JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER.
1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
LUKE 21:28-29
28 And when these things begin to come to pass,(ALL THE PROPHECY SIGNS FROM THE BIBLE) then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (RAPTURE) draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree,(ISRAEL) and all the trees;(ALL INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES)
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.(ISRAEL LITERALLY BECAME AND INDEPENDENT COUNTRY JUST BEFORE SUMMER IN MAY 14,1948.)
JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth (ATOMIC BOMB) before them;(RUSSIAN-ARAB-MUSLIM ARMIES AGAINST ISRAEL) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(ATOMIC BOMB AFFECT)
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE
To ‘unchain’ Jewish women, rabbinate could extend reach across borders-Amid heavy criticism, Knesset debates bill to grant Israel's rabbinical courts oversight of Jewish divorce cases, including for those wed in civil unions-By Marissa Newman-TOI-MAY 10,18
Numerous French Jewish woman have turned to Israeli representatives in recent days hopeful that the rabbinical court can help resolve their status as agunot — “chained” women who have been refused a religious bill of divorce — court advocate Katy Clara Ayache said Tuesday.News of Israel’s legislative attempts to endow the Jewish state’s rabbinical courts with the power to sanction non-citizen Jews who have withheld a get [Jewish bill of divorce] from their spouses reached the French Jewish press last weekend, she told a Knesset panel on Tuesday.An article promised readers that a “solution” to the plight of these women-in-limbo, who cannot remarry under Jewish law, could “soon be found,” she added in French-accented Hebrew.An outpouring of queries ensued.In France, “it’s not a phenomenon, it’s a mega-phenomenon” consisting of “hundreds” of agunah cases, said Ayache.Under Jewish law, a marriage cannot be dissolved unless the man consents to a get. Rabbinical courts cannot force a man to give his wife a get, but in Israel they can impose harsh sanctions, including the rare jail sentence, and public shaming on someone the judges determine is unjustly withholding a get and turning the women into what is known as an agunah.With little or no legal sanction power in their home countries’ rabbinical courts, proponents view the Israeli government bill as a way for disenfranchised Jewish women in countries around the world, lacking legal options, to seek a religious divorce in Israel.But the government-backed bill debated by the Knesset’s Justice, Law and Constitution Committee on Tuesday has been widely criticized by Knesset lawmakers (including from the coalition), activists working on behalf of agunot, leaders of Reform and Conservative Judaism, and international law experts for its far-reaching, and, they argue, highly problematic extension of Orthodox legal authority over — potentially — all of the Jews in the entire world who are embroiled in divorce proceedings.Though fairly advanced in the legislative pipeline — once approved by the committee, the bill will be brought to the Knesset plenum for its final two votes — the proposed legislation was deadlocked on Tuesday by representatives from the coalition Kulanu and Yisrael Beytenu parties who vowed to block it unless significant changes were made.“If this law passes in its current version, there will be two religious institutions in the world that claim exclusive judicial authority: rabbinical courts and Islamic State,” charged Yisrael Beytenu MK Yulia Malinovsky.“As a party, we have difficulties with this bill and don’t see how we can let it advance,” said MK Rachel Azaria, of the 10-member Kulanu party. The coalition objections make it all but certain the bill will undergo revisions before its final Knesset votes.The argument on Tuesday was centered on both the centralized power that would be granted to the Chief Rabbinate on Jewish divorce cases, and a contentious proposed clause that could even see Jews who wed in civil unions abroad facing legal action in the Israeli rabbinate.“Ostensibly, under this bill, the divorce of Jewish homosexuals would be under the jurisdiction of rabbinical courts,” wryly remarked Nitzan Caspi Shiloni, an attorney with the Center for Women’s Justice NGO.-The proposal-The bill would expand the Israeli rabbinical courts’ authority to preside over a divorce suit between two Jews married according to Jewish law, provided the man or woman being sued for a divorce is residing in Israel or the petitioning party has lived in the country for a year.The bill would require the party seeking to dissolve the marriage to have already attempted to obtain a divorce, both civil and Jewish, in their country of origin. But it leaves a loophole for “special circumstances” in which the rabbinical courts could waive this requirement.If all those conditions are met, and the Israeli court accepts the need for a divorce, it can then ask the husband to give the wife a get, the required divorce document.If he refuses to issue the get or she refuses to accept it, the bill would allow the rabbinical court to impose the raft of sanctions that it is already empowered to place on Israeli citizens, including fines, frozen assets, and in rare cases even imprisonment.The rabbinical courts would also be given legal jurisdiction over couples who wed in civil unions outside of Israel, under the condition that the party seeking a religious divorce has lived in Israel for a year; the last place the pair lived as a couple was in Israel; or “special circumstances,” it stipulates.Israel does not recognize civil unions conducted in the country and all personal status issues are handled by the Chief Rabbinate. However, couples who enter civil unions abroad can be later registered as married by the state. As a result, many Israelis seeking to avoid being married in a religious ceremony by the rabbinate opt to wed abroad.In a rare move, the representative from the rabbinical courts, Rabbi Shimon Yaakoby, sided with an earlier version of the bill by opposition Yesh Atid MK Aliza Lavie rather than the more sweeping government proposal. He proposed that the issue of civil unions be debated as a separate bill.“It is important for us that this passes with consensus, and therefore we are willing to divide it so that we can seriously discuss the first part,” he said.Lavie, who said her bill was mostly aimed at helping women from the former Soviet Union, told the panel she would support the government bill if the issue of civil unions was excised.A laundry list of objections-The criticism of the government proposal at Tuesday’s meeting was extensive, ranging from opinions submitted by international law experts on the pitfalls of giving the rabbinical courts international powers on marriage and divorce, to activists who fretted the bid could backfire and be abused by disgruntled spouses to extort money.“It is important to remember that the courts in Israel have an agenda that discriminates against women in divorce proceedings and considers them to be subject to the wishes of their husbands and are required to meet the husband’s divorce conditions,” charged Batya Kahana-Dror, head of the Mavoi Satum organization which aids agunot, in a statement ahead of the hearing.“To a large extent, the bill is designed to entrench the rabbinate’s control over Judaism and world Jewry, including those who did not accept any religious authority and chose a civil marriage,” she added.Others argued the proposal would disempower local rabbinical courts around the world, could inadvertently open up more people to invasive Jewish background checks by the rabbinate, could result in preferential treatment for non-Israelis in the rabbinical courts (the proposed law lays out swift deadlines for action by the Israeli rabbinical courts upon receiving a petition by non-citizens), and exacerbate the growing divide between Israel and Diaspora Jewry.“One of my colleagues across the sea thought I was joking [when I told him about the initiative], because it can’t be that the Israeli government would legislate something that relates to them without consulting with them at all [or] hearing their opinion on something that is liable to affect their authority,” said attorney Yizhar Hess, the head of Israel’s Masorti (Conservative) Movement.“We are in an unprecedented crisis with world Jewry, and instead of sending in a firefighter, [Israel is] sending in a pyromaniac,” he said. “From a small monopoly, they want to create a conglomerate.”Israel Reform leader Gilad Kariv argued the bill would make rabbinical courts across the world, including Orthodox ones, reluctant to rule on divorce cases.“We will create a situation in which rabbinical courts in the Diaspora will be afraid to touch divorces, just like on the issue of conversion,” he said.JTA contributed to this report.
Americans prisoners released by North Korea land in Washington-[Reuters]-By David Brunnstrom-YAHOONEWS-May 10, 2018
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A plane carrying three U.S. prisoners released by North Korea landed near Washington D.C. on Thursday to be met by President Donald Trump, clearing a major obstacle to a planned summit between him and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.The prisoners, freed after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traveled to the North Korean capital, landed at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington, where a giant U.S. flag was suspended between ladders of two fire trucks on the edge of the taxiway.The flight, which arrived at around 2:42 a.m. (0642 GMT), was also to be met by Vice President Mike Pence, White House national security adviser John Bolton and Trump's wife, Melania.A White House spokeswoman said the three men would be taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in nearby Maryland for further medical evaluation.They are Korean-American missionary Kim Dong-chul, detained in 2015; Kim Sang-duk, also known as Tony Kim, who spent a month teaching at the foreign-funded Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST) before he was arrested in 2017; and Kim Hak-song, who also taught at PUST and was detained last year."We would like to express our deep appreciation to the United States government, President Trump, Secretary Pompeo, and the people of the United States for bringing us home," the three said in a statement released by the State Department as their plane stopped over in Alaska."We thank God, and all our families and friends who prayed for us and for our return. God Bless America, the greatest nation in the world."North Korean state media said they were arrested either for subversion or "hostile acts" against the government.Until now, the only American released by North Korea during Trump’s presidency was Otto Warmbier, a 22-year-old university student who returned to the United States in a coma last summer after 17 months of captivity and died days later.Warmbier's death escalated U.S.-North Korea tensions, already running high at the time over Pyongyang's stepped-up missile tests.Americans detained in North Korea: https://tmsnrt.rs/2r5xYpB-The release of the last U.S. detainees in North Korea appeared to signal an effort by Kim to improve the tone for the summit and followed his recent pledge to suspend missile tests and shut a nuclear bomb test site.A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Singapore has emerged as the likeliest location for the planned summit after Trump ruled out holding it at the heavily fortified demilitarized zone between North and South Korea.Trump, who previously said Singapore was under consideration, said agreement had been reached on a date and venue and details would be announced within three days.The release of the prisoners also gave Trump a chance to tout a diplomatic achievement soon after his decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal drew heavy criticism from European allies and others.Additional reporting by Steve Holland in WASHINGTON; Haejin Choi and Christine Kim in SEOUL; Writing by Lincoln Feast; Editing by Robert Birsel)
MIGRATING BIRDS IN ISRAEL EATS HUMANS FLESH FOR COMING AGAINST ISRAEL-JERUSALEM
EZEKIEL 39:11-12,18
11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog (RUSSIA/ARAB/MUSLIMS) a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers (EAST OF THE DEAD SEA IN JORDAN VALLEY) on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog (RUSSIAN) and all his multitude:(ARAB/MUSLIM HORDE) and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog.(BURIEL SITE OF THE 300 MILLION,RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIMS)
12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.(OF ISRAEL)
16 And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.(OF THE ISRAEL-GOD HATERS)
EZEKIEL 39:17-21
17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.(OF RUSSIAN/ISLAMIC HORDES AGAINST ISRAEL)
18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
19 And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
20 Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.
21 And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.
22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.
REVELATION 19:17-18
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;(AGAINST ALL NATIONS ARMIES THAT COME AGAINST JERUSALEM AND ISRAEL)
18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
EZEKIEL 38:1-7
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:TOBOLSK)
4 And I (GOD) will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY) of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.(AFRICAN MUSLIMS,SUDAN,TUNESIA ETC)
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back,(RUSSIA-ARAB MUSLIM ISRAEL HATERS) and leave but the sixth part of thee,(5/6TH OR 300 MILLION DEAD RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIMS I BELIEVE) and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
IDF: Overnight raids set back Iranian military in Syria by ‘many months’-Israel carries out dozens of strikes in response to rocket barrage on military bases in the north; Russia informed in advance, spokesman says-By Judah Ari Gross and TOI staff-MAY 10,18
The Israeli army said Thursday morning that it set back Iranian military capabilities in Syria by “many months” with overnight strikes on “dozens” of targets affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards’ al-Quds Force following an attempted large-scale rocket attack on Israeli territory.The Israel Defense Forces stressed that it was not seeking an escalation of hostilities with Tehran, after some 20 rockets were fired at Israeli military bases by Iranian forces from southern Syria just after midnight, prompting extensive Israeli retaliatory raids.IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said no rockets made impact in Israeli territory. Four projectiles were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system and the rest fell in Syria, he said. The rockets included both Grad and Fajr-5 models, according to the military.The IDF said the initial missile barrage was launched by members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ al-Quds Force. It appeared to be the first time Israel attributed an attack directly to Iran, which generally operates through proxies.The overnight exchange was the largest-ever direct clash between the Iranian and Israeli militaries, and appeared to be the largest exchange involving Israel in Syria since the 1973 Yom Kippur War.There were no reports of Israeli casualties in the attack. An IDF spokesperson said “limited” damage was caused to Israeli military bases.In response, Israel launched an extensive retaliatory campaign, striking suspected Iranian bases throughout Syria for hours, an Israeli military spokesperson said, warning Syrian dictator Bashar Assad not to get involved.In all, Israel carried out dozens of raids against the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Quds Forces’ intelligence centers, weapons depots, storage facilities, observation posts, and logistics centers in Syria, as well as the rocket launcher, the IDF said.It was the “largest such operation [by Israel] against Iranian targets,” Conricus said, confirming that the strike was coordinated in advance with Russian forces in Syria.“All of the targets that we engaged were effectively destroyed,” he added, causing “significant damage” to the Iranians.The IDF spokesperson said the Iranians still retained military infrastructure to attack Israel, which was being monitored, but that the Israeli strikes set them back by “many months.” He said Israel was not seeking a confrontation but would respond to any attempts to challenge its sovereignty.“The IDF will not tolerate this Iranian presence on the Golan and in Syria,” Conricus said.In a statement, the IDF said it also attacked Syrian air defense batteries that had fired at Israeli planes despite the prior warning not to do so.“The Iranian attack on Israel last night is further clear proof of the intentions behind the Iranian forces’ establishment in Syria and the danger they pose to Israel and regional stability,” the military said. “Furthermore, the IDF considers the Syrian regime responsible for what transpires in its territory.”Arabic media reports confirmed that the IDF struck numerous targets across Syria, including weapons depots and Assad regime radar and air defense systems.Syria’s state news agency, after initially reporting that the country’s air defenses were intercepting dozens of “hostile Israeli missiles,” later said Israeli jets hit military bases, as well as an arms depot and military radar, without specifying the locations.Syrian rebels said the strikes targeted three airfields: the Shayrat air base, which was targeted by the United States last year for its role in an alleged chemical attack in the Syrian town of Khan Shaykhun; the Tha’lah air base, in southwest Syria, which has been tied to Hezbollah; and the Mezzeh military air field outside Damascus, which is reportedly home to Assad’s elite republican guard.A large Israeli bombing raid was also reported near the northwestern Syrian town of Qusayr near the Lebanese border, a known Hezbollah stronghold.-High alert-In the days and weeks before the Iranian barrage, defense officials repeatedly warned that Israel would respond aggressively to any attack from Syrian territory.On Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Russian President Vladmir Putin in Moscow about Iran’s “explicit goal of attacking the State of Israel as part of their strategy to destroy the State of Israel,” he said. Netanyahu told reporters after the meeting that Putin was receptive to Israel’s demand that it be allowed to operate freely in Syria’s skies in order to defend itself.In light of the exchanges of fire, numerous cities and towns in northern Israel decided to open their public bomb shelters, though the army did not require all of them to do so. In one case, residents of the northern Israeli town of Metula, along the Lebanese border, were instructed to take shelter after a loud explosion was heard in the area. They were later cleared to leave as no signs of impact were found.Shortly before 3 a.m., a loud blast was also heard in the northern city of Safed, prompting its mayor to release a statement to residents reassuring them that the explosion was “not a missile strike or anything else, but rather an IDF launch from our area.”Residents of central Israel reported hearing fighter jets flying overhead.Tehran has repeatedly vowed revenge after the T-4 army base in Syria was struck in an air raid — widely attributed to Israel — on April 9, killing at least seven members of the IRGC, including a senior officer responsible for the group’s drone program.It apparently attempted to exact that revenge at 12:10 a.m. on Thursday, with its bombardment on Israeli military bases on the Golan Heights.Sirens blared across the Golan Heights throughout the exchange, sending residents into bomb shelters. The IDF Home Front Command called on residents to adhere to security instructions as needed. Residents of the Golan Heights were told they could leave the bomb shelters around 2 a.m., but were instructed to remain near the fortified areas until further notice.The pro-Syrian government Al-Mayadeen TV said more than 50 missiles — not 20, as the IDF said — had been fired from Syria toward Israeli forces on the Golan Heights. A Syrian parliamentarian claimed on Twitter that Damascus, not Tehran, had launched the attack.Immediately following the barrage, Syrian state media reported that Israeli artillery fire targeted a military post near the city of Baath in the Quneitra border region, where Syrian regime forces were stationed.In the hours that followed, the Israeli retaliation expanded to include more artillery strikes and aerial bombings, according to Syrian reports.Following the initial exchange, Conricus, the IDF spokesperson, said the army was still sorting out many of the specific details related to the missile attack, such as which army bases were targeted, what types of projectiles were used, how many were fired, where they were launched from, and how many were intercepted.A video shared on social media shortly after midnight on Thursday appeared to show the barrage of missiles apparently being fired by a multiple launch rocket systems, or MLRS, from Syria toward Israel.Residents of both the Israeli and Syrian Golan Heights reported hearing loud, repeated explosions.The attack came a day after the military called on local governments on the Golan Heights to open bomb shelters, in light of “abnormal” activities by Iranian forces in Syria. The barrage also followed US President Donald Trump’s announcement on Tuesday night that he was pulling the United States out of the Iran nuclear deal and reimposing sanctions on Tehran.On Tuesday, eight Iranians were among 15 foreign pro-regime fighters killed in a suspected Israeli strike in Syria on a weapons depot of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, a monitor said. The raid struck the area of Kisweh south of Damascus late Tuesday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said on Wednesday.Syria’s official news agency SANA said on Tuesday that the army had intercepted two Israeli missiles fired toward Kisweh, with state television broadcasting images of fires in the nearby area.Since the start of Syria’s civil war in 2011, Israel has repeatedly targeted positions of the Syrian army and the Lebanese Hezbollah terror group backing it inside the country.On April 29, missile strikes — “probably Israeli” — fired on regime military positions near the cities of Hama and Aleppo in northern Syria killed at least 26 mostly Iranian fighters, according to the Observatory.On April 9, missiles targeted the T-4 air base in the central province of Homs, killing up to 14 fighters, including seven Iranians, two days after an alleged chemical attack carried out by the Syrian regime.Russia, Iran and Syria accused Israel of carrying out the strike.In light of both the general tension and specific intelligence, the IDF went on high alert this week, deploying additional missile defense batteries in northern Israel. “There is high preparedness of IDF troops for an attack,” the army said on Tuesday.A number of army reservists were called upon Tuesday night, the army said. An IDF spokesperson would not elaborate on which units they came from, but media reports indicated they served in air defense, intelligence and Home Front Command units.On Sunday night, Israeli defense officials warned that Iran was planning to retaliate for recent airstrikes attributed to Israel in Syria, by having its proxies fire missiles at military targets in northern Israel. Security forces were also preparing for the possibility of attempted infiltrations of military bases and communities in the north, Hadashot TV news reported on Monday.Agencies contributed to this report.
Liberman: Israel destroyed ‘nearly all’ Iranian military sites in Syria-Defense minister warns Tehran: 'If you give us rain, you will get a flood'; opposition MK calls on government to prepare for 'broader confrontation'-By Raoul Wootliff and TOI staff-MAY 10,18
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said Thursday morning that the IDF had destroyed “nearly all” of Iran’s military infrastructure sites in Syria overnight in response to a rocket barrage on Israel’s north, warning Tehran that attacks on Israeli territory will be met with “the strongest possible force.”In his first public comments following the strikes on dozens of targets that the IDF said were affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards’ al-Quds Force, Liberman said that Israel has no interest in escalating tensions but will not accept any provocation against it.“If we get rain, you will get a flood,” he warned Iran, speaking at the annual Herzliya Conference. “We will not let Iran use Syria as a base to attack us from.”“The Iranians tried to attack the sovereign territory of Israel,” Liberman said. “Not one Iranian rocket landed in the State of Israel. Nobody was hurt. Nothing was damaged. And we’re to be thankful for that. We damaged nearly all of the Iranian infrastructure in Syria.”But he added, “It’s not a stunning victory, everything’s limited at the moment to a confrontation between us and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Syria. Everyone wants to limit this confrontation and keep it in this form.”Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan warned Iran that Israel is “not playing and not bluffing.“Tonight, we conveyed an important message to Iran and to the Assad regime: a message of determination and strength,” Erdan tweeted.“Israel will not cease to act against Iranian forces in Syria and will not forgive any attempt to attack the [Israeli] citizens of the north.“We will not allow the religious extremist regime in Tehran to build military power in Syria that presents a threat to the citizens of Israel. We hold the Syrian regime responsible for whatever happens on its soil,” he said.“We are not playing and we are not bluffing. We are determined to do whatever is necessary to defend Israel.”Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein (Likud) said on Twitter, “Israel last night sent a clear message to its enemies and Iran: The rules of the game have changed. We will not tolerate any threat against the security of our citizens and we will not accept the buildup of hostile Iranian forces a short distance from border communities.”Yair Lapid, leader of the opposition Yesh Atid party, said, “Israel will not tolerate Iranian attacks on our sovereign territory. We expect our friends and allies to stand shoulder to shoulder with us. The world must be united in the fight against terrorism and that means being united against #Iran and its terror proxies.”Housing Minister Yoav Galant (Kulanu) tweeted, “We will put the Iranian genie back into the bottle. If Iran looks for adventures in Syria, it will come up against determination and strength.”Opposition Zionist Union lawmaker Amir Peretz called on the government to “prepare for a broader confrontation” and to allocate NIS 2 billion ($560 million) to deal with “gaps in the home front.”He told Channel 10 news on Thursday that the message Israel delivered was “unambiguous. The Iranians cannot be allowed to establish themselves on the [Israeli] border. We have to continue to deploy the Iron Dome [air defense system] and resolutely respond to any firing against Israel.”The Israeli army said Thursday morning that it had set back Iranian military capabilities in Syria by “many months” with its strikes on Iranian positions.The Israel Defense Forces stressed that it was not seeking an escalation of hostilities with Tehran, after some 20 rockets were fired at Israeli military bases by Iranian forces from southern Syria just after midnight, prompting extensive Israeli retaliatory raids.IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said four projectiles were intercepted by Iron Dome and the rest fell in Syria.There were no reports of Israeli casualties.The overnight exchange was the largest-ever direct clash between the Iranian and Israeli militaries, and appeared to be the largest exchange involving Israel in Syria since the 1973 Yom Kippur War.In all, Israel carried out dozens of raids against the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Quds Forces’ intelligence centers, weapons depots, storage facilities, observation posts, and logistics centers in Syria, as well as the rocket launcher, the IDF said.
Despite overnight rocket volley, schools to open on Golan Heights-Local residents were sent running to bomb shelters after midnight, as some 20 projectiles, believed fired by Iranian forces, targeted Israel from Syria-By TOI staff and Judah Ari Gross-MAY 10,18
Israeli schools in the Golan Heights were set to open normally on Thursday and no restrictions were being imposed on farmers in northern Israel, after the largest ever direct clash between Jerusalem and Tehran overnight Wednesday-Thursday saw residents of the plateau spend several hours huddled in bomb shelters.The Israeli authorities were projecting an air of business-as-usual after some 20 rockets were fired at Israeli military bases by Iranian forces from southern Syria just after midnight on Thursday, prompting Israeli jets to target numerous Iranian-controlled sites across Syria, according to the army.Some restrictions, however, were introduced to limit large gatherings in the Golan Heights.The Israeli army said the initial missile barrage was carried out by members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Forces. This appeared to be the first time that Israel attributed an attack directly to Iran, which generally operates through proxies.Sirens blared across the Golan Heights throughout the exchange, sending residents into bomb shelters. The IDF Home Front Command called on residents to adhere to security instructions as needed. Residents of the Golan Heights were told they could leave the bomb shelters around 2 a.m., but were instructed to remain near the fortified areas until further notice.Some of the incoming missiles were intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system, the army said. There were no reports of Israeli casualties in the attack. An IDF spokesperson said damage was caused to Israeli military bases, but that it was “limited.”In response, Israel launched an extensive retaliatory campaign, striking suspected Iranian bases throughout Syria for hours following the initial Iranian bombardment, an Israeli military spokesperson confirmed.The late-night Iranian rocket barrage and Israeli counterattack appeared to be the largest exchange in Syria since the 1973 Yom Kippur War.In light of the aerial battles, numerous cities — including Kiryat Shmona and Tiberias — and towns in northern Israel decided to open their public bomb shelters, though the army did not require all of them to do so. In one case, residents of the northern Israeli town of Metula, along the Lebanese border, were instructed to take shelter after a loud explosion was heard in the area. They were later cleared to leave as no signs of impact were found.Shortly before 3 a.m., a loud blast was also heard in the northern city of Safed, prompting its mayor to release a statement to residents reassuring them that the explosion was “not a missile strike or anything else, but rather an IDF launch from our area.”Residents of central Israel reported hearing fighter jets flying overhead.Tehran has repeatedly vowed revenge after the T-4 army base in Syria was struck in an air raid — widely attributed to Israel — on April 9, killing at least seven members of the IRGC, including a senior officer responsible for the group’s drone program.It apparently attempted to exact that revenge at 12:10 a.m. on Thursday, with its bombardment on Israeli military bases on the Golan Heights.
Israel bombs Iranian targets in Syria after missile barrage blamed on Tehran-IDF warns Syrian military not to interfere as it launches massive airstrikes in largest direct exchange with the Islamic Republic-By Judah Ari Gross-TOI-MAY 10,18
Some 20 rockets were fired at Israeli military bases by Iranian forces from southern Syria just after midnight on Thursday, sparking the largest ever direct clash between Jerusalem and Tehran, with Israeli jets targeting numerous Iranian-controlled sites across Syria.The Israeli army said the initial missile barrage was carried out by members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Forces. This appeared to be the first time that Israel attributed an attack directly to Iran, which generally operates through proxies.Some of the incoming missiles were intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system, the army said. There were no reports of Israeli casualties in the attack. An IDF spokesperson said damage was caused to Israeli military bases, but that it was “limited.”In response, Israel launched an extensive retaliatory campaign, striking suspected Iranian bases throughout Syria for hours following the initial Iranian bombardment, an Israeli military spokesperson said, warning Syrian dictator Bashar Assad not to get involved.“The Israel Defense Forces is taking action at this moment against Iranian targets in Syria. Any Syrian involvement against this move will be met with the utmost seriousness,” wrote Avichay Adraee, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, on Twitter.According to Arabic media reports, the Israel Defense Forces struck numerous targets across Syria, including weapons depots and Assad regime radar and air defense systems.The Israeli military would not immediately comment on its specific targets.Syria’s state news agency, after initially reporting that the country’s air defenses were intercepting dozens of “hostile Israeli missiles,” later said Israeli jets hit military bases, as well as an arms depot and military radar, without specifying the locations.Syrian rebels said these strikes targeted three airfields: the Shayrat air base, which was targeted by the United States last year for its role in an alleged chemical attack in the Syrian town of Khan Shaykhun; the Tha’lah air base, in southwest Syria, which has been tied to Hezbollah; and the Mezzeh military air field outside Damascus, which is reportedly home to Assad’s elite republican guard.A large Israeli bombing raid was reported near the northwestern Syrian town of Qusayr near the Lebanese border, a known Hezbollah stronghold.In the days and weeks before the Iranian barrage, defense officials repeatedly warned that Israel would respond aggressively to any attack from Syria.On Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Russian President Vladmir Putin in Moscow about Iran’s “explicit goal of attacking the State of Israel as part of their strategy to destroy the State of Israel,” he said. Netanyahu told reporters after the meeting that Putin was receptive to Israel’s demand that it be allowed to operate freely in Syria’s skies in order to defend itself.The late-night Iranian rocket barrage and Israeli counterattack appeared to be the largest exchange in Syria since the 1973 Yom Kippur War.In light of the aerial battles, numerous cities and towns in northern Israel decided to open their public bomb shelters, though the army did not require all of them to do so. In one case, residents of the northern Israeli town of Metula, along the Lebanese border, were instructed to take shelter after a loud explosion was heard in the area. They were later cleared to leave as no signs of impact were found.Shortly before 3 a.m., a loud blast was also heard in the northern city of Safed, prompting its mayor to release a statement to residents reassuring them that the explosion was “not a missile strike or anything else, but rather an IDF launch from our area.”Residents of central Israel reported hearing fighter jets flying overhead.Tehran has repeatedly vowed revenge after the T-4 army base in Syria was struck in an air raid — widely attributed to Israel — on April 9, killing at least seven members of the IRGC, including a senior officer responsible for the group’s drone program.It apparently attempted to exact that revenge at 12:10 a.m. on Thursday, with its bombardment on Israeli military bases on the Golan Heights.Sirens blared across the Golan Heights throughout the exchange, sending residents into bomb shelters. The IDF Home Front Command called on residents to adhere to security instructions as needed. Residents of the Golan Heights were told they could leave the bomb shelters around 2 a.m., but were instructed to remain near the fortified areas until further notice.The pro-Syrian government Al-Mayadeen TV said more than 50 missiles — not 20, as the IDF said — had been fired from Syria toward Israeli forces on the Golan Heights. A Syrian parliamentarian claimed on Twitter that Damascus, not Tehran, had launched the attack.Immediately following the barrage, Syrian state media reported that Israeli artillery fire targeted a military post near the city of Baath in the Quneitra border region, where Syrian regime forces were stationed.In the hours that followed, this Israeli retaliation expanded to include more artillery strikes and aerial bombings, according to Syrian reports.Following the initial exchange, IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said the army was still sorting out many of the specific details related to the missile attack, such as which army bases were targeted, what types of projectiles were used, how many rockets were fired, from where they were launched, and how many were intercepted.A video shared on social media shortly after midnight on Thursday appeared to show the barrage of missiles apparently being fired by a multiple launch rocket systems, or MLRS, from Syria toward Israel.Residents of both the Israeli and Syrian Golan Heights reported hearing loud, repeated explosions.The attack came a day after the military called on local governments on the Golan Heights to open bomb shelters, in light of “abnormal” activities by Iranian forces in Syria. The barrage also followed US President Donald Trump’s announcement on Tuesday night that he was pulling the United States out of the Iran nuclear deal and reimposing sanctions on Tehran.On Tuesday, eight Iranians were among 15 foreign pro-regime fighters killed in a suspected Israeli strike in Syria on a weapons depot of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, a monitor said. The raid struck the area of Kisweh south of Damascus late Tuesday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said on Wednesday.Syria’s official news agency SANA said on Tuesday the army had intercepted two Israeli missiles fired toward Kisweh, with state television broadcasting images of fires in the nearby area.Since the start of Syria’s civil war in 2011, Israel has repeatedly targeted positions of the Syrian army and the Lebanese Hezbollah terror group backing it inside the country.On April 29, missile strikes — “probably Israeli” — fired on regime military positions near the cities of Hama and Aleppo in northern Syria killed at least 26 mostly Iranian fighters, according to the Observatory.On April 9, missiles targeted the T-4 air base in the central province of Homs, killing up to 14 fighters, including seven Iranians, two days after an alleged chemical attack carried out by the Syrian regime.Russia, Iran and Syria accused Israel of carrying out the strike.In light of both the general tension and specific intelligence, the IDF went on high alert this week, deploying additional missile defense batteries in northern Israel. “There is high preparedness of IDF troops for an attack,” the army said on Tuesday.A number of army reservists were called upon Tuesday night, the army said. An IDF spokesperson would not elaborate on which units they came from, but media reports indicated they served in air defense, intelligence and Home Front Command units.Earlier on Tuesday, the US embassy in Israel also prohibited American government employees from visiting the Golan Heights without approval in light of the security situation on the border.“The IDF is ready and prepared for a variety of scenarios and warns that any action against Israel will be answered with a fierce retaliation,” the army said.On Sunday night, Israeli defense officials warned that Iran was planning to retaliate for recent deadly airstrikes in Syria, which have been attributed to the Jewish state, by having its proxies fire missiles at military targets in northern Israel sometime in the near future.Security forces were also preparing for the possibility of attempted infiltrations of military bases and communities in the north, Hadashot TV news reported on Monday.Agencies contributed to this report.
Amid Iranian missile barrage, US says Israel has right to defend itself-A State Department official says Trump administration stands 'with Israel in the fight against Iran’s malign activities'-By Eric Cortellessa-TOI-MAY 10,18
WASHINGTON — The United States on Wednesday defended Israel’s right to take military action to protect its civilians after roughly 20 projectiles were fired at Israel from Syria in a raid attributed to Iranian forces.“We are aware of reports that approximately 20 projectiles were launched into Israel,” a State Department official told The Times of Israel. “We stand with Israel in the fight against Iran’s malign activities and we strongly support Israel’s sovereign right to defend itself.”A National Security Council official, who spoke on background, also said the Trump administration backed Israel’s prerogative to protect its citizens.Just after midnight in Israel on Thursday, some 20 rockets were fired at Israeli military bases by Iranian forces in southern Syria, with some of the incoming missiles being intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system, the Israel Defense Forces said, amid sky high tensions on the northern border.There were no reports of Israeli casualties in the attack, and an army spokesperson said that “limited” damage was caused to Israeli military bases.The Israeli army said the missile barrage was carried out by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Forces. The incursion appeared to be the first time that Israel attributed such an attack directly to Iran, which generally operates through proxies.The late night rocket barrage was also the largest attack, in terms of the number of rockets fired, in the seven years of the Syrian civil war.Syria’s state news agency said early Thursday that Syrian air defenses intercepted “hostile Israeli missiles.” Syrian media later said the missiles were fired over southwestern Damascus.The pro-Syrian government Al-Mayadeen TV claimed more than 50 missiles had been fired from Syria toward Israeli forces in the Golan Heights.The attack came a day after the Israeli military called on local governments on the Golan Heights to open bomb shelters, in light of “abnormal” activities by Iranian forces in Syria. The barrage also followed US President Donald Trump’s announcement on Tuesday night that he was pulling the United States out of the Iran nuclear deal and reimposing sanctions on Tehran.The Israel Defense Forces spokesperson confirmed that the army had already retaliated to the alleged Iranian attack, but would not comment on the specific details.“The IDF sees this Iranian attack on Israel with severity,” said IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus. “This event is not over.”Judah Ari Gross, agencies contributed to this report.
Defective at its core’: How Trump opted to scrap Iran deal-US administration began preparing for pullout in January, but US president still left Europeans guessing until the very end, according to officials-By Josh Lederman-TOI-MAY 10,18
WASHINGTON (AP) — It was all there on paper in black and white, down to the precise number of centrifuges: the terms of a potential “fix” that President Donald Trump had demanded for the United States to stay in the Iran nuclear deal.Dragged kicking and screaming into five months of negotiations, America’s closest allies in Europe had finally agreed in principle to the toughest of Trump’s demands. They conceded that some expectation could be put into place in perpetuity that Iran should never get closer than one year from building a bomb. All that was left was to figure out creative language for how that constraint would be phrased that everyone could support.Trump walked away from the deal anyway. Announcing the US was out, he called the 2015 pact his predecessor brokered “defective at its core” and said the US would immediately re-impose sanctions lifted under the deal.“We can’t allow a deal to hurt the world,” Trump added Wednesday, as the world scrambled to figure out what comes next.Behind the scenes, though, the Trump administration had been actively preparing for a pullout since January, when Trump declared that he would withdraw if an “add-on” deal wasn’t reached. To many US officials, it was as clear then as now that the president would not be swayed to accept even a toughened-up version of the accord.This account of how Trump withdrew from the deal draws on interviews Wednesday with a dozen White House officials, senior State Department officials, foreign diplomats and outside advisers to the Trump administration involved in the negotiations. Most were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.Trump had just celebrated the anniversary of becoming president in January when he issued his ultimatum: If there’s no fix to the deal by May 12, the US would be out. There was no chance that three of the deal’s members — Iran, Russia and China — would consider changes, so Trump focused on the Europeans — Germany, the UK and France — in hopes that the rest would go along once a fix was agreed to by the rest.“This is a last chance,” Trump said.Right away, a team led by Brian Hook, the State Department’s policy chief, began intensive negotiations with the Europeans on the issues Trump insisted must be fixed: new penalties on Iran’s ballistic missile inspections, expanded access for UN nuclear inspectors and an extension of the restrictions on Iran’s enrichment beyond the current life of the deal.Before long, the US found the Europeans were amenable to dealing with the first two. The third was a nonstarter. After all, the terms of the 2015 deal explicitly say that the restrictions “sunset” over time. Any extension without Iran’s explicit consent would put the Europeans themselves in breach of the deal.A supplemental agreement was drafted, and tweaked, and tweaked again, even as negotiations continued about what mechanism to use to hold the Iranians to the restrictions indefinitely. At least one draft included footnotes specifying that the same nuclear parameters in the 2015 deal should continue to be in place: no more than 5,060 IR-1 centrifuges, no uranium stockpiles larger than 300 kilograms, no enrichment beyond 3.67 percent and no advanced centrifuges, according to an individual who read the draft.At the United Nations, US Ambassador Nikki Haley led a parallel effort to get France and the UK to toughen up on other Iranian behavior, such as its support for Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and for Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen. Haley’s argument to the Europeans: Helping us with these side issues can only help you make your case to Trump to stay in the deal.But at the White House, senior staffers were skeptical that anything would satisfy Trump. After all, the president had already told aides he refused to waive sanctions on Iran again. So White House and National Security Council staff began laying the groundwork for a US withdrawal, even as the negotiations with the Europeans were underway.As the May deadline drew closer, the Europeans grew increasingly alarmed that Trump seemed determined to scrap the deal. And so began a parade of visits by their leaders to the White House to make the case in person.First came French President Emmanuel Macron, the European leader closest to Trump. Not only did he raise the issue during a state visit, but he also took the extraordinary step of hammering the point in a speech to a joint session of Congress.“We signed it, both the United States and France,” Macron said of the pact. “That is why we cannot say we should get rid of it like that.”The Germans followed days later, with Chancellor Angela Merkel emphasizing Europe’s openness to working with Trump to crack down more comprehensively on Iran. The closing pitch was left to British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who even appeared on Trump-friendly “Fox & Friends” to urge him not to walk away.Johnson and the others came to Washington armed with clever solutions to the remaining hang-up over extending restrictions on Iran permanently. The Europeans were firm on one point: They could not unilaterally impose on Iran what it had not agreed to in the deal. But there were ideas to use other mechanisms that don’t expire, such as supervision of Iran’s civil nuclear needs, to ensure it stayed within the bounds and didn’t approach a bomb.By the time Johnson arrived, it became clear that the negotiations, while still ongoing, were futile. And on Monday, Trump tweeted that he’d announce his decision at 2 p.m. Tuesday — almost a week before his deadline.His decision was kept closely quarantined until the end, with even most White House, State Department and Treasury Department officials unsure what he’d decided. The State Department and Treasury prepared three versions of the public statements and technical guidance that would have to be released with his decision: one for staying in, one for full withdrawal and one midway option in which only some sanctions would be immediately re-imposed, potentially preserving the possibility that the US could later reverse course and stay in.Trump’s administration also didn’t explicitly tell the Europeans he was withdrawing. In a call with Macron just ahead of his announcement, Trump made clear he was still ardently opposed to the deal but left Macron guessing about precisely what he would do.He and the other Europeans learned when everyone else did: on Tuesday, when Trump appeared on live television in the Diplomatic Reception Room and said he was out.“The fact is this was a horrible, one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made,” Trump said. “It didn’t bring calm, it didn’t bring peace, and it never will.”
IDF: Iranian forces fire 20 rockets at Israel; Iron Dome intercepts some-No Israeli injuries reported in attack; sirens blare in Golan Heights; Syrian army post comes under fire in Quneitra as tensions skyrocket on Israel-Syria border-By Judah Ari Gross-TOI-MAY 10,18
Some 20 rockets were fired at Israeli military bases by Iranian forces in southern Syria just after midnight on Thursday, with some of the incoming missiles being intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system, the army said, amid sky high tensions on the northern border.There were no reports of Israeli casualties in the attack. An army spokesperson said damage was caused to Israeli military bases, but that it was “limited.”The Israeli army said the missile barrage was carried out by members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Forces. This appeared to be the first time that Israel attributed an attack directly to Iran, which generally operates through proxies. The late night rocket barrage was also the largest attack, in terms of the number of rockets fired, in the seven years of the Syrian civil war.Tehran has repeatedly vowed revenge after the T-4 army base in Syria was struck in an air raid — widely attributed to Israel — on April 9, killing at least seven members of the IRGC, including a senior officer responsible for the group’s drone program.Immediately following the Iranian attack at 12:10 a.m., Syrian state media reported that Israeli artillery fire targeted a military post near the city of Baath in the Quneitra border region, where Syrian regime forces were stationed.Approximately an hour and a half later, the Hezbollah-affiliated al-Manar news outlet reported that Syrian army air defenses were responding to an Israeli air strike against a target southwest of Damascus.Syria’s state news agency said early Thursday that Syrian air defenses had intercepted “hostile Israeli missiles,” and Syrian media later said the missiles were fired over southwestern Damascus.The pro-Syrian government Al-Mayadeen TV said more than 50 missiles had been fired from Syria toward Israeli forces in the Golan Heights.The Israel Defense Forces spokesperson confirmed that the army had retaliated to the alleged Iranian attack, but would not comment on the specific details.“The IDF sees this Iranian attack on Israel with severity,” said IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus.“This event is not over,” he said.Sirens blared across the Golan Heights throughout the exchange, sending residents into bomb shelters. The IDF Home Front Command called on residents to listen to security instructions as needed.The spokesperson said the army was still sorting out many of the specific details related to the attack, such as which army bases were targeted, what types of projectiles were used, how many rockets were fired, from where they were launched, and how many were intercepted.It was unclear if the Quds Forces’ rocket barrage would be the extent of Iran’s reprisal. Israeli intelligence assessments ahead of the attack indicated that Tehran was not looking to escalate the situation into all-out war and was looking instead for a contained way to retaliate, which may also be why the bombardment targeted military and not civilian sites.A video shared on social media shortly after midnight on Thursday appeared to show the barrage of missiles apparently being fired by a multiple launch rocket systems, or MLRS, from Syria toward Israel.Residents of both the Israeli and Syrian Golan Heights reported hearing loud, repeated explosions.The attack came a day after the military called on local governments on the Golan Heights to open bomb shelters, in light of “abnormal” activities by Iranian forces in Syria. The barrage also followed US President Donald Trump’s announcement on Tuesday night that he was pulling the United States out of the Iran nuclear deal and reimposing sanctions on Tehran.On Tuesday, eight Iranians were among 15 foreign pro-regime fighters killed in a suspected Israeli strike in Syria on a weapons depot of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, a monitor said. The raid struck the area of Kisweh south of Damascus late Tuesday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said on Wednesday.Syria’s official news agency SANA said on Tuesday the army had intercepted two Israeli missiles fired toward Kisweh, with state television broadcasting images of fires in the nearby area.Since the start of Syria’s civil war in 2011, Israel has repeatedly targeted positions of the Syrian army and the Lebanese Hezbollah terror group backing it inside the country.On April 29, missile strikes — “probably Israeli” — fired on regime military positions near the cities of Hama and Aleppo in northern Syria killed at least 26 mostly Iranian fighters, according to the Observatory.On April 9, missiles targeted the T-4 air base in the central province of Homs, killing up to 14 fighters, including seven Iranians, two days after an alleged chemical attack carried out by the Syrian regime.Russia, Iran and Syria accused Israel of carrying out the strike.In light of both the general tension and specific intelligence, the IDF went on high alert this week, deploying additional missile defense batteries in northern Israel. “There is high preparedness of IDF troops for an attack,” the army said on Tuesday.A number of army reservists were called upon Tuesday night, the army said. An IDF spokesperson would not elaborate on which units they came from, but media reports indicated they served in air defense, intelligence and Home Front Command units.Earlier on Tuesday, the US embassy in Israel also prohibited American government employees from visiting the Golan Heights without approval in light of the security situation on the border.“The IDF is ready and prepared for a variety of scenarios and warns that any action against Israel will be answered with a fierce retaliation,” the army said.On Sunday night, Israeli defense officials warned that Iran was planning to retaliate for recent deadly airstrikes in Syria, which have been attributed to the Jewish state, by having its proxies fire missiles at military targets in northern Israel sometime in the near future.Security forces were also preparing for the possibility of attempted infiltrations of military bases and communities in the north, Hadashot TV news reported on Monday.Agencies contributed to this report.
