An open-ended truce in the conflict between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas goes into effect tonight but it is not being billed as a cease-fire by the terrorists.
Hamas sent out a graphic of three Palestinian gunfighters pointing weapons at an Israeli soldier who was raising his hands in the air while holding a white flag. The caption on the graphic says “and so Gaza has triumphed.”
Hamas also had their members take to the streets after the beginning of the cease-fire to celebrate their “victory.”
Mosques throughout the Gaza strip were broadcasting messages of celebration and celebratory chants of “Allahu Akbar” while Palestinians who had been in shelters because of the conflict made their way outside.
Hamas launched a final barrage of rockets toward Tel Aviv just before the start of the cease-fire.
Israeli officials, however, say the deal does not include any of Hamas’ demands including an airport and a seaport. No prisoners were going to be released as part of the Egyptian-brokered agreement.
A Hamas barrage before the beginning of an open-ended cease-fire struck a home in Ashkelon and a playground in Ashdod.
Initial reports from emergency personnel say that 28 people have been injured in the barrage. The family in the home had just reached their safe room when the rockets struck the roof and were not injured. However, those in the area were wounded by debris.
At least one rocket made it through the Iron Dome defense system and struck the middle of a kindergarten playground. No children were harmed in that attack.
Hamas claims the attack was in retaliation for the IDF destroying an apartment complex in Gaza Tuesday.
The IDF launched an attack before the cease-fire that targeted a boy’s school in Gaza City where Hamas launched a rocket assault that killed 4-year-old Daniel Tragerman. The IDF warned officials in Gaza of the attack so they could make sure no children were inside the building at the time of the attack.
Three times during the conflict Hamas was found to be hiding weapons inside UN schools in Gaza.
A four-year-old Israeli child is dead because of the terrorist group Hamas.
Doctors in southern Israel confirmed the death of Magen David Adom after he was brought into the hospital in “very grave condition.” The boy was struck by shrapnel from a mortar that was launched from the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
Witnesses said they heard three explosions at the time the boy was wounded. No other reports of injuries or damage were reported as most were focused on rushing the boy to the hospital.
The rocket barrage from the terrorists seemed focused on children as at least one mortar struck near a pre-school Eshkol.
A barrage also struck a synagogue in Ashdod sending three people to the hospital.
IDF forces stepped up their air responses to the missile launches.
Hamas killed 18 people this morning because someone had reported those men had provided information to Israel.
The men were executed without trial or hearing.
Eleven men were brought by Hamas troops to a police headquarters in Gaza City and executed via firing squad. Seven others were ambushed by Hamas fighters as they left a mosque after morning prayers.
Two of those killed in the ambush were women.
Hamas media outlets in the Gaza Strip said they were “choking the necks of the collaborators” and said that any Palestinian believed to be working with Israel would meet the same fate.
The executions come a day after three Hamas leaders were killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Israel responded to the Hamas breaking of a ceasefire by launching an assault on a building that was housing a group of Hamas leadership.
Hamas confirmed the deaths of the officials.
Mohammed Abu Shammala, Raed al-Attar and Mohammed Barhoum were inside a four-story building that was hit in an Israeli airstrike. The IDF said the home was targeted specifically as part of the response to the Hamas assault.
Palestinian Authority health officials in Rafah say that dozens of other people are still missing.
Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed the situation during a public statement that Operation Protective Edge is not over despite the recent ceasefire. He said that the response is going to be a “continuous campaign.”
Hamas vowed revenge.
“The assassinations of the three Qassam leaders is a grave crime. But it will not break our people and Israel will pay the price for it,” a Hamas statement read.
The family of the leader of terrorist group Hamas in the Gaza strip were confirmed killed when an Israeli air strike destroyed the building they were living in.
However, there are conflicting reports about whether the strike also cut off the head of Hamas’ leadership in Gaza. Hamas denies that Mohammed Deif was hit while several Israeli sources say he perished in the attack.
The attack was in response to Hamas breaking the cease fire and launching a series of terrorist rocket attacks into Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had warned Hamas that the IDF was prepared to “strike back hard” if the ceasefire were to be broken and the operation against Deif’s headquarters is believed to have been one of the items referenced by the Prime Minister.
Middle East analysts say that if Deif was killed in the attack it will likely cause Hamas to launch more assaults and refuse to enter back into negotiations to end the hostilities.
The Israeli Defense Forces recalled 2,000 soldiers after the breaking of the ceasefire to provide support for the IDF response.
Egypt has issued a call for both sides to return to the negotiating table in Cairo. Israel had recalled their delegation after Hamas broke the latest ceasefire.
A video from a man trying to call attention to Lou Gehrig’s Disease by dumping a bucket of ice water over his head went viral and launched an unusual fundraising campaign that’s raised millions in research funding the ALS Foundation.
The phenomenon has gone worldwide and now leaders in Israel are stepping up to be a part of the fundraising.
The first major leader to take part of Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, the spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces. He posted pictures online August 19th showing him pouring the ice water over his own head. He then issued challenges to other leaders including members of the Knesset and the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations.
Yesh Atid MK Dov Lipman jumped on the challenge and not only did the bucket of water but also made a large donation for the research.
Then Wednesday morning, the Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. accepted his challenge. Ron Prosor had a staff member pour the ice water on his head outside of the Israeli embassy in New York. Prosor then nominated the U.N.’s secretary general Ban Ki-Moon to do the challenge.
Prosor joked the water was only slightly colder than the reception Israel gets at the U.N.
The terrorist group Hamas has once again broken a ceasefire, the eleventh that the group has either rejected or violated.
Rockets from the terrorists rained down on Beersheba during the mid-afternoon local time. Explosions were also seen near Ashdod and Ashkelon within an hour after the initial attack on Beersheba.
“Today’s rocket attack on Be’er Sheva is a grave and direct violation of the ceasefire to which Hamas committed itself,” Mark Regev, spokesman for Prime Minister Netanyahu, posted on Twitter. “They shoot rockets into Israel yet demand a more normal relationship? They must first commit to non-violence.”
The Israeli Defense Forces were organizing a response that was scheduled to begin toward the evening hours on Tuesday. Initial reports showed movement toward the northern part of Gaza and at vessels in the waters near northern Gaza.
The negotiating team in Cairo has been recalled to Israel because of the attack according to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office.
Israeli’s Shin Bet security service has released the details of a shocking Hamas plot that would have combined terror attacks on Israeli citizens with the overthrow of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
The goal was to have a “third intifada uprising.” The plot would have opened a second front against Israel during Operation Protective Edge.
Shin Bet said that 90 Hamas operatives have been arrested in connection to the plot. Hundreds of weapons were seized along with $170,000 that was designated to fund the attack either through payments to security officials or payments to homicide bombers.
The attack within Israel was to have a centerpiece of the Temple Mount. The plan was so detailed that it had a flowchart of Hamas operatives who were in charge of the operation and those directly under them as if it was some kind of corporate organization.
The plot also focused on recruiting students, especially those who had been studying chemistry or engineering, for plotting bomb attacks on structures aimed to cause building collapse.
The mastermind of the plot is Hamas terrorist Salah al-Arouri who is in hiding in Turkey. According to the Times of Israel, authorities within the IDF have evidence that al-Arouri plotted the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teenagers before the current Hamas-Israel conflict.
