receiving a seemingly never-ending barrage of rocket attacks. TJF paid for hot meals that were delivered personally by dozens of volunteers to these elderly shut-ins. The project was organized and run by Eeki Elner and Calev Myers, co-founders of AFFI, the Alliance for the Future of Israel. Several other allies provided logistical assistance as well.
Here is an email we just received from Calev on how the project went:
“We have just returned from the project in Sderot. It went very well. Eeki Elner…was able to bring between 50-60 volunteers from Tel-Aviv and the North. I brought about 11 volunteers from the Jerusalem Institute of Justice in Jerusalem.
Eeki received from the Mayor of Sderot the names and address of about 150 elderly people in Sderot who can not leave their homes. Many of them suffer from health problems and all of them suffer from poverty. Through the generous donation of the Joshua Fund we were able to give a hot meal to each individual, together with a brand-new down blanket (provided by JIJ).
“All of the volunteers split up into about 14 teams with a list of names and homes, and we were able to distribute all of the gifts within about 2.5 hours. The volunteers were instructed to enter peoples home and to take their time asking if everything is okay and trying to encourage the recipients as much as possible — to give them the feeling that they are not alone. This was a little challenging at times. Most of the recipients were Russian or Ethiopian new immigrants. Out of six homes that my team covered, we only found one Hebrew speaker. However we heard a lot of hearty “thank you”s in Russian and the tears and smiles on the faces of the recipients clearly expressed their appreciation regardless of language limitations.
“As we were going from home to home it was hard to ignore the Israeli fighter jets flying over our heads and the artillery fire in the background. It is inconceivable to me what must be going through the mind of an elderly new immigrant who does not speak Hebrew, lives in abject poverty and listens all day to the sound of war about a mile from his/her house (not to mention the Kassam rockets which frequently fall in the vicinity).
“Eeki was also able to procure a donation of tens of boxes of brand new educative toys and games, from a toys and games factory in Israel. After we finished the distribution to the elderly, each team of volunteers filled up their cars with educative games and toys and we went door to door asking if the homes had children, and distributing the games and toys to the ones that do. This really meant a lot to the recipients because the children of Sderot do not have school due to the war, and the kids need to need to interesting games, etc, to occupy them (as they try to ignore the bombings and gunfire which they hear throughout the day).
“We want to thank you so much for helping us bring a ray of light and encouragement into the darkness and fear of the residents of Sderot today.”
Please pray for all of these elderly shut-ins, as well as all of the people of Sderot, that the Lord would protect them as rockets keep raining down on their homes and communities.
Meanwhile, I just got off the phone with John Moser, our executive director, just a few hours ago. I gave him authorization to fund another project to care for Israelis in the war zone. The Joshua Fund, working closely with our Jewish allies on the ground, will begin helping Israeli families who live near the border of Gaza to move out of their homes and to a safer city for the next week or so. We are paying for the buses, the accommodations and the food for these families. Lord willing, these families will start moving out of harm’s way within the next 24 hours. I will update you as soon as I possibly can.
Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” The Lord commanded us to love our neighbors. He commanded us to bless the people of Israel in real and practical ways, including to feed those who have no food. We are seeking to obey in the power of the Holy Spirit.
I have also spent this afternoon praying with an Arab ministry leader, discussing how we can especially help Palestinian followers of Jesus trapped in Gaza. It’s not yet clear how to help given how tightly Hamas controls the situation and how violent the situation is at the moment. For now, we will keep assisting Jewish Israelis since we have clear access to them. If an opportunity presents itself to bless our brothers and sisters in Gaza, we will move as the Lord leads us.
* Please continue praying for real peace — not just the absence of conflict but the presence of true justice and true security on both sides of the fence.
* Please also continue praying for the scores of children on both sides who are being traumatized by all the rockets and bombs — pray for the Lord to comfort and care for them in a supernatural way.
* Please pray for the followers of Jesus in Israel and Gaza, that they will have courage and hope from the Lord, that they will hear from the Holy Spirit how best to love their neighbors and their enemies, and that by their words and actions they can communicate the good news of God’s great love and plan for Israel and her neighbors.
* Please continue praying for wisdom and discernment for The Joshua Fund leadership team, as well. We are in contact with our allies on the ground in Israel and readying relief supplies to help them care for those in severe need.
* Please also pray that we can recruit 100,000 allies who are willing to pray knowledgeably, faithfully and consistently for the people of the epicenter. Already some 80,000 have signed up from around the world.
* Please also pray about helping us financially as this war escalates.
As always, we will do our best to keep you up-to-date on the kinds of projects we are doing, and brief you on how those projects are proceeding. We will also let you know about the kinds of projects we are developing for the future. In no way do we want to pressure anyone to give financially. We fully believe the Lord will provide for the needs of the people we seek to serve. But if you or others wish to help, we welcome your support, and all financial gifts are tax-deductible.
If you would like to make a year-end contribution to the on-going work of The Joshua Fund please make your check payable to “The Joshua Fund” and send to:
The Joshua Fund
18950 Base Camp Road
Monument, Colorado 80132-8009
Thanks so much and may the Lord richly bless you and your family as you bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus — especially at critical moment in history of the epicenter.
To visit Joel’s website — www.joelrosenberg.com — please click here
Gound operation Gaza
Thanks to http://muqata.blogspot.com/
10:20 PM Immediate warnings of possible launches in the coming minutes to Ashdod and Ashkelon.
The Muqata refuses to publish any messages from the Gaza and Hamas websites, which are designed purely for psychological warfare (and are highly unreliable). We stand by our reports and accuracy.
10:15 PM Gaza’s primary fuel depot has been hit and is currently ablaze.
10:14 PM IDF HomeCommand special national broadcast on Channel 33 to residents of Israel with directions for behavior in event of rocket attacks. (Going to watch, be back in a few)
10:12 PM Lachish, Western Negev region go on alert for possible rocket launches at them from Gaza in the immediate minutes.
10:01 PM Reports of dozens of Hamas terrorists already killed in first contact gunbattles with IDF ground forces. (Israel Channel 2 TV)
9:57 PM Reports from Israeli sources that the government agreed this afternoon to the additional call up of tens of thousands of IDF reservists, in addition to the previous 9000 from last week.
My uniform, boots and dog-tags are already laid out in my bedroom.
9:54 PM Reports of Israeli Arabs stoning Israeli cars on highway 85 in northern Israel (in response to the IDF war on Gazan terror). Damage reported, no injuries.
9:47 PM CNN reports: Reacting to the [IDF] incursion, chief negotiator for the Palestinian Authority Saeb Erakat said: “What this will do is undermine the peace process.”
Thanks Saeb — if you define “peace process” as the weakening of Israel, then I guess you are correct. If it means stabilizing the Middle East for democracy, them I would have to disagree with your erudite analysis.
9:41 PM Israel’s Minister of Defense, Ehud Barak orders total naval embargo on Gaza
9:34 PM Reports that in addition to IDF ground force incursion, the IAF is also hitting additional Gazan targets from the air, and providing air-cover for ground troops.
9:30 PM Israeli Leftists end their Tel Aviv demonstration against the IDF war on Gazan Terror.
Over a thousand people were demonstrating against the IDF’s Operation Cast Lead at Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square on Saturday evening. In response, about 600 activists gathered in the same place to show support for the army and for residents of the South.Witnesses told the Jerusalem Post that many of the demonstrators were wearing Kaffiyehs and waving combined Israeli-Palestinian flags. (JPost)
I don’t understand why these people had their anti-IDF demonstration in Tel-Aviv. Wouldn’t it be much more appropriate to do it in downtown Ashkelon or Sederot while the Gazans continue to fire rockets at Israel?
9:27 PM Gunfire exchanges between IDF troops and Hamas terrorists in the Beit Hanoun area of Gaza (Beit Hanoun is one of the primary locations that shoots mortars and Qassam rockets at Sederot and the Western Negev towns)
9:24 PM Organized Prayers being said for the welfare of IDF troops in Israel and around the world.
9:17 PM Al-Alksa Gazan TV goes “off-air”. Hope their advertisers get a refund…
8:53 PM IDF starts massive military call up of reserve forces, (Emergency Call up #8 (Tzav-8.) (This information permitted by IDF censor). Close to 9000 reserve soldiers permitted to be called up by last week’s government decision.
8:45 PM Reports of at least 3 simultaneous IDF ground incursions into Gaza.
8:44 PM Air Raid Sirens in Western Negev
8:42 PM First clash reported between IDF ground forces and Hamas terrorists in Gaza, heavy exchange of gunfire.
8:41 PM IDF Solider critically wounded last week in Nachal Oz, has regained consciousness.
8:38 PM All Israeli News channels reporting ground incursion — it is still under military censorship to disclose where the incursion has started.
Prayer for the Welfare of Soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces
May He who blessed our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, bless the soldiers
of the Israel Defense Forces who keep guard over our country and cities of
our Lord from the border with Lebanon to the Egyptian desert and from the
Mediterranean Sea to the approach to the Arava, be they on land, air or sea.May the Almighty deliver us our enemies who arise against us, may the Holy
One, blessed be He, preserve them and save them from all sorrow and peril,
from danger and ill.May He send blessing and success in all their endeavors, may He deliver to
them those who hate us and crown them with salvation and victory, so that
the saying may be fulfilled through them, “For the Lord, your God, who walks
with you and to fight your enemies for you and to save you”, and let us say,
Amen.
8:24 PM Breaking News: Nissim Keinan, reporter for Reshet Bet, Israel Channel B Radio announced that the IDF Ground Offensive into Gaza has commenced. Sending a prayer and good wishes to our IDF forces — much success and safety.
Nuclear site Dimona in the targetzone
There were growing fears in Israel last night that Hamas missiles could threaten its top-secret nuclear facility at Dimona.
Rocket attacks from Gaza have forced Israelis to flee in ever greater numbers and military chiefs have been shaken by the size and sophistication of the militant group’s arsenal.
In Beersheba, until a few days ago a sleepy desert town in southern Israel, there is little sign of the 186,000 inhabitants. Schools are closed and the streets of shuttered shops echo with the howl of sirens warning of incoming rockets.
So here we go! Hamas is not ready to stop fighting and Israel continues to bomb the Gaza. The big question is where is Nasrallah and the Hezbollah? It seems that they are not willing to get involved in this conflict. Another idea is that they don’t have the power and material to get involved or are they waiting…….
It seems that this war in the South of Israel will take a while.
Dimona
Formation
The Municipality of Dimona was one of the development towns that were created in the 1950s with the leadership of Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion. Dimona itself was conceived in 1953, and settled in 1955, mostly by new immigrants from Northern Africa, who also constructed the city’s houses. The emblem of Dimona (as a local council), adopted 2 March 1961, appeared on a stamp issued on 24 March 1965.
When the Israeli nuclear program started later that decade, a location not far from the city was chosen for the Negev Nuclear Research Center due to its relative isolation in the desert and availability of housing.
Today
In spite of a gradual decrease during the 1980s, the city’s population began to grow once again with the beginning of the Russian immigration in the 1990s. Currently, Dimona is the third largest city in the Negev, with the population of 33,900. About a third of the city’s population works in industrial workplaces (chemical plants near the Dead Sea like the Dead Sea Works, high-tech companies and textile shops), and another third in the area of services. Due to the introduction of new technologies, many workers have been made redundant in the recent years, creating a total unemployment rate of about 10%. On 4 February 2008 an Israeli woman was killed and 38 others injured in the town by a Palestinian suicide bomber .
Thanks to http://secret-ice.blogspot.com/
As the Israel-Gaza military conflict continues, there are mounting concerns in Israel that Hamas missiles could threaten its top-secret nuclear facility at Dimona.
Dimona houses Israel’s only nuclear reactor and is believed to be where nuclear warheads are stored. Israel’s nuclear installation is situated around ten kilometers to the south of Dimona. It is called the Negev Nuclear Research Center (Negev is the desert region of southern Israel). The goal of the installation is widely assumed to be the manufacturing of nuclear weapons, and the majority of defense experts have concluded that it does in fact do that. However, the Israeli government refuses to confirm or deny this publicly, a policy it refers to as “ambiguity”.
Rocket attacks from Gaza have forced Israeli citizens to flee in ever greater numbers and military chiefs have been shaken by the size and sophistication of Hamas’ arsenal. In the city of Be’er Sheva, the capital of the southern Negev region, schools are shut down and the streets of shuttered shops echo with the howl of sirens warning of incoming rockets.
An Israeli airstrike on Thursday killed top Hamas leader Nizar Rayan, the first to die in the six-day operation on the Gaza Strip, as Israel readied for a possible ground invasion that military officials said could come at any moment.
According to a report in the London Times, Israeli officials say that Hamas has also acquired dozens of Iranian-made Fajr-3 missiles with an even longer range. Many fear that as the group acquires ever more sophisticated weaponry it is only a matter of time before the nuclear installation at Dimona falls within its sights.
Exactly three years ago, an Israeli District Court charged a member of a breakaway band of the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade with planning a wave of “strategic” attacks in Israel, including simultaneous suicide bombings in various cities, as well as an attack on the nuclear reactor in Dimona.
50+ rockets hit Israel today: latest developments
By Joel C. Rosenberg
(Washington, D.C., December 31, 2008) — The Gaza war rages on with no immediate end in sight. Indeed, Israeli sources tell me a ground operation into Gaza is not yet definite, but is likely.
Israel has rightfully rejected a French-proposed 48 hour cease-fire, saying the Gaza operation will continue until Israel’s goal of shutting down the terrorist rocket threat is accomplished. The leaders of the European Union, Russia, and many governments around the world are putting enormous pressure on Israel to stop defending the Jewish people and stop attacking the terrorist strongholds in Gaza. This is crazy. Why do the Europeans and Russians have such a double-standard when it comes to Israeli national security?
More than 6,300 rockets and missiles have been fired at Israel by Hamas since Israeli withdrew its military forces from Gaza in 2005. Some 400 rockets have been fired at Israel just since December 19th. Would the French or Germans agree to a cease-fire if they were being hit by hundreds and thousands of rockets, missiles, and mortars by enemies sworn to annihilate them? Of course not. The Russians invaded Georgia for far, far less.
“We didn’t initiate the Gaza operation in order to end it while Israeli towns are still under fire, as they were before the operation,” Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told reporters. “Israel has shown restraint for years; she gave the truce a chance; we told ourselves ‘let’s try it,’ but Hamas violated the truce.”
I don’t often say this, but Olmert is right. Hamas must be crushed, not coddled. Yet the world is trying to coddle these Palestinian Radical Islamic jihadists. It’s an outrage. The onus is on the Hamas terrorists to lay down their arms and stop firing rockets into Israel. Until that happens, the IDF should continue fighting.
It pains me to see the suffering on both sides, but this is entirely Hamas’ responsibility. They were urged by Egypt, by Mahmoud Abbas, and by the Israelis not to let the previous cease-fire lapse, but they chose war instead. They have never been hit this hard. Indeed, Gaza has not seen this level of fighting since 1967.
Israelis living within rocket range are truly safe and secure. Yet, the Islamic Radicals in Gaza don’t appear ready to surrender. To the contrary, Hamas is using longer-range rockets than ever before - some of them made in Iran - putting hundreds of thousands of more Israeli at risk than in previous clashes. Hamas has already fired more than 50 rockets, mortars and missiles at Israel as of 4pm local time (9am eastern). Two hit the Israeli city of Beersheva last night, some 28 miles from Gaza. This is the first time Beersheva has ever been in range of Gaza-fired rockets. Haaretz reports that no one was injured but 40 people were treated for shock. The city is rattled, and theaters, cinemas and other shops and businesses are shutting down. Rockets also continue to hit the town of Sderot, and the Israeli coastal cities Ashkelon and Ashdod. I’m told that most of the children in Sderot have been evacuated from the town. Many are now temporarily relocated to northern Israeli cities and towns, such as Haifa.
Iran, in addition to providing Hamas longer-range rockets, is also now apparently recruiting some 10,000 volunteer suicide bombers to attack Israel.
To visit Joel’s new weblog site and get the latest developments in Israel, Russia and the epicenter — including links to stories mentioned in this Flash Traffic report — please click here
To purchase a copy of EPICENTER 2.0 from Amazon.com (32% off), please click here
To visit Joel’s website — www.joelrosenberg.com — please click here
GAZA WAR: Prayer Update
The people of the Holy Land are going through great pain and suffering right now. But we should not be discouraged. Rather, we must turn to the Scriptures for the Lord’s perspective, embrace His promises, and obey His commands.
The Bible is clear: God loves the people of Israel, as well as their neighbors. He has a wonderful plan for their lives, plans for good and not for evil, plans to give them a future and a hope. Jesus offers those who choose to follow Him true peace that cannot be found anywhere else. He promises to protect His people. He promises them an abundant life here, and in the hereafter. He promises to answer their prayers when they pray for His will to be done and pray in His Name. What’s more, He commands His followers to love their neighbors and their enemies. He commands them to feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, and care for the suffering. Should we not draw near to Him and follow Him wholeheartedly at this critical time?
“I have loved you with an everlasting love,” the Lord says in Jeremiah 31:3. “Therefore, I have drawn you with lovingkindness.”
“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (I John 4:8)
“For I know the plans that I have for you,” says the Lord in Jeremiah 29:11-13, “plans for welfare and not calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy, but I came that they might have life and have it abundantly,” said Jesus in John 10:10.
“Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper….The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever.” (Psalm 121:4,5,7,8)
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you,” said Jesus in John 14:27. “I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
Jesus said, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also….I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me….Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” (John 14:1-3,12-14)
“If you love me,” Jesus said in John 14:15, “you will obey what I command.”
* Please continue praying for real peace — not just the absence of conflict but the presence of true justice and true security on both sides of the fence.
* Please also continue praying for the scores of children on both sides who are being traumatized by all the rockets and bombs — pray for the Lord to comfort and care for them in a supernatural way.
* Please pray for the followers of Jesus in Israel and Gaza, that they will have courage and hope from the Lord, that they will hear from the Holy Spirit how best to love their neighbors and their enemies, and that by their words and actions they can communicate the good news of God’s great love and plan for Israel and her neighbors.
* Please continue praying for wisdom and discernment for The Joshua Fund leadership team, as well. We are in contact with our allies on the ground in Israel and readying relief supplies to help them care for those in severe need. We are presently trying to connect with our Arab evangelical Christian allies as well to see how we can help them, too.
* Please also pray that we can recruit 100,000 allies who are willing to pray knowledgeably, faithfully and consistently for the people of the epicenter. Already some 80,000 have signed up from around the world.
——————
As always, we will do our best to keep you up-to-date on the kinds of projects we are doing, and brief you on how those projects are proceeding. We will also let you know about the kinds of projects we are developing for the future. In no way do we want to pressure anyone to give financially. We fully believe the Lord will provide for the needs of the people we seek to serve. But if you or others wish to help, we welcome your support, and all financial gifts are tax-deductible.
If you would like to make a year-end contribution to the on-going work of The Joshua Fund please make your check payable to “The Joshua Fund” and send to:
The Joshua Fund
18950 Base Camp Road
Monument, Colorado 80132-8009
Thanks so much and may the Lord richly bless you and your family as you bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus — especially at critical moment in history of the epicenter.
Would you consider making a donation of $25, $40 or $60 a month to The Joshua Fund? Please click here to find out more, and/or to make a secure donation on-line.
Three webcasts from San Diego and Jerusalem
Some updates about the rockets (Be’er Sheva)
(IsraelNN.com) The National Union party warned Tuesday against a ceasefire in the fighting against Hamas, saying that “whoever ceases the fire after Be’er Sheva was targeted will wake up to missiles on Dimona and Tel Aviv.”
Dimona is home to Israel’s main nuclear research facility. It is located 36 km to the south and east of Be’er Sheva.
The National Union said that it embraced U.S. President George W. Bush’s position regarding a ceasefire with Hamas.
More Israel News
(IsraelNN.com) Be’er Sheva, the Negev’s largest city with over 200,000 residents, came under missile attack just before 9 p.m. Tuesday, for the first time since Israel captured it in 1948.
One of the Grad-type missiles hit a kindergarten that was empty of children. The second one hit an empty field. Both hits were in a residential neighborhood on the outskirts of Be’er Sheva.
More Israel News
Gradrockets source wikipedia.
The BM-21 122 mm multiple rocket launcher (MRL) system entered service with the Soviet Army in 1963 to replace the aging 140 mm BM-14 system. It consists of a Ural-375D six-by-six truck chassis fitted with a bank of 40 launch tubes arranged in a rectangular shape that can be turned away from the unprotected cab. The vehicle is powered by a water-cooled V-8 180 hp gasoline engine, has a maximum road speed of 75 km/h, road range of up to 750 kilometers, and can cross fords up to 1.5 m deep. The original vehicle together with supporting equipment (including the re-supply truck 9T254 with 60 rockets) is referred to by the GRAU index 9K51; the launcher itself has the industrial index of 2B5. In 1976, the BM-21 was mounted on the newer Ural-4320 six-by-six army truck.
The crew of five men can emplace the system and have it ready to fire in three minutes. The crew can fire the rockets from the cab or from a trigger at the end of a 64-meter cable. All 40 rockets can be away in as little as 20 seconds, but can also be fired individually or in small groups in several-second intervals. A PG-1M panoramic telescope with K-1 collimator can be used for sighting. The BM-21 can be packed up and ready to move in two minutes, which can be necessary when engaged by counter-battery fire. Reloading is done manually and takes about 10 minutes.
Each 2.87-meter rocket is slowly spun by rifling in its tube as it exits, which along with its primary fin stabilization keeps it on course. Rockets armed with high explosive/fragmentation, incendiary, or chemical warheads can be fired 20 kilometers. Newer high explosive and cargo (used to deliver anti-personnel or antitank mines) rockets have a range of 30 kilometers. Warheads weigh around 20 kilograms, depending on the type.
The relative accuracy of this system and the number of rockets each vehicle is able to quickly bring to bear on an enemy target make it effective, especially at shorter ranges. One battalion of eighteen launchers is able to deliver 720 rockets in a single volley. However, the system cannot be used in situations that call for pinpoint precision.
However most of the used grad rockets are homemade.
Rocket in Sderot
REPORT FROM INSIDE THE ISRAELI WAR ZONE
Joshua Fund mobilizing evangelical Christians all over the world to pray for peace and to help provide emergency relief aid to victims of war and terror.
By Joel C. Rosenberg
(Denver, Colorado, December 29, 2008) — Last night, I received a report by email from inside the Israeli war zone, from an evangelical friend in the Israeli town of Sderot, located on the southern border with Gaza.
“Yesterday was a day full of explosions on both sides [of the border],” he wrote. “I have temporarily moved out of my apartments [and] am staying with a friend with a bomb shelter maybe 30 feet away….I realize more and more that I am not in control of my life and I am thankful that G-d is. Between tank fire and jets flying overhead it is a bit nerve-wracking, but again I know who holds my life in His hand and I know I need to be about my Father’s business….We have been told that the worst is yet to come and we should plan on having enough food on hand until the end of March….Just as He has always been to His children in the past, I know once again He will be faithful - that’s who He is, the Faithful One.”
On Saturday, I received an email from a Jewish friend who also lives in Sderot. “I just finished reading the Flash Traffic you’ve sent today,” he wrote. “Being held here in Sderot since this morning under marshal law, it was one of the good things that I enjoyed today and your report was excellent. I also join you in prayer tha the leaders here will have the wisdom and courage to destroy terrorists…in Hamastan-ruled-Gaza….We are under fire, but we know that He will protect us.”
The Joshua Fund is doing everything we can to stand with these and other friends and to let them know that they are not alone. We are mobilizing evangelical Christians all over the world to pray for peace on the Israel-Gaza border and to show unconditional love and unwavering support. We are asking you and others to continue praying for wisdom and courage for Israel’s leaders as they seek to decimate the Hamas terrorist infrastructure and reacquire the deterrence factor lost during the 2006 war with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
* Please pray for the half million Israelis living within rocket and missile range of Gaza. They and their children have no idea what today and tomorrow hold.
* Pray for the Lord to comfort and calm their hearts. Please pray for the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza, many of whom find themselves trapped in the crossfire of a war that Hamas started but that they as individuals and families don’t want.
* Please pray for the wounded on both sides, and the families who have lost loved ones.
* Please also lift up the believers in Jesus in Israel and Gaza who are seeking the Lord’s strength to help them love their neighbors and their enemies in real and practical ways in the name of Jesus.
* Pray that the believers can be lights in the darkness, bringing good news and hope to those who feel hopeless and alone.
* Finally, please pray that the Lord would be gracious to provide our Joshua Fund leadership team with wisdom to know how best to help those who are now victims of war and terrorism, and sufficient financial resources to meet those needs quickly and wisely.
Hamas terrorists have shown no signs of surrendering their vicious, evil war against the Jews of Israel. As of 4pm Israel time (9am eastern) on Monday, at least 50 rockets and missiles had been fired from Gaza at the Israeli towns of Sderot, Ashkelon and Ashdod. Israeli military forces, meanwhile, continue to pummel Hamas headquarters, rocket launching pads, and other military infrastructure. The deputy chief of staff of the IDF is warning Israeli that, “We are just at the beginning of the battle, this will not be hasty. The worst is not behind us — it is still ahead of us, and we should be prepared for this. Our resilience will be determine by the functioning of the authority and the way the civilians are protected.”
I’m soon boarding a plane back to D.C. Will update you more as I can. God bless you.
To visit Joel’s new weblog site and get the latest developments in Israel, Russia and the epicenter — including links to stories mentioned in this Flash Traffic report — please click here
To purchase a copy of EPICENTER 2.0 from Amazon.com (32% off), please click here
To visit Joel’s website — www.joelrosenberg.com — please click here
THE FUTURE OF THE U.S., ISRAEL AND RADICAL ISLAM? Three webcasts
What does the future hold for the U.S., Israel and the people of the Muslim world? What are the threats we face? How ought followers of Jesus Christ live in light of dramatic and dangerous geopolitical and religious trends?
On Sunday, December 7th — the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941 — Lt.-General (ret.) William “Jerry” Boykin and I were honored to speak on such issues at four events in San Diego, including two morning church services at Horizon Christian Fellowship, a luncheon with business and political leaders, and an evening church service where we did an extended question & answer session. Boykin, who has become a dear friend, is a founding member of the U.S. Army’s elite Delta Force. He later became the commander of Delta, and then was in charge of training 10,000 special forces at Fort Bragg, before being promoted to Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence. He is also the author of the must-read memoir, Never Surrender.
The General and I spoke on the threats facing the United States and Israel from Radical Islam and the risk of being blindsided by future attacks. During the morning services, I focused on what Bible prophecy says about the future of the Middle East and the world. During the evening session, I gave a sneak preview of Inside The Revolution, which will be released March 10th of next year. I also talked about the work of The Joshua Fund to bless Israel and her neighbors with food, clothing, medical supplies and other relief aid. If you have time, I would encourage you to watch the following webcasts. Special thanks to Horizon’s senior pastor Mike MacIntosh and his team for inviting us and hosting such great events. Together, we are organizing the first-ever U.S. “Epicenter Conference” for next spring. Details coming soon.
Also, several weeks ago, I had the privilege of speaking at a wonderful evangelical congregation in Israel. There, I spoke on the urgent need for godly, Christ-centered leadership as the world faces dangerous, uncertain times. I hope you will have some time to watch this webcast as well. See link below.
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As always, we will do our best to keep you up-to-date on the kinds of projects we are doing, and brief you on how those projects are proceeding. We will also let you know about the kinds of projects we are developing for the future. In no way do we want to pressure anyone to give financially. We fully believe the Lord will provide for the needs of the people we seek to serve. But if you or others wish to help, we welcome your support, and all financial gifts are tax-deductible.
If you would like to make a year-end contribution to the on-going work of The Joshua Fund please make your check payable to “The Joshua Fund” and send to:
The Joshua Fund
18950 Base Camp Road
Monument, Colorado 80132-8009
Thanks so much and may the Lord richly bless you and your family as you bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus — especially at critical moment in history of the epicenter.
Would you consider making a donation of $25, $40 or $60 a month to The Joshua Fund? Please click here to find out more, and/or to make a secure donation on-line.
Three webcasts from San Diego and Jerusalem
Gaza operation Are we save in the North?
Smoke rises from the Gaza town of Rafah after Israeli air strikes on Saturday. AFP
What will happen in the North of Israel?
Is the Hezbollah willing to back the Hamas and are they going to send rockets to Galilee?
And the latest news.
As the IAF launched its attack, Defense Minister Ehud Barak declared the Gaza vicinity communities under a “special situation in the home front,” giving security forces special jurisdiction over the area and allowing them to make municipal decision the likes of how the local schools and industries will operate.
We are looking carefully to the news to find out what is next. The TV is reporting that 1 woman is killed and 4 others injured due to rocket attacks on Israel after the strike.
- Sources from friends in the Army: Tanks are seen close to the crossings with the Gaza and moving.
- Israel will continue to attack the terrorists
- Parts of Gaza without electricity
- Gaza on the Phone: People running and in panic. (some places without Internet.
- Prominent Hamas leader killed.
Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, initially said at least 40 people had been killed when a missile hit security headquarters in and around Gaza City.
That figure quickly rose, Hamas saying 120 were killed and some 400 people injured, the BBC Katya Adler reports from Jerusalem.
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