Wednesday, April 17, 2024

 IRAN ATTACKS ISRAEL

Though the mountains be shaken
    and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
    nor my covenant of peace be removed,”
    says the Lord, who has compassion on you...

If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing;
    whoever attacks you will surrender to you...

 

    no weapon forged against you will prevail,
    and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.

This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
    and this is their vindication from me,”
declares the Lord.

Isaiah 54: 10,15, 17

On Saturday night (13/04/24), at  11:23 PM Israel time, we received this message:

🔅ATTACK ALERT -

🚨DRONE LAUNCH IRAN - Multiple sources state from US officials, “dozens of suicide drone launches from Iran headed towards Israel”.  50-100+ drones depending on report.  IDF confirms.

Continued launching - may be more.

🚨DRONE LAUNCH YEMEN - Unofficial at the moment. 

⚠️ TIMING from Iran - Early morning

Hypersonic Cruise missile - 10 minutes

Cruise missile - < 1 hour

Ballistic missile - 4 hours

Suicide Drone/UAV - 6-9+ hours

The different types will be launched to arrive together.

On the way, they have to pass at least 4 defense systems, starting with warships, Patriot systems stationed in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and American bases in the Middle East, Israeli defense systems and Israeli fighter jets.

BUT, expect to hear about additional launches from Syria and Yemen, and Lebanon.

⚠️EL AL THAILAND FIGHTS - returning to Thailand due to Jordan airspace closure.

⚠️GPS JAMMING - expect nationwide GPS jamming immediately.

⚠️AIRSPACE YEMEN - closed.

At around 2:00 AM, Sunday morning, the first drones and missiles began arriving in Israel. Sirens sounded throughout the country and citizens headed for shelter, if they hadn't already done so. 

The sirens did not go off in my town, but I had my alert set for Jerusalem too, and therefore I heard the sirens and the sound of distant booms of exploding ordnance. I turned on the TV to see drones passing over the Temple Mount and the interceptions. You can see the video of this on X with this link: https://twitter.com/i/status/1779292077886460213  

or on this link: https://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-launches-wave-of-drones-at-israel-in-first-ever-direct-attack-idf-braces-to-intercept/

I followed events on the TV until about 3:30 AM when things seemed to have settled down. I managed a few hours sleep after that. 

The next morning, Sunday, at 9:08 AM we received the following situational update.

OPERATIONAL UPDATE BY IDF SPOKESPERSON, REAR ADMIRAL DANIEL HAGARI, REGARDING THE SUCCESSFUL DEFENSE OF ISRAEL'S AIRSPACE OVERNIGHT

Last night, Iran initiated an attack against Israel, launching over 300 threats of various types. The Iranian threat met the aerial and technological superiority of the IDF, along with a strong fighting coalition - which together intercepted the overwhelming majority of the threats. 99% of the threats launched towards Israeli territory were intercepted - a very significant strategic achievement.

Of approximately 170 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that Iran launched, zero crossed into Israeli territory. Dozens of them were intercepted by Israeli Air Force fighter jets, our Aerial Defense Array, and the aerial defense systems and aircraft of our partners.

From the more than 30 cruise missiles Iran launched, none crossed into Israeli territory. 25 of them were intercepted by IAF fighter jets outside the country’s borders. Out of over 120 ballistic missiles, only a few crossed into Israeli territory, with the rest being intercepted. These fell at the Nevatim Air Force Base, causing only minor damage to infrastructure. As you can see, the base is operational and continues to carry out its missions....

Iran hoped to incapacitate the base and thus impair our aerial capabilities, but it failed. IAF aircraft continue to take off and land from the base and depart for offensive and defensive missions. This includes the ‘Adir’ fighter jets, which are now returning to the base from an aerial defense mission...

In addition to the launches from Iran, several launches were made from the territories of Iraq and Yemen. None of them crossed into Israeli territory. In recent hours, dozens of rockets were fired from Lebanese territory toward the north (of Israel); there were no casualties. Fighter jets struck Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, including Radwan targets. All this while additional aircraft continue their defense missions.

Over the past six months, we have been operating in close coordination with our partners, led by US CENTCOM, the UK, France, and other countries (Jordan, UAE, and Saudi Arabia!)that operated last night. This partnership has always been robust, but last night it was exceptionally evident. Last night we conducted a complex defensive air battle, with excellent performance by the IAF and the Intelligence Directorate. The battle was directed under the command of the Chief of the General Staff from the Israeli Air Force Operations Center.

The interception capabilities of the Aerial Defense Array and the defensive abilities of the IAF aircraft, demonstrated exceptional professionalism as well as the IDF’s military and technological superiority. Thanks to all of this, the attack by Iran - was thwarted.

Unfortunately, a ten-year-old girl (actually a 7-yr old, Israeli Bedouin Arab) was severely injured by shrapnel. We wish her a speedy recovery. Other than her, as far as we know, there are no additional casualties.

However, it is important to say - the event is not over....

(Note: my parentheses)

Amina al-Hassouni (Photo: Muhammad al-Hassouni)

https://allisrael.com/7-year-old-bedouin-girl-wounded-in-iranian-missile-strike-still-in-serious-condition

 Now two days later, the enormity of what happened in the early hours of Sunday are just beginning to sink in. I believe we saw a miracle of God's protection, equivalent to the parting of the Red Sea. Israel and its allies, the US, UK, France, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, shot down 99% of the 300 or so UAVs, Ballistic Missiles and Cruise Missiles fired at Israel. Such a high success rate is unheard of. In past conflicts we have seen at best only about an 85% success. When you consider all the things that can go wrong, a 99% success rate is close to impossible. A Professor in the Defense Industry made this claim (even he compared it to the dividing of the Red Sea!):

"I wanted to share something that is much more than a feeling.  Something that comes from a real calculation:  What happened in Israel on last Motzai Shabbat (Sat/Sun night) was not less than the scale of the splitting of the Red Sea.

I am a Professor of physics and I worked for several years in the defense industry in Israel, in projects that are still the cutting edge technologies of the defense of the State of Israel. When I look at what happened on Motzai Shabbat, on a scientific level - it simply cannot happen!! Statistically.

The likelihood that everything, but really Everything works out, does not exist in complex systems  Like the defense systems that were used to defend Israel from the massive Iranian attack.

These systems have never, but never, not only in the State of Israel, been tried in real time!!

I took a pencil and dived into the calculations to check the statistic probability that such a result would materialize.  

The large number of events that had to be handled, when each missile or UAV is handled independently (that is, human error or some deviation of one operation, is not offset by other successful operations), compounds the chance of making a mistake. 

With all the high technologies, a breach was expected  In the defense of the skies of the State of Israel.

Even if we got 90% protection it would have been a miracle!! 

What happened is that everyone, but everyone - the pilots, the systems operators and the technology operators acted as one man, at one moment in total unity.  If this is not an act of G-d, then I no longer know what a miracle is.

It is Greater than the victory of the Six Day War or the War of Independence.  Those wars can also be explained through natural events.

BUT

The rescue that took place for the people of Israel on Motzai Shabbat  is simply impossible naturally.  I believe that this miracle saved the lives of many people from Israel.

If the defense system had failed to intercept a number of cruise missiles, the result would have dragged us into a very complex war. 

I wouldn't bet that next time it will work like this without Divine supervision.

The simple proof of what I said is that the managers of the defense industries, who develop and manufacture these systems guarantee no more than 90% success!

And we all saw, with our own eyes  99.9% !!!"


MAY THE LORD GOD OF ISRAEL BE BLESSED!!!

Not only were 99% of the missiles intercepted but of the few that did penetrate Israeli airspace, they were either shot down or landed harmlessly in open spaces. Had even one of the big ballistic missiles, for example, hit a residential area there would have been massive casualties. Around 120 ballistic missiles were fired at Israel. Each one carries a 750 kg  warhead which when it explodes, would fully destroy any structure and kill every person in a 22 meter radius, badly damage structures and cause major injuries in a radius of 75 m.  Imagine if these 120 missiles had hit an Israeli city! 

When these missiles are intercepted all the shrapnel from the missile and interceptor must fall to the ground. It can take up to 10 minutes for this to happen. Some of the shrapnel and remains are very large. The photo below shows just the fuel tank (about 70% of length of the missile) of a ballistic missile that landed on the shores of the Dead Sea. The fuel tanks detach from the warhead in the latter stages of its flight.  This is not a fake photo- it gives you some idea of the size of these things! 

https://res.cloudinary.com/hb0stl6qx/image/upload/w_900,c_scale,q_auto,f_auto,dpr_auto/v1713339319/3_gsqd2w.jpg

https://allisrael.com/at-first-i-thought-they-were-fake-idf-presents-enormous-remains-of-intercepted-iranian-rockets

It is now Tuesday and as I am writing this, it all seems a bit surreal - as if it  happened long ago or in some movie. On Sunday, just hours after the attack,  I went to the supermarket and it was 'business as usual'. Later,  I went to the Garden Center and it was busier than normal. I guess gardening is good therapy, and of course, it is Spring and the weather is glorious. Yesterday, Monday, I went to Ein Kerem (the town where John the Baptist lived), ate at a restaurant and took a walk down the lovely wooded valley. Busloads of tourists were wandering the streets and groups of Israeli hikers passed us by. Life appeared totally normal. 


A stroll in Ein Kerem

The Israeli Home Front has been just amazing. I have seen no evidence of panic. Schools were closed for just one day but are now open again - at least those not shut down for the Passover holiday. Life continues somehow in spite of 6 months of war. I was feeling guilty about just continuing on as normal, even eating in restaurants and going for walks in nature, until my pastor, a soldier recently returned from duty, pointed out to me that "that is what we are fighting for". Our brave and selfless men and women soldiers are fighting, risking their lives and futures, so that the rest of us can have a life, even a good life. I no longer feel guilty, just deeply grateful.

Of course the war isn't over yet, and may just be beginning. 

We are all wondering what will happen next. Will Israel attack Iran? Will Iran try to attack Israel again? No one knows, There is a lot of speculation, much being driven by a mountain of fake news and propaganda. On Monday night the IDF spokesman quoted the Chief of Staff as saying that Israel will respond to missiles fired into its territory, but he did not say when or in what manner. Iran continues to threaten dire consequences if we do. 

I feel that we have never had a better opportunity to deal with the threat of the Iranian regime once and for all. Sadly however, the USA and other western nations have said they will not support an Israeli attack on Iran. This is very short sighted. Do they not understand that Jihadist Iran is not just a threat to Israel but to the whole of western civilization? Why do they persist in thinking they can deal with the problem of Iran diplomatically? Why do they not take seriously the Iranian threats to destroy Israel (which they call the little Satan), then the USA (the big Satan) and then all of Europe. This is not just empty rhetoric. They mean it quite literally. It seems that the Western leaders have no understanding of the mentality of the followers of Jihadist Islam. The Ayatollahs of Iran and their supporters have only one goal - world domination. The Western leaders say they do not want this war to escalate into a regional, or even potentially world-wide war, but they do not realize that it is already a regional war. What will it take for them to wake up?

I think that Iran got a shock on Sunday morning.  Is Iran a paper tiger, or is it part of their strategy to send off their old, unreliable missiles to give the impression of weakness, and to put us off guard, before they send in their newer, more reliable weapons? It is important that we do not underestimate their abilities nor let our guard down.  They and their proxies, Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis, still have thousands of missiles they could use against us, and they have powerful allies in Russia and China. Those allies may even have supplied them with nuclear warheads, not to mention that they are very close to producing their own.

It seems that whenever Israel is being attacked in an obvious way, the Western nations are all on our side, but whenever we go onto the offensive in order to protect ourselves (and them!) they turn against us. 

U.S. President Biden is spinning so fast back and forth, for and against Israel, he is dizzy and seems barely able to function.  He is playing right into the hands of our enemies, by making us look weak and indecisive. He would do well to take note of his forerunner, George Washington, who wrote, in 1799, "...offensive operations, often times, is the surest, if not the only (in some cases) means of defense". Right now Biden is saying to Israel "Don't" attack Iran. But if Israel would attack, would the US stand by or would it rise up and help? It's anyone's guess. 

For a clear and Biblical analysis of the situation today I would recommend this video.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P3f0oZDeUI

ON THE NORTHERN FRONT. 

In the meantime, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria continue to fire a steady stream of rockets and UAVs into Israel's northern settlements and military posts. For the last 6 months they have fired an average of 20-30 missiles every day. Around 80,000 residents of the northern border communities have been evacuated and have spent the last 6 months 'camping out' in hotel rooms or with family and friends. Hotels are fun when you are on holiday, but the novelty quickly wears off. Not only is it very stressful having whole families crammed into one room and living shoulder to shoulder with that annoying family next door, these families have lost their means of support. Farms and businesses have had to be abandoned.  Many homes, farms and businesses have been destroyed. 

News is now coming in of a Hezbollah attack on a northern Bedouin Arab town, Arab el-Aramshe, in which 18 people were wounded, 4 seriously. This is not the first time Arab towns and villages have been attacked. The Iranian Regime hates Sunni Muslims almost as much as Jews. 

https://allisrael.com/6-people-wounded-in-hezbollah-attack-on-arab-village-in-the-galilee

ON THE SOUTHERN FRONT

In spite of 6 months of war, and the destruction of 16 of its 24 battalions, Hamas still has the capacity to fire rockets into Israeli territory, although these have decreased to a trickle. Fighting continues in the Strip as Israel mops up the terror cells still operating in the northern and central sector, and prepares to tackle the last bastion of Hamas in, and under, the southern city of Rafah. As preparations are taking place, so are negotiations for the release of the remaining 133 Israeli hostages. 

Hamas is making outrageous demands in the negotiations that Israel cannot accept. If we were to do so, it would be tantamount to defeat and surrender. Hamas has no incentive to hand over the hostages, since it is only the presence of the hostages as human shields that is preventing their annihilation at this time. It is also by no means clear how many of the hostages remain alive after 6 months of starvation, torture, sexual abuse and the lack of medical treatment in the dark, dank, filthy underground tunnels. 

The US continues to play into the hands of our enemies by telling us not to go into Rafah so as 'to prevent a humanitarian disaster'. Israel has solid, workable plans, supported by the UAE, to evacuate civilians as necessary as our forces move into the city. We don't need the patronizing, not to mention hypocritical, USA telling us how to run this war. 

A few days ago, Israel called up two reserve brigades for a renewed Gaza incursion and today there are, as yet unconfirmed, reports that tanks are moving back into the Strip. 

Here is a video about the current state of the negotiations. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwjpCjqmcWg

THE SOUTHEASTERN FRONT

The Houthis of Yemen, another Iranian proxy, joined in the missile attack on Israel on Sunday morning,  and also continue to attack shipping in the Gulf and passing through the Suez Canal. 

THE TRUTH ABOUT PALESTINIAN REFUGEES

There is much more I could write about but I will save that for another time. I will however close by recommending you watch this video

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M06S7R6vfVs




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