Death of Family: Majority of Babies Born Out of Wedlock for First Time in History

The majority of babies were born to unmarried mothers in Britain for the first time in recorded history, the Office for National Statistics revealed on Tuesday.

ONS figures showed that there of the 624,828 live births recorded in England and Wales last year, over 320,000 were born out of wedlock, compared to 320,713 that were born to married parents or those in a civil partnership.

This means that 51.3 per cent of live births were born to unmarried women, the first time a majority of babies were born out of wedlock since such record began in 1845.

Up until 1978, the percentage of children born out of wedlock was less than ten per cent, however, this increased to 34 per cent by 1988 and has been over 40 per since the turn of the millennium.

The head of health analysis at the ONS, Dr James Tucker said: “This follows the long-term trend of declining marriage rates and increasing numbers of co-habiting couples seen in recent decades. READ MORE

WATCH: Corporate Media Tar Critics of FBI’s Trump Raid as ‘QAnon’ Fans Calling for Violence

Multiple corporate media broadcasters advanced an identical narrative following the FBI raid on former President Donald Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago, attempting to use guilt by association to tarnish criticism of the raid as conspiracy theorists calling for violence.

Numerous media outlets, many of which were ABC affiliates, repeated a similar talking point following the raid, saying, “sources say there’s been a strong reaction to the raid on extremist and Q-Anon-related forums.”

The outlets claimed that most of these “forums” were active before the January 6 Capitol riot and alleged there were calls for “violence” and “civil war” on them after the raid.

A commentator for Canada’s CTV News even claimed that “this is the kind of violence that led to the January 6 attack.”

The term “civil war” was also repeated multiple times by reporters on MSNBC, including by Joe Scarborough, and on CTV News.

While these alleged calls to violence and civil war were reportedly written online, it has been well documented by Breitbart News that various leftist groups regularly engage in actual violence.

Groups such as Janes Revenge, Black Lives Matter, and ANTIFA have not only openly called for violence but have committed acts of violence ranging from arson, vandalism, assault, and rioting, among other actions.

Breitbart News has also reported that corporate media outlets have a record of ignoring or making excuses for leftist extremism. READ MORE 

Looking for an excuse to bring in the troops to stop the vote in November??

IRS Job Listing: Special Agents Must ‘Carry a Firearm and Be Willing to Use Deadly Force’

A job listing for the position of IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent stresses that applicants must “carry a firearm and be willing to use deadly force” in order to carry out their duties.

The job listing says:

As a Special Agent you will combine your accounting skills with law enforcement skills to investigate financial crimes. Special Agents are duly sworn law enforcement officers who are trained to “follow the money.” No matter what the source, all income earned, both legal and illegal, has the potential of becoming involved in crimes which fall within the investigative jurisdiction of the IRS Criminal Investigation. Because of the expertise required to conduct these complex financial investigations, IRS Special Agents are considered the premier financial investigators for the Federal government.

It goes on to describe Special Agent “major duties,” which include “[carrying] a firearm and [being] willing to use deadly force, if necessary.” Applicants for the Special Agent position must also “be willing and able to participate in arrests, execution of search warrants, and other dangerous assignments.”

Breitbart News reported on June 19 Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-FL) concerns over the IRS’s purchase of approximately $700,000 of ammunition “between March and June 1” of this year. READ MORE

Next security challenge for Lapid-Gantz duo: Tapping Karish gas field on Sept. 1 under Hizballah threat

The challenge facing Israel from Lebanon is a lot more serious than stopping Palestinian Islamic Jihad rockets from Gaza. Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz are bracing for pumping to start on Sept. 1 at the new Karish offshore gas field, after Hizballah chief Hassan Nasrallah threatened “to cut off the arm” that “steals Lebanon’s wealth.” The threat came as the two leaders were still basking in the kudos for the slick, painless, preemptive Operation Sunrise that ended the Gaza conflict with a ceasefire on Sunday night.

On the Lebanese front, however, whenever the US mediator has come close to resolving the Israel-Lebanon maritime boundary dispute by a deal between the two governments, Hizballah has stepped in with threats of sabotage. It is now up to caretaker prime minister Yair Lapid to decide whether to go ahead and pump gas from the new Karish gas field on schedule without a deal.
On Monday, Nasrallah made his intentions clear – not just towards Israel but also the shaky Lebanese government, which is desperate to begin harvesting its own offshore energy resources to bolster the failed national economy. READ MORE

Gantz accuses Iran of funding Islamic Jihad with tens of millions of dollars a year

Defense Minister Benny Gantz on Thursday accused Iran of funding Palestinian Islamic Jihad to the tune of tens of millions of dollars a year, a week after Israel fought a three-day battle with the terror group in the Gaza Strip.

PIJ launched 1,175 rockets and mortars at Israel between Friday and Sunday. According to the Israel Defense Forces, some 200 rockets of them fell short inside the Gaza Strip. In several cases, failed rocket launches killed Palestinian civilians.

“While the world watched ‘another escalation between Israel and Gaza,’ I stopped to emphasize: The Iranian ayatollahs are involved on this front. Islamic Jihad in Gaza is a violent Iranian proxy,” Gantz said, as he hosted his Cypriot counterpart at the IDF’s headquarters in Tel Aviv.

“Their leadership visits Iran and meets Iranian leaders frequently. Islamic Jihad has an open tab in Iran,” he said.

Throughout the round of fighting, the PIJ’s secretary general, Ziad Nakhaleh, was in Iran for meetings with the terror group’s main backers. READ MORE

Kim Jong Un's sister chokes up describing her brother's illness

North Korean TV has published hitherto unseen footage of Kim Yo Jong, sister of the country's leader Kim Jong Un, delivering a speech to the public.

She is shown becoming visibly emotional while telling that her brother suffered a fever while I'll with COVID-19. The audience grows tearful as well.

Kim Yo Jong blames the outbreak on South Korea, alleging that the neighboring country had introduced the virus to North Korea by way of propaganda leaflets criticizing the DPRK.

She threatens retaliation for the supposed biological attack, saying that North Korea will exterminate both the virus and the South Korean government.

Israeli officials say little chance Iran will agree to ‘final’ nuke deal proffer

Israeli officials reportedly believe Iran is unlikely to agree to a return to the 2015 nuclear deal, a day after European officials submitted a final proposal for an agreement.

An Israeli official dismissed European expressions of optimism in recent days as “manufactured optimism intended to pressure the Iranians to make a decision, but the Iranians don’t want to accept the deal as it is,” in comments published by the Ynet news site Tuesday.

Negotiators from Iran, the US, and the European Union resumed indirect talks over Tehran’s tattered nuclear deal on Thursday after a months-long standstill in negotiations. On Monday, a so-called final text was submitted to the parties to the talks in a last gasp bid to salvage the deal.

An unnamed source told the Haaretz daily that Iran would be hard-pressed to sign an agreement that was not an upgrade over the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the original nuke deal was known.

“There’s no strategic change for the Iranians,” the source said in comments published Tuesday. “It will be very difficult for them to accept a deal that is not a significant improvement [from their perspective] on the original accord.” READ MORE

New Iran satellite presents significant challenge to Israel, US and allies – experts

A new Iranian satellite has surveillance capabilities that present a serious problem for Israel due to its ability to monitor sensitive sites in the country, snapping high-resolution images of objects on the ground, experts have warned.

The Khayyam satellite, built and launched by Russia on behalf of Iran, lofted into orbit on Tuesday from the Russia-controlled Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Hours later Iranian media reported that the first telemetry had been received from the spacecraft.

The Iranian Space Agency has said the satellite will be used for agriculture and water resources planning, and the Russian embassy in Tehran said the spacecraft was devised for non-military purposes, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

But Western experts have no doubts that the satellite is intended for spying. READ MORE

Iran ‘almost certainly’ to blame for escalation - former Israeli general

The current escalation between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in Gaza is the result of Iranian orders, Israeli Brig. Gen. (res.) Amir Avivi tells The Media Line.

“The military operation in Gaza began with an interception of a terror squad on its way to carry out an attack on Israel. This sort of attack, challenging the highest levels [of decision makers] in Israel, wouldn’t just require approval from Tehran, but is most likely an Iranian initiative,” Avivi says.

“As we speak, the PIJ leader, [the Syria-based] Ziyad al-Nakhalah, is in Tehran, meeting the Iranian president and the IRGC commander. PIJ is an absolute proxy of Iran. Tehran funds it and runs it,” he adds.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad is an Iranian-backed militia force in the Gaza Strip, and estimations are that Tehran is funding the organization to the tune of between $30 million and $40 million a year.

Avivi, who served as the deputy commander of Israel’s Gaza Division, is well-acquainted with the heated Gaza front. READ MORE

Hezbollah warns Israel against targeting Palestinian militants in Lebanon

The head of Lebanon's powerful armed movement Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, warned on Tuesday against any Israeli attempts to expand their targeting of Palestinian militants to Lebanon.

"Any attack on any human being will not go unpunished or unanswered," Nasrallah said in a televised address marking Ashura, a melancholic commemoration for Shi'ite Muslims of the killing the Prophet Mohammad's grandson Hussein.

The comments came after a flare-up in violence between Israel and the Islamic Jihad movement in the Gaza strip, prompted by Israel's arrest of a senior Islamic Jihad leader earlier this month.

"Any attack on any human being will not go unpunished or unanswered."

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah

On Saturday, Israeli defense minister Benny Gantz hinted at the possible targeting of Islamic Jihad officials abroad, who he said could be seen in "restaurants and hotels in Tehran, Syria and Lebanon."

"They too will have to pay the price," Gantz said.

A truce ending the violence

On Monday, a day after a truce brokered by Egypt ended the Gaza violence, he said Israel could carry out "pre-emptive strikes" abroad.

"In the future too, if necessary, we will deliver a pre-emptive strike in order to defend Israel's citizens, sovereignty and infrastructure and this is true for all fronts, from Teheran to Khan Younis," he said.

Iran-backed Hezbollah is vehemently opposed to Israel and tensions between the two have been escalating in recent months over a disputed maritime border between Lebanon and Israel.

Vienna: Nuclear talks end as parties submit final text

Talks to revive Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers in Vienna ended Monday as the parties closed a final text and key negotiators prepared to consult with their capitals, diplomats said, according to The Associated Press.

The European Union's foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell suggested there was no more room for negotiation on the draft now on the table.

“What can be negotiated has been negotiated, and it’s now in a final text,” Borrell wrote on Twitter. “However, behind every technical issue and every paragraph lies a political decision that needs to be taken in the capitals.”

The US described the tabled draft as “the best and only basis on which to reach a deal.”

“For our part, our position is clear: we stand ready to quickly conclude a deal on the basis of the EU’s proposals,” the State Department said, indicating the deal's restoration was up to Iran, according to AP.

“They (Iran) repeatedly say they are prepared for a return to mutual implementation,” the spokesperson added. “Let’s see if their actions match their words.”

Iran, for its part, sounded guarded, raising skepticism about the chances for a breakthrough after a monthslong stalemate.

“Naturally the cases require comprehensive study,” IRNA quoted an anonymous senior Iranian Foreign Ministry official as saying. “We will transfer our views and supplementary points.”

Monday’s news comes a day after the European Union’s senior negotiator said negotiations between Iran and the US on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal are close to completion, though he also noted that Iran must still decide whether to set aside its demand that the nuclear deal can only be revived if a multiyear United Nations atomic agency probe into its nuclear program is closed.

Iran scaled back its compliance with the 2015 deal, in response to former US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the agreement in May of 2018, but has held several rounds of indirect talks with the US on a return to the agreement.

An agreement was nearly reached before the talks stopped in March.

In June, Iran began removing essentially all the monitoring equipment installed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) under the 2015 nuclear deal.

The talks resumed last Thursday after Iran softened one of its remaining demands: the lifting of terror sanctions on its elite Revolutionary Guard Corps.

On Saturday, Iran's Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian called for a "realistic response" from the United States to Iranian proposals at indirect talks in Vienna.

The Foreign Minister “stressed the need for a realistic US response to Iran's constructive proposals on various issues to make the deal work," state media reported, without providing details on the proposals.

IDF Chief of Staff: We dealt a serious blow to the Islamic Jihad organization

IDF Chief of Staff, Major General Aviv Kochavi, on Monday visited the Tel Nof Airbase, and met with the units that operated in Operation Breaking Dawn.

The visit was led by the commander of the Israel Air Force, General Tomer Bar, and with the participation of pilots from squadrons 106 and 133.

The IDF says that Air Force personnel operated throughout the days of fighting - in both defense and attack. They planned and carried out many attacks in the operation, and protected the citizens of the State of Israel from various aerial threats.

"The role of the IDF is to protect the citizens of the country and the sovereignty of the country. From the moment we recognized the growing threat, we initiated an offensive operation that was the opening signal for an operation that had been prepared a long time in advance, the purpose of which was to deal a serious blow to the Islamic Jihad organization. This was also the result of the operation," Kochavi said.

He added, "We have many more plans, we have many operations of this type, both in Gaza, in the north and in the other arenas, and I tell you and I tell everyone who listens to us, we will not allow any terrorist organization, not in the north, not in the center, not in the south, to harm neither the citizens of the State of Israel nor the sovereignty of the State of Israel."

"We say in the simplest way to any terrorist organization, wherever it is: Know that we will hit you over any offensive action or any threat," concluded Kochavi.

Gaza power plant closes, Palestinians have 4 hours of electricity daily

Gaza’s sole power plant shut down over the weekend for lack of fuel, leaving the 2.1 million Palestinians living there with only four hours of electricity daily.

“This will seriously impact economic and social rights, including the supply of clean water, hygiene and healthcare,” the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.

Gaza is chronically short of electricity and is never able to provide 24-hour service. Prior to the IDF’s Operation Dawn against Palestinian Islamic Jihad targets, Gazans received from 11 to 15 hours of electricity a day.

Israel’s closure of the two main crossings into Gaza last Tuesday – at Kerem Shalom for commercial use and at Erez for pedestrians – has meant that fuel for the power plant or in any fact any supplies cannot enter the Strip.

The plant shut down on Saturday and is expected to remain closed until Israel allows fuel to enter the Strip. READ MORE

Operation Breaking Dawn – Background and Main Operational Achievements

On August 1, the senior leader of the Islamic Jihad in Judea and Samaria, Bassam al-Saadi, was arrested by Israel. In the days after his arrest, the Islamic Jihad threatened to retaliate by firing from Gaza against Israel. Operational squads belonging to the military wing of the Islamic Jihad, under the leadership of the military commander in the northern sector of the jihad in the Gaza Strip, Taysir Al-Jabri, and under the leadership of the military commander in the southern sector of the jihad in the Gaza Strip, Khaled Mansour, began to prepare to carry out a revenge attack with the idea of shooting an anti-tank missile against military and civilian targets.

In fact, the two senior military commanders of the Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip were personally involved in planning to carry out the attack.

As a result, the daily life of the Israeli civilian population near the Gaza Strip came to a halt. In practice, for the safety of Israeli citizens, the IDF imposed severerestrictions on movement and, in some places, even a curfew. For four days, thousands of Israeli citizens were besieged in their own homes without being able to go to work for fear of being fired upon while traveling on the main roads in southern Israel. READ MORE

EU official: Negotiations on Iran nuclear deal close to completion

Negotiations between Iran and the US on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal are close to completion, the European Union’s senior negotiator at the talks said on Sunday, but it remained unclear whether Tehran will accept the final deal, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The text of an agreement could be closed in coming hours, said the EU’s Enrique Mora, the coordinator of the talks. However, Iran must still decide whether to set aside its demand that the nuclear deal can only be revived if a multiyear United Nations atomic agency probe into its nuclear program is closed.

“We were negotiating some technical questions that were open in the text,” Mora told reporters in Vienna, according to WSJ. “We are advancing and I expect that we will close this negotiation soon.”

The final text would need to be approved by Iran, the US and the other participants in the talks, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany. The senior French, UK and German negotiators aren’t currently in Vienna.

Western officials have said Iran needs to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and insisted they wouldn’t intervene to close the probe or to set a fixed deadline for the agency’s work.

One Western diplomat said there would be no reference to Iran’s demands to close the nuclear probe in the text of the agreement being worked on.

On Monday, there will be no formal negotiations because of the Iranian holy day of Ashura. However, the aim is to have the final text ready for a final decision in the coming days, according to WSJ.

Iran scaled back its compliance with the 2015 deal, in response to former US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the agreement in May of 2018, but has held several rounds of indirect talks with the US on a return to the agreement.

An agreement was nearly reached before the talks stopped in March.

In June, Iran began removing essentially all the monitoring equipment installed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) under the 2015 nuclear deal.

The talks resumed last Thursday after Iran softened one of its remaining demands: the lifting of terror sanctions on its elite Revolutionary Guard Corps.

On Saturday, Iran's Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian called for a "realistic response" from the United States to Iranian proposals at indirect talks in Vienna.

The Foreign Minister “stressed the need for a realistic US response to Iran's constructive proposals on various issues to make the deal work," state media reported, without providing details on the proposals.

3 days in: 97% success rate in Iron Dome interceptions

 

A Sderot man recalls how part of an Iron Dome intercepting missile came slamming into his car roof - and voices confidence in the IDF. WATCH

Netanyahu: Anti-Israel Americans have allied themselves with 'medievalists'

Israeli Opposition Leader and former Premier MK Benjamin Netanyahu defended Israel’s ongoing military operation against Islamic Jihad terrorists in the Gaza Strip in an interview with Fox News Sunday.

Netanyahu condemned Islamic Jihad, while emphasizing that the terrorist group is merely a proxy of Tehran.

“Islamic Jihad… is guided by Iran, they are a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tehran.”

“It is one of those civilizational battles…where the stronger will and the stronger commitment to freedom and to our values ultimately win. And Israel has been winning.”

“It is a test of will and our will is stronger and we are going to beat these terrorists.”

Netanyahu noted the refusal thus far of Hamas, the dominant terrorist force in Gaza, to join in the attacks on Israel.

“Hamas, the dominant group in Gaza, was hit very hard in a previous operation that we did. We rolled them back. We set them back ten years.”

“They had a real drubbing, and they have second thoughts about entering [the conflict]… they’ve stayed on the sidelines.”

Given the proximity of the Gaza Strip to Israel’s densely populated coastal plain, Netanyahu said that Israel must “be very strong, much stronger than them, and to hit them every time.”

Turning to American critics of the Jewish state, Netanyahu accused them of allying themselves with radical Islamist “medievalists”.

“They’ve got it backwards. Israel is not the problem in the Middle East, Israel is the solution.”

“There is a big battle in the Islamic world today, between the modernists and the medievalists. Israel stands squarely with the modernists. And the people who attack Israel are basically standing with the medievalists – the people who want to bring you back to the Dark Ages.”

End of Breaking Dawn? Ceasefire between Israel and Islamic Jihad goes into effect

The Head of the National Public Diplomacy Directorate confirmed on Sunday evening that a ceasefire will take effect at 11:30 p.m.

"The State of Israel thanks Egypt for its efforts. If the ceasefire is violated, the State of Israel maintains the right to respond strongly. We will not allow any disruption to the lives of the citizens of the State of Israel," he added.

Before the ceasefire came into force, a heavy barrage of rocket fire began towards areas near the Gaza border. In response, an IDF unmanned aerial vehicle attacked a rocket launcher belonging to the Islamic Jihad in Gaza.

Earlier, an anti-tank launch site and a site for the production of rockets intended to hit Israel were attacked as well.

Meanwhile, following an assessment of the situation that took place on Sunday night, the IDF announced that therestrictions for the home front remain in effect and residents are to continue to act according to the instructions.

The restrictions on the public will be re-examined in an assessment of the situation that will take place in the morning.

Multiple Arab media outlets reported earlier on Sunday evening that the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization has agreed to a ceasefire with Israel.

The Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen televisions channel cited two sources who said that Islamic Jihad has accepted an Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire with Israel.

Muhammad al-Hindi, the chief of Islamic Jihad’s political department, said that the organization had agreed to the “formula” put forth by Egypt.

"A formula for the Egyptian declaration of the truce agreement was reached, including Egypt's commitment to work for the release of the two prisoners, al-Saadi and Awawda."

Al Jazeera also reported that the two sides have agreed to the ceasefire, with 11:30 p.m. set to mark the cessation of hostilities.

The deal is expected to be formally announced soon, ahead of the 11:30 p.m. ceasefire.

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid is set to convene a security briefing at IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, with Defense Minister Benny Gantz, army Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi, and other top security officials.

White House summons Chinese ambassador as crisis escalates

The fallout over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan escalated sharply Friday as China reacted angrily to having its ambassador summoned to the White House, said it would cancel or suspend dialogue with the United States on several issues and sanctioned Pelosi and her family.

After China responded to Pelosi’s visit by firing missiles into the waters around Taiwan, the White House responded Thursday by telling Ambassador Qin Gang that China’s recent military actions — including firing missiles into the waters around Taiwan — were “irresponsible and at odds with our long-standing goal of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said in a statement provided to The Washington Post.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking to reporters in Cambodia, delivered an equally sharp message to China. “There is no justification for this extreme, disproportionate, and escalatory military response,” he said, adding, “These provocative actions are a significant escalation. . . . They’ve taken dangerous acts to a new level.” (Read More)

Israel strikes and kills another top Islamic Jihad commander in Gaza

The Israel Defense Forces struck and killed a senior leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror group in the Gaza Strip on Saturday night, military officials said.

Khaled Mansour was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Palestinian city of Rafah, according to officials. The terror group confirmed his death in a statement on Sunday morning.

He was the southern Gaza counterpart of Tayseer Jabari, the terror group’s commander in northern Gaza, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Friday. (Read More)

580 rockets fired from Gaza since Friday; Iron Dome at 97% success rate

The Iron Dome missile defense system has achieved a 97 percent success rate intercepting incoming rockets, amid almost non-stop barrages launched by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group since Friday, the Israel Defense Forces said Sunday.

The Sunday morning IDF data put the number of rockets and mortars launched toward Israel since Friday evening at 580. Iron Dome, which is used when the incoming projectile is headed for populated areas, intercepted 200 of them.

In addition, 120 projectiles fell short and landed in the Gaza Strip. The interception rate marks an ongoing improvement since Iron Dome, first deployed in 2011, faced its first major test during the IDF’s Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012, when it managed to shoot down 75% of the incoming projectiles at which it was directed.

That rate rose to 80% success rate during Operation Protective Edge in 2014, and 90% during last year’s Operation Guardian of the Walls, the IDF said. (Read More)

Islamic Jihad expands rocket range, firing at Jerusalem and Beersheba

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror group on Sunday widened the range of its rocket attacks on Israel, launching several long-range rockets toward towns on the outskirts of Jerusalem, as well as the southern city of Beersheba.

As rocket attacks and Israeli strikes on the PIJ in Gaza continued, reports proliferated in the afternoon that a ceasefire was in the cards. AFP, citing an Egyptian source, said Israel had agreed to a truce.

An Israeli source, however, told the Ynet news site that talks were still ongoing. At around 8 a.m., rocket sirens sounded in several communities near Jerusalem for the first time since the Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Breaking Dawn against the terror group on Friday afternoon.

Several rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system near the capital, and there were no reported injuries in the attack. Later in the day, PIJ said it launched a “massive” rocket barrage at Tel Aviv and the southern city of Beersheba, in response to the death of a senior commander in an Israeli airstrike on Saturday night. (Read More)

Israeli strikes on Gaza aimed at Iran

Ignoring the direct ties between Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Iran will only lead to repeated escalations in the region, according to at least one top Israeli analyst.

Eytan Gilboa charged over the weekend that American officials refraining from condemning Iran for the current escalation, including more than 380 PIJ rockets aimed at Israeli civilians, “does not contribute to stability in the region.”

“What is missing here is Iran,” said Gilboa, director of the Center for International Communication and a senior research associate at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University. 

He told ALL ISRAEL NEWS that America, which named PIJ a terrorist organization in 1997, knows that Iran is not only behind the most recent threats by PIJ against Israeli civilians, but that PIJ is completely dependent on Iran for money, weapons and training. 

“The head of PIJ, general-secretary Ziad Nakhaleh, is in Iran now getting instructions from the ayatollahs,” Gilboa said. “What is missing is a severe condemnation of Iran… Those who ignore the connection between Iran and PIJ do not contribute to stability in the region.”

The United States has been largely silent since Operation Breaking Dawn began at around 4 p.m. Israel time on Friday when Israel assassinated senior PIJ commander Tayseer al-Jabari and a cell preparing to launch an anti-tank missile attack against Israel.

“The United States firmly believes that Israel has a right to protect itself,” tweeted U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides on Friday. (Read More)

IDF primed for the anti-Jihad operation in Gaza lasting a week – at least

Early Saturday, Aug. 6, IDF chief Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi spoke of Operation Sunrise lasting a week at least. In the last 15 hours of conflict, Israel air strikes wrecked scores of Palestinian Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza, while 130 PJR cross-border rockets were aimed at Israel. Iron Dome was recorded as intercepting 60 of the incoming rockets. A kibbutz cowshed was slightly damaged early Saturday in the Eshkol council abutting the Gaza border and one person suffered minor injury. Otherwise, targeted Israeli communities within an 80km radius, declared in emergency – including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem – were as yet free of damage and casualties from the flying rockets.

The PJR infrastructure destroyed in the Gaza Strip included six each of workshops for war material, weapons stores and observation posts.

Virtual lockdown continues in the locations around the Gaza border. Saturday morning, the Interior Ministry closed the beaches of Rishon Lezion, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Palmachim, Zikim and Nitzanim.

On the West Bank, Israeli forces rounded up another 20 terror suspects, 19 identified as PJR operatives.

DEBKAfile reported earlier:

Israel on Friday, Aug. 5, struck hard at the end of three days of inaction against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and the lockdown imposed on locations around the enclave. In “Operation Sunrise,” air strikes were launched against Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s Gaza positions. Israeli locations around the enclave were placed on “special status.” Civilians within a 80km radius from the Palestinian enclave, covering Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, were ordered to stay behind doors and in shelters in addition to thousands of residents who had been under lockdown for the past three days. Beersheba and Ashkelon municipalities have opened public shelters.

The first information released by the IDF on the operation reveals the deaths of  Jihad’s northern Gaza commander Taysar Jaabari and 15 terrorists, some operating anti-tank rocket units.

Jihad spokesmen responded quickly with a statement: “The enemy has initiated a war against our people. It is the duty of everyone to defend themselves and our people. We will not permit the enemy to carry forward is policy to get rid of the resistance.”