Israeli soldiers of the Paratroopers Brigade mourn over the grave of Sgt. Bnaya Rubel during his funeral at the military cemetery in Holon, Israel, Sunday, July 20, 2014. Rubel was killed while fighting Palestinian militants in Gaza on Saturday.
As Israel’s “Operation Protective Edge” saw the eighteenth day of fierce fighting and the IDF death toll rising, Hamas operatives killed three young Israeli paratroopers from an elite demolitions company within the IDF, as they entered a booby-trapped house in Khan Yunis. When the explosive charge detonated, a wing of the building collapsed. Gunmen then opened fire on the troops while they attempted to escape being trapped in the debris, killing IDF Lt. Paz Elyahu, 22; Staff Sergeant Li Mat, 19; and Staff Sergeant Shahar Dauber, 20.
While the United States and the United Nations continue to negotiate a diplomatic solution to the Middle East unrest, the European Union issued a statement condemning Hamas rocket fire on Israel and calling on all Gaza terrorist organizations to disarm. The EU further “strongly condemned calls for the civilian population of Gaza to provide themselves as human shields.” Embattled diplomatic officials in Jerusalem were encouraged by the unexpected EU statement. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the EU statement shows that “the free world is united against Hamas terror,” and that Israel has the right to defend itself.
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the EU statement shows that “the free world is united against Hamas terror," and that Israel has the right to defend itself.
In an uncharacteristic show of support for Israel, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, “As we speak, rockets from Hamas and Islamic Jihad continue to be fired on Israel. I have just seen for myself all kinds of rockets fired by Hamas on to the heads of all of these people and the neighborhoods where many people are living. This is quite shocking. The United Nations position is clear: We condemn strongly the rocket attacks. They must stop immediately. We condemn the use of civilian sites—schools, hospitals and other civilian facilities—for military purposes. No country would accept rockets raining down on its territory.”
“Gaza needs to be demilitarized,” Security Cabinet member Gilad Erdan, said Thursday. Israel is not seeking a ceasefire in the conflict with Hamas at present, and the IDF needs to complete its ground offensive—focusing on finding and destroying Hamas’s network of cross-border tunnels. Israel’s key goal, Erdan reiterated, is to have Gaza demilitarized at the end of the conflict, “otherwise what would have been the point?” He hailed the demand by EU ministers for Hamas and Islamic Jihad to be disarmed. Some sources say the tide of the fighting is turning, that a certain demoralization has set in among the Hamas fighters in the Strip, and a major “decline in rocket attacks” on Israel is noted by the army. The military says 150 Hamas fighters have turned themselves in today to the IDF.
Meanwhile flights in and out of Israel have resumed with the lift of the FAA ban on all flights, only 12 hours after they had extended the flight ban for another 24 hours. Europe had lifted flight warning earlier.
Your sincerely effectual prayers are needed now for:
- Grieving families who have lost their young sons and daughters—on both sides
- The Spirit of God to restore calm and quiet to the nation sooner rather than later
- Breakthroughs in the ceasefire negotiations; wisdom and discernment for Secretary of State John Kerry, PM Netanyahu, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the peace process
- An end to the tyranny of Islamic Jihad, the constant threats of annihilation directed toward Israel and Jewish People, and recognition of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as the one true God
- True surrender of hearts and lives to the only real Source of peace—Yeshua (Jesus), the Prince of Peace
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