Southern Israel Under Severe Rocket Attack

Joel C. Rosenberg

March 13, 2012 9:00am EDT:  The IDF reports over 222 rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip in the past four days.

"Israel and militants in Gaza agreed to cease hostilities Tuesday after Egypt brokered a "mutual truce" following four days of bloodletting which left 25 Gazans dead," reports Agence France Presse. "Under the agreement, which came into force at 1:00am (2300 GMT on Monday), both Israel and militants from Islamic Jihad - responsible for the lion's share of rockets targeting southern Israel - agreed to hold their fire, an Egyptian intelligence official told AFP. Israeli officials and Islamic Jihad both confirmed that a deal was in place." The Jerusalem Post is reporting that 7 "projectiles" were fired at Israel after the cease-fire went into effect.

Please pray that the cease-fire will hold and the radical Islamic terrorism will stop.

March 10, 2012 7:00pm EST:  Since this article was originally written, additional rockets have been fired, bringing the total to over 100.

Please pray for all those living in southern Israel as they have been subjected by a dramatic surge of rocket attacks — more than 90 between Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, Israel time. Please mobilize others to pray, as well, for peace, for security, for the Lord to comfort, encourage and draw close to His heart those who are being terrorized in southern Israel, as well as for the Palestinians caught in the crossfire in Gaza. “Palestinians from northern Gaza fired rockets at Beersheba, Ashdod and Gan Yavne early Saturday morning as the Color Red alert was sounded across Israel’s southern cities,” reports Ynet News. “The IDF estimates that over 90 rockets have been fired at Israel since Friday, some 65 exploded in the south. Meanwhile, a new Israeli air strike in Gaza killed two Palestinians riding on a motorcycle, Hamas officials and medics said on Saturday. The attack followed the firing of rockets at Israel at the weekend, raises the death toll in escalating violence since Friday to 14.”

Some good news: “The Iron Dome has successfully intercepted 25 out of 27 rockets fired at Beersheba, Ashdod and Ashkelon. The other two rockets exploded in open fields. These are the highest success rates for the defense system to date. Gantz praised the IDF officials in charge of operating the system during the situation assessment. A Home Front Command official said: ‘The Command’s instructions have proven to save lives and they should be followed. When an alarm is sounded or if there is an explosion – enter a safety area.’ Israelis are also instructed to avoid large gatherings of more than 500.”

Haaretz reports that the IDF killed Gaza’s terror chief. “Israel Air Force launched a strike on Palestinian targets in Gaza on Friday, killing the leader of the Popular Resistance Committees, the organization that captured former IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. The IDF Spokesman said in a statement that that the attack targeted Zuhir al-Qaisi, the secretary-general of the Popular Resistance Committees, and his collaborator, Mahmoud Hanani.”

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