Phyllis Chesler: Why This Operation is Different
Operation Protective Edge may look like its predecessors--Operation Cast Lead in 2008-9 and Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012--in that it is a response to Palestinian terrorism launched from Gaza against Israeli civilians. The previous two rounds of the conflict ended with Hamas still in power in the Gaza Strip, weakened but able to re-arm over time and to project a strategic threat. There are five reasons, however, this time may be different.Times of Israel Live Blog: IDF urges Gazans near border to clear out; West Bank attack foiled
1. By Attacking Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Hamas Has Invited Its Own Destruction. By launching its Iranian-and Syrian-made missiles against Israel's two major cities--especially Tel Aviv, normally a safe distance from conflict--Hamas has broken the unwritten rules of the game. It has long been known that Hamas in the south and Hezbollah in the north had the ability to reach those cities. But those groups had not exercised it.
Now that Hamas has shown it is willing to attack Israel's commercial, spiritual, and political centers, the terror group has left Israel no choice but to destroy it completely. There is no way Israel can accept life under an active threat of rockets, enjoying safety only at Hamas's whim. Attacking border towns like Sderot--or even, as in 2006, a northern city like Haifa--is one thing. Attacking Tel Aviv is a provocation Israel cannot ignore.
IDF urges Gazans near border to clear out; West Bank attack foiled; missiles downed in Beersheba; shrapnel falls in south Tel Aviv; group linked to Fatah claims to shoot rocket; Dimona targetedIsraeli Forces Halt Terror Bombing Suspects En Route to Attack (VIDEO)
Israeli army forces at a checkpoint in the northern West Bank foiled a planned terror bombing, on Thursday afternoon.Israeli Muslim: We Must Destroy Hamas
Alert soldiers manning the permanent station, not far from the Israeli city of Ariel, were inspecting a Palestinian vehicle when they noticed a liquid propane gas tank wired up as an explosive device.
The bomb was hidden between the legs of the front seat passenger, according to Israel’s Walla News.
An Israeli Muslim Arab has written to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressing that if the Jewish state truly wants peace, it must remove from power the terror groups that current hold sway over the Palestinian population, and instead deal directly with average Arabs who just want to live quietly.
In a post on his Facebook page, Ali Shaban, who volunteered for combat service in the IDF and continues to do reserve duty to this day, urged Netanyahu to “act now, do not waver or fear. The Palestinians understand only force, and if you do not attack now, then you and me and all Israelis will pay a dear price.”
Like many Israelis, Shaban wondered, “Why are you [Netanyahu] waiting? Are you waiting for more deaths? Are you waiting until the missiles hit Tel Aviv? Are you waiting for approval from Obama?”
IDF Official Says More Hamas Infrastructure Destroyed in First Days of ‘Protective Edge’ Than Entire ‘Pillar of Defense’
“Hamas has been surprised by Israel’s response,” an IDF source told the Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.IDF: 234 Rockets Have Hit Israel Since Operation Began
“We systematically struck operational infrastructure, where Hamas commanders operate. In the past 36 hours we destroyed more than what was destroyed during all of Operation Pillar of Defense, and many targets were areas where senior Hamas commanders operate,” the source said, adding that “not a single Hamas brigade commander has a home to go back to.
The IDF released on Wednesday night a summary of the second day of the counterterrorism Operation Protective Edge.Bennett: Hamas is Responsible for Civilian Deaths in Gaza
According to the summary, since midnight on Tuesday, 82 rockets have exploded in Israel, of which 21 were intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile system.
Since the beginning of the operation, 234 rockets have exploded in Israel, the IDF said. 61 rockets have been intercepted by Iron Dome and 590 targets in Gaza have been attacked.
Appearing on Al-Jazeera television Thursday, Economics Minister Naftali Bennett said that Israel was prepared to do whatever was necessary to stop Hamas terrorists from attacking Israel. Bennett labeled as "nonesense" Hamas claims that it was Israel that “started” the most recent round of the conflict by cracking down on terrorists in Judea and Samaria.The War on Israel Is Being Waged by a Hamas-Syria-Iran Troika
Hamas, he said, has been firing rockets at Israel for years, and had escalated those attacks significantly even before the kidnapping of three Israeli teens last month, and the subsequent Israeli mass crackdown on Hamas terrorists in Judea and Samaria.
Fortunately, said Bennett, Israel had the technological means to keep Hamas rockets at bay.
While the world powers seek to end Iran’s illicit nuclear-weapons program, the Islamic Republic and its strategic partner Syria are supplying the Palestinian terrorist entity Hamas with conventional arms – which Hamas is using right now to target Israel.JPost Editorial: Shielding behavior
Hamas launched a long-range Syrian-made M320 rocket at Israel on Tuesday. Iran furnished Hamas with similar long-distance rockets during Israel’s 2012 Operation Pillar of Defense. A recent report from the U.N. (yes — the U.N.!) outlines Iran’s role in funneling weapons to Hamas in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza. (Pillar of Defense was an eight-day mini-war that resulted in preventing large-scale Hamas aggression since it concluded.)
Israel has termed its new operation to stop Hamas rocket fire Operation Protective Edge. The conflict now appears to be headed toward a full-blown war, largely because Hamas has rained over 200 rockets into Israel and targeted the country’s nuclear reactor in Dimona.
The hardly unexpected reactions to Operation Protective Edge, from those who rarely react when Israel is attacked, may be regarded as a preview of comments to come.Analysis: Egypt Takes Back Seat as Israel Pounds Gaza Terrorists
At first hearing, some Israelis took heart from the fact that players such as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton at all denounced the missile barrages from the Gaza Strip.
But the devil is in the details. It is instructive to pay heed to the entirety of their messages.
Thus Ban, according to a statement released by his spokesman in New York, “condemns the recent multiple rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza. These indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas must stop.” But then comes the clincher: “The secretary-general is extremely concerned at the dangerous escalation of violence, which has already resulted in multiple Palestinian deaths and injuries as a result of Israeli operations against Gaza.”
Having crushed the Muslim Brotherhood, Cairo's new government has taken a back seat as Israel pounds Hamas, the Egyptian movement's Islamist allies across the border in Gaza, analysts said.Hamas Denies Israel Assassination of Senior Rocket Commander
Egypt, which has a peace treaty with Israel, brokered a 2012 truce between it and Hamas that favored the terrorist group, which is the Palestinian branch of now ousted president Mohamed Morsi's Brotherhood.
With the Brotherhood now quashed, the new government in Cairo has taken a passive approach to the latest conflict, denying Hamas a truce that could see it emerge again as a winner.
Hamas’ Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades on Thursday denied reports of an IDF hit on its top rocket chief, Aiyman Siyam, in Gaza.Israel doesn’t want a ceasefire, aims to deal Hamas long-term blow
“He is continuing in his Jihadist actions,” the group said in a statement, according to Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot. “We call on the media to be precise and not trust the lies of Israel.”
Later in the afternoon, the army and Shin Bet acknowledged that Siyam was not in the vehicle that was hit, according to Channel 2 News.
Jerusalem is not interested in an immediate ceasefire with Gaza, a senior government official said Thursday morning, indicating that Israel seeks to deal Hamas a blow so heavy as to ensure the terrorist organization will be unable to resume rocket fire against Israel in the long-term future.Hamas official: Prisoners in exchange for ceasefire
“It is quite possible that Hamas would agree to an immediate ceasefire — we’re hitting them hard, they want the situation to cool down,” the senior official told The Times of Israel, speaking on condition of anonymity. Brokering a ceasefire with Hamas would have been possible a week or a two ago, but an agreement that would leave in place the group’s offensive capacities not what Israel wants, the official said.
In a conversation with The Times of Israel, the Hamas official said that the Gaza-based group was seeking to free 56 prisoners who had been previously released by Israel in the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal, saying they had not breached the terms of their release.Hamas Mediator Claims Terror Group Rebuffed His Efforts To Negotiate Ceasefire
“If you have proof that the prisoners were involved in terrorist activities, then by all means, arrest them,” he said. “But you apprehended people who have no connection with the operations against Israel, and you know it.”
Gershon Baskin, the Co-Chairman of the Israel Palestine Center for Research and Information and extreme left pundit, tweeted on Wednesday that Hamas rebuffed his efforts to negotiate a ceasefire, and that Hamas leaders behave criminally when they put Gaza civilians in harm’s way. Baskin is the man widely believed to have negotiated Gilad Schalit’s release, so when he says he has a direct line to Khaled Meshal, we sort of believe him. “Israel had to respond with force, I am sorry to say,” he tweeted.IDF Strike on Concealed Weapons Causes Massive Secondary Explosion
Later, in response to criticism, he added, shockingly, “Would you surrender to Hamas and say, please shoot us, it’s ok, we understand your anger? Is that what you would do? Get real!”
Precision Attack of Terror Target in Gaza
Terror Tunnels Targeted in Gaza
When Hamas Puts Civilians in the Line of Fire
Seeking Human Shields, Hamas Tells Gazans to Ignore IDF Warnings
Hamas has instructed Gaza residents to ignore text messages and phone calls urging them to evacuate buildings, in an apparent effort to grow its supply of "human shields." The calls and messages are sent by Israeli military officials in order to give civilians time to evacuate the area, and are communicated before the IDF targets a house terrorists were using as cover for firing missiles at Israel or for other military purposes.Roof knocking in Gaza
The Hamas-run Palestinian Authority Interior Ministry said in a message to Gaza residents that the messages "are designed to weaken our resolve and to sow panic and fear among us, in light of the failures of our enemies. We call on Gaza residents not to pay attention to these messages and not to leave their homes."
The message did not say whether Hamas would dispatch personnel to ensure that individuals inside targeted buildings remain inside.
Hamas' Actions Match Its Words
Hamas song: "Fire your rockets... blow up Tel Aviv"
Hamas song: "Fire your rockets... blow up Tel Aviv"
In a song on Al-Aqsa TV, Hamas promises to launch more rockets at Israel and encourages Palestinians to seek Martyrdom death for Allah through suicide bombings in cafés and buses.Hamas to Israelis: "Wait for suicide attacks on every bus, café and street"
The song calls to "destroy" and "blow up Tel-Aviv" and to "return" the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon to Palestinians, while the video shows rockets being fired.
Addressing Hamas' military wing, the Izz A-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, the song affirms that "victory is from Allah" and that "in Paradise there is a Garden [for Martyrs] calling to you." The video shows a café and a bus destroyed by a suicide bomber, along with the words, "Martyrdom-seeker (i.e., suicide bomber), O blaze, hurry, blow up Tel Aviv."
Hamas broadcast numerous videos in Hebrew today in an attempt at psychological warfare against Israel, or at least an attempt to make its own people think it is successfully intimidating Israel.Hamas: "Wait for suicide attacks on every bus, café and street"
The videos included threats to return to suicide bombings, stabbings and other terror attacks against Israelis. Hamas also falsely claimed to have hit the Israeli Parliament and made it "tremble" once, and threatened to do it again.
Alquds Brigades - Multiple Rocket Launcher
When people call to "stop the blockade of Gaza," they mean that they want terrorists to have more of these:
Hamas Blames John Kerry for Gaza Operation
According to Hamas spokesperson Moussa Abu Marzuk, the fact that some 70 Gaza Arabs have been killed in the latest round of fighting between Israel and Hamas is all the fault of US Secretary of State John Kerry.Arab media largely indifferent to Hamas
Kerry, said Abu Marzouk, gave Israel carte blanche “to kill at will” in Gaza when he said earlier this week that Israel had a right to defend itself from Hamas rocket attacks.
“Kerry is responsible for the murder of Gaza's children,” said Abu Marzouk. “[Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu talks to Kerry about the rockets we are firing, but he is really trying to divert attention from his crimes – the destruction of more than 60 homes with American missiles fired by Israel.”
Arab media, like Arab society, is torn over its attitude toward Hamas following the latest escalation of violence emanating from Gaza. While Israel remains the ultimate enemy, criticism of the Islamic movement’s behavior can be easily detected between the lines.PM speaks with Ban, Cameron, Merkel, Hollande, Harper — but not Obama
Reporting on the situation usually begins with Israeli attacks on Gaza, presenting Hamas’s rocket launching into Israel as a response.
Since the recent conflagration with Gaza, Netanyahu has held phone conversations with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, British Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, officials said Thursday.Liberman touts Israel's restraint in letter to world foreign ministers
Netanyahu also spoke to US Secretary of State John Kerry, but has so far held no conversations with senior White House officials, including Obama or Mideast adviser Philip Gordon, an official in the Prime Minister’s Office said.
Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, who earlier this week broke with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu partly because of unhappiness that Netanyahu was not responding more forcefully to rocket fire from Gaza, cited that restraint positively in a letter sent Thursday to his colleagues from around the world.State Dept. Will Not Defend White House Criticism of Israel
The letter, part of Israel's diplomatic campaign to garner understanding and support for Operation Protective Edge, said that since the kidnapping of the three Israeli teens in mid-June, Hamas fired nearly 300 rockets at Israeli cities, “putting millions of Israeli lives at risk. Families have been forced into shelters, summer camps for children closed, and all normal daily activities have been impacted. This is unacceptable.”
Conflicting messages from the Obama administration to Israel are prompting concerns that the White House may not have a coherent strategy in place as the crisis in the Middle East escalates, according to former U.S. and Israeli officials.Nation That Carpet-Bombed Vietnam Calls For Israeli Restraint (satire)
Senior Obama administration officials in recent days have alternatively lashed out at Israel in increasingly stark terms and defended the Jewish state’s right to defend itself against terror.
Questions about the disparate messages led the State Department on Wednesday to distance itself from a top White House aide who harshly lashed out at Israel during a speech yesterday.
The government of the last country to use saturation bombing in combat is admonishing Israel to exercise restraint in its handling of the current offensive in the Gaza Strip.France, Germany 'Strongly Condemn' Rockets on Israel
In 1965, the Unites States Air Force commenced a carpet-bombing campaign against North Vietnamese targets, adapting a WWII strategy of saturating an small area with bombs to the point that no person or structure would survive. Through the late 1960′s and early 1970′s, American B-52 Stratofortress bombers over Vietnam dropped tens of thousands of tons of high explosive bombs on each mission, which often consisted of dozens of such aircraft. The commander-in-chief of those armed forces is now counseling Israel to act “responsibly” in its attempt to remove the menace of rockets fired from the neighboring Gaza Strip.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke on Wednesday with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and US Secretary of State John Kerry, and released the following statement to the international community:Jordan police arrest 10 during violent protests against Israel
"Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza are firing rockets on cities throughout the State of Israel – on Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Beer Sheba, Sderot and other cities in Israel. No country on earth would remain passive in the face of hundreds of rockets fired on its cities and Israel is no exception.
“Today we expanded our operations against Hamas and the other terrorist groups in Gaza.
Jordanian police arrested 10 people as clashes erupted when protesters threw stones at the embassy in Amman.What Terror? Networks Call Hamas ‘Militants,’ ‘Fighters,’ 9-1 Over ‘Terrorists’
Protesters waved flags and carried signs denouncing Israel and urging the government to abrogate the peace treaty signed with Jerusalem in 1994.
“We will launch the third intifada," the angry protesters chanted.
Broadcast news outlets have figured out a way to end terrorism. Just stop calling it what it is. They identify terror groups like Hamas “militants” instead.Daily Mail Omits Hamas Man’s Terror Affiliation
Hamas has been raining rockets indiscriminately on Israel and is blamed for the recent kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teens. It’s a group the United States has designated as terrorist for nearly 17 years. Yet on evening and morning broadcasts, ABC, CBS and NBC called them “militants” and “fighters” by a 9-to-1 margin over “terrorists” (18-2).
In fact, only CBS even used the term “terrorist.” It also had far more uses of the other terms than terrorist (11-2). (h/t MtTB)
What the Daily Mail fails to mention is that Mustafa Malaka is not only a “Palestinian father” but also a police officer in Hamas’ security services. This detail appears in both the Daily Telegraph and The Guardian. Clearly, Israel did not target him for no apparent reason.NGO Monitor: Analysis of NGO Agendas and Distortions on the Gaza Conflict
Not only are we not told of Malaka’s terrorist affiliation but we also have no idea whether or not Israel sent advanced warnings of the air strike, which were ignored by Malaka and his family. Indeed, the Daily Mail carries no references to the well-publicized and extraordinary measures Israel is taking to prevent civilian casualties in Gaza.
As in previous rounds of the Arab-Israeli conflict, political NGOs have issued numerous unfound statements condemning Israel.Guardian posts article by conspiracy theorist about ‘secret’ cause of the Gaza war
These statements make unverifiable claims, distort international law, and in at least one of the cases (see below) include language of blood libel. They are repeated by journalists, diplomats, and UN officials.
Ahmed explains:Does the Independent think Israel’s response to Hamas is ‘un-Jewish’?
"Since the discovery of oil and gas in the Occupied Territories, resource competition has increasingly been at the heart of the conflict, motivated largely by Israel’s increasing domestic energy woes."
So, contrary to reports demonstrating that Israel will soon achieve energy independence and is set to become a net exporter of natural gas - and may one day, due to its reserve of oil shale, be able to pump 100,000 barrels of oil a day - Guardian readers are asked to believe that Israel has an energy crisis, one which prompted the current war against Hamas.
What would be the appropriate UK response to thousands of rockets raining down on London, fired by an extremist movement dedicated to the country’s destruction, and one which forced thousands of Brits to take cover in bomb shelters?BBC News promotes and amplifies falsehood that Israel deliberately targets civilians
Do you think it’s safe to say that the British government would give its military leaders explicit orders to stop the rocket fire? Further, considering such a hypothetical scenario, is there any question that ‘enlightened’ voices in the media would support the government while it engaged in such a basic act of self-defense?
Of course, over the past couple of days, the nation responding to such a real threat hasn’t been the UK, but Israel.
So, naturally, after two days of anti-terror operations against Hamas to stop the rocket fire terrorizing its citizens, the Independent published a cartoon not only suggesting that Israel’s response has been ‘disproportionate’, but also seeming to imply that the response is un-Jewish.
In fact, the IDF usually used both methods of prior warning, as well as leafleting. No effort is made by the BBC, however, to inform audiences of those attempts to safeguard civilians. Likewise, no attempt is made to clarify to readers that the residential buildings targeted are dual-use buildings which also serve as command and control centres for terrorist organisations and/or missile launching/storage.BBC’s Reynolds reports on Hamas terror infiltration of Israel – without using the word Hamas
Equally absent from this BBC report – and other – is clarification to audiences on the issue of Hamas’ use of ‘human shields’: a practice which of course deliberately escalates the number of civilian casualties for propaganda purposes. Below is an interview dating from the first day of the operation – July 8th – on Hamas’ Al Aqsa TV with Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zukhri in which – instead of urging civilians to take cover, he promotes the ‘human shield’ strategy.
What those pictures do show – rather than merely “appear to show” as Reynolds claims –is an infiltration into Israeli territory from the sea at Zikim beach on the evening of July 8th. In contrast to Reynolds’ euphemistic portrayal of generic “Palestinian gunmen”, the attempted terror attack was in fact carried out by Hamas, which quickly claimed responsibility for the infiltration. The five (not four, as stated by Reynolds) terrorists were found to be carrying grenades and explosive devices and one Israeli soldier was lightly wounded in the shoot-out. The closed roads mentioned earlier in Reynolds’ report were actually part of the operation to ensure that no additional terrorists were in the area of the civilian community of Kibbutz Zikim.Problematic Media Coverage of Operation Protective Edge
A distorted sequence of eventsPA eyes The Hague as Abbas accuses Israel of ‘genocide’
Niamh Nolan’s report fails to mention Hamas’ rocket attacks, until the brief statement made by Mark Regev, more than half-way through the report. This is a substantive omission that skews the sequence of events, to present Israel as acting in a wholly aggressive fashion, without any provocation.
The reporter worsens this inaccuracy by then claiming that Hamas had fired the aforementioned rockets at Israel after the Jewish State killed five of its terrorists, two days previously. This statement is misleading for two reasons. The group of five or six Hamas members likely died handling explosives in a tunnel designed to attack Israel. This incident was used by Hamas to justify stepping up attacks on Israel.
PA President Mahmoud Abbas called a crisis meeting of the Palestinian leadership in the afternoon with the intention of signing paperwork to apply to join the ICC in The Hague and other international organizations.ADL slams Abbas for accusing Israel of 'genocide' against Palestinians
Abbas charged Israel with committing “genocide” in Gaza during its Operation Protective Edge — launched to stem Hamas rocket fire on civilians across Israel — which has so far killed 43 Palestinians.
“It’s genocide — the killing of entire families is genocide by Israel against our Palestinian people,” he told the meeting of Palestinian leadership at his Ramallah bureau. “What’s happening now is a war against the Palestinian people as a whole and not against the [terrorist] factions.”
“Shall we recall Auschwitz?” he added.
“This is unacceptable language and accusations coming from the leader of the Palestinian Authority,” ADL chief Abe Foxman said. “We are used to the outrageous criticisms of Israel coming from Palestinians, but President Abbas has reached a new low in calling Israel’s self-defense action, after hundreds of rockets have been launched at Israeli civilians, a ‘genocide’.”Rules and Guidelines for Westerners reporting on the Middle East
“Mr. Abbas is frequently referred to as a ‘moderate’ Palestinian leader, and many still hold out hope that this is true,” Foxman said. “At a time when the Middle East is overrun with extremism in places like Syria and Iraq, to have the leader of the Palestinian Authority further inflame the region with these outrageous comments, is disappointing and dangerous.”
This is an update of an old post of mine that is always worth repeating when Israel is under attack. It is the rule book issued to all members of the Western media corps:Fake SMSes and Psychological Warfare
About a hour ago, people – especially journalists and media figures – started getting English text messages to their phones from “Haaretz”. The first one claimed that a rocket hit a chemical plant in Haifa and urging an evacuation. The second one said 25 people were killed in a rocket strike.Israel Cutting Off Water Supply To Hamas Leaders In Gaza
Israel National News reports that the Israeli Defense Forces are cutting off the water supply to homes of top Hamas officials, a method used in 2006 by the IDF in the Second Lebanon war. The IDF is limiting the operation to only residences of Hamas leaders rather than including civilian infrastructures:Guardian fails to challenge NGO claim on ‘restrictions of medicines’ into Gaza (UPDATE)
Though the blog’s editor allows the claim made by MAP (a radical NGO whose leaders misuse their reputation as medical experts to support Palestinian political goals) to go unchallenged, the suggestion that there has been any Israeli restrictions on medicine into Gaza is flatly untrue.BBC’s Knell inaccurately attributes shortage of medical supplies in Gaza to Israel
Despite shortages of certain medicines in the Palestinian controlled territory, the problem, per COGAT, “emanates primarily from a dysfunctional relationship between the Palestinian Ministries of Health in Gaza and Ramallah” and has nothing whatsoever to do with Israel.
We also spoke to Yigal Palmor (spokesperson for the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs) today about the shortages in Gaza, and he told us that whatever shortages they experience are due to the “mismanagement of PA health authorities” who failed to purchase or to fund the acquisition of necessary equipment or materials. Further, Palmor stated unequivocally that “Israel has NEVER imposed restrictions on medical shipments of any kind“.
Now of course any reasonable viewer would conclude from Knell’s portrayal of the situation that the shortage of medical supplies is caused by those “tight border restrictions” she makes sure to mention. However, as was documented here in November 2012 when the very same theme was promoted by another BBC reporter at the very same hospital – that is not the case.Egypt Opens Gaza Border Crossing as IAF Offensive Continues
Egypt opened its Rafah border crossing to Gaza on Thursday to receive wounded Palestinians as Israel continued its air-offensive to stamp out rocket-fire on Israeli civilians, an official at the border said.Despite Ongoing Rocket Fire, Israel Transfers Aid to Gaza
Hospitals in north Sinai, which borders Gaza and Israel, have been placed on standby to receive the injured, Egypt's official MENA news agency reported.
Despite the ongoing rocket fire by Gaza terrorists, Israel has not halted the entry of trucks into Gaza – and on Thursday, some 200 trucks carrying food and “basic supplies” entered Gaza. The government said that the trucks were allowed to pass through for “humanitarian purposes,” and were inspected and found not to be carrying any items or equipment that could be used to attack Israel.Israeli hospitals continue to treat sick Gazans despite missile attacks
The trucks are said to be carrying a greater than normal supply of food, officials said. According to sources, the IDF and Defense Ministry officials urged the government's Coordinator of Government Activities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, Yoav Mordechai, to allow an increased amount of supplies into Gaza, so that residents would have enough to eat in case the IDF begins a ground assault against Hamas.
While Hamas terrorists continued to hurl rockets and missiles at Israel, including the city of Haifa, Rambam Medical Center is now treating 20 Palestinians, including eight children from Gaza.Christian Zionist Organization Sends Mobile Bomb Shelters to Southern Israel
The largest hospital in Haifa said on Thursday that it provides medical care to Palestinians year round. The latest group to come were 11 from the Palestinian Authority area and nine more from Gaza who needed outpatient care. Most of them are children suffering from cancer or kidney disease who cannot get adequate care near their homes. They were accompanied by family members. Some children are also hospitalized at Rambam over the long term.
Every year, hundreds of Palestinian outpatients and inpatients, including some 650 children and teens, are treated at the Haifa medical center. Some of them come with very difficult conditions that require hospitalization.
The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) has sent mobile bomb shelters to protect residents of southern Israel amid the escalating rocket fire by terrorists in Gaza.Despite Rockets, 64 New American Olim Arrive in Israel Today
“The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem is committed to helping those Israeli communities under greatest threat to find shelter and weather the storm,” David Parsons, ICEJ media director, told JNS.org. “We have already sprung into action by placing two new mobile bomb shelters in [the kibbutz of] Kfar Aza along the Gaza border.”
Despite the deteriorating security situation, 64 new immigrants from the United States made aliyah to Israel today. The new Israelis hail from Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Virginia, and range in age from eight months to 92 years.Elephants at Israeli zoo huddle to protect young as sirens wail
Lottie Herman, the oldest member of the group, fled Germany to America in 1939. She will be settling in Jerusalem.
Another olah chadasha (new immigrant), 26-year-old Becky Kupchan, said she was moving from her native Chicago to Beer Sheva, the capital city of the Negev.
In contrast to the inhuman behaviour of the terrorists, the elephants at the Ramat Gan Safari showed how they protect their young during an air raid alert. This must be one of the most moving videos I’ve seen. The translation of the blurb explains:Heart-Felt Photo Reminds Many Americans What Israel Is Fighting For
This morning as a Red Alert siren was sounded in the area of the Ramat Gan Safari, the adult elephants trumpeted a loud warning and gathered round the young calves Latangi and Lalana in an attempt to protect them.
A photo posted by the Israeli American Council shows an Israeli soldier hugging and kissing his 9-month pregnant wife whom he must leave behind in order to answer the call to protect his home.Code Red Song Helping Children Deal with Terror w/ MNEMONIC HEBREW SUBS