Brothers, my heart's desire and my prayer to God
is for Israel, that they may be saved. Rom. 10:1
Breaking headlines direct from Israel
General Prayer Concerns
The following news items are posted here as considerations for prayer to help you as you pray for Israel.
Rocket explodes in heart of Ashkelon
Air raid siren sounded in southern city after long period of calm, followed by loud explosions. Grad rocket fired from Gaza Strip hits populated area; eight people suffer shock, two empty floors of apartment building and several cars sustain damage
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
US and Israel fear Iran may be capable of a nuclear test this year
Shahram Amiri's voluntary repatriation to Iran and a second close look at the nuclear data he passed to the CIA are raising grave doubts about its value, debkafile's intelligence sources report. There is mounting suspicion in Washington and Jerusalem that Tehran employed the scientist to strew red herrings in their path, namely, out-of-date material for concealing and misdirecting their attention from the rapid progress taking place secretly in Iran's nuclear program.
Full story [DEBKAfile]
Police okay gay pride parade route to Knesset
Police backpedal, approve parade organizers' request to conclude march outside parliament
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
Gaza flotilla organizer: We'll sue Israel at ICJ
Audrey Bomse of Free Gaza movement says members collecting evidence, testimonies from passengers stopped by Israel on their way to Strip in order to make Jewish state 'pay the price for its crimes'. Civilians to file similar claim in Greek court
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
Shin Bet chief warns against lifting Gaza siege. Hamas has 5,000 missiles
debkafile's military sources report: The Shin Beit (internal security) director Yuval Diskin sternly warned Tuesday, June 15, that the steps embarked on by prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and defense minister Ehud Barak to ease the blockade on Gaza gravely imperiled Israel's security.
Full story [DEBKAfile]
Report: Saudis permit Israeli jets to pass over to Iran
London Times reports Saudis carry out defense missile tests aimed at allowing Israeli warplanes to pass through airspace on way to bomb nuclear facilities in Iran. 'We will let them through and see nothing,' says source
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
Syria has 1,000 ballistic missiles zeroed on Israeli targets
A colossal Iran-funded and directed armament program has enabled Syria to field 1,000 ballistic missiles and Hizballah 1,000 rockets - all pointed at specific Israeli military and civilian locations, including the densely populated conurbation around Tel Aviv, debkafile's military sources reveal. Syria has smuggled most of its stock of liquid-fuel powered ballistic missiles over to Hizballah in Lebanon, while its own production lines have been working day and night for five months to upgrade its stock solid fuel-propelled missiles, so improving their accuracy. North Korean military engineers and technicians are employed on those production lines.
Full story [DEBKAfile]
Official: US wants to build up Hezbollah moderates
White House adviser says Washington aims to diminish influence of hardliners within guerrilla group
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
Iran builds nuclear-capable cruise missile able to strike Israel from afar
"This is an extremely serious threat to Israel," Yair Shamir, chairman of Israel's Aerospace Industries warned in a lecture, naming the new weapon as the KH-55 cruise missile, based on a model Tehran received from Ukraine in 2006 and upgraded - together with an air-launched version.
Full story [DEBKAfile]
US sends Israel smart bombs to match Syrian missiles for Hizballah
The United States recently renewed supplies to the Israeli Air Force of GBU-28 Hard Target Penetrators and GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs, as well as Attack Munitions (LDJAM) for more accurate targeting of bombs, debkafile's military sources report. In Moscow, Israeli president Shimon Peres said to Russian president Dmitry Medvedev Sunday, May 9, that Syria has only one object in arming the Lebanese Hizballah with missiles and that is warmongering.
Full story [DEBKAfile]
Moscow markets cruise missile launched from a freight container
This relatively cheap, extra-smart, easy-to-use Club-K Container Missile System, which Moscow has put on the open market, allows cruise missiles concealed in freight containers to be launched from a prepositioned or moving land or sea platform. It is virtually undetectable by radar until activated. No wonder, Iran and Venezuela were keenly interested when the Club-K was put on the market at the Defense Services Asia exhibition in Malaysia this week for $15 million.
Full story [DEBKAfile]
Opinion: Our true friends
Dan Calic praises Christian Zionists for standing with us, supporting Israel
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
The "New Hizballah" built by Syria sparks ME summer war fear
DEBKAfile's military sources disclose that Syria has expanded the flow of smuggled Syrian and Iranian weaponry across the Lebanese border to Hizballah in line with a master-plan charted in Tehran and Damascus for transforming the 25,000-strong Hizballah terrorist militia into an organized, mobile army with a whole range of sophisticated missiles and other weapons. The new Hizballah is being trained to carry out such offensive operations as capturing parts of Israel's Galilee and equipped with the hardware for knocking out warplanes, warships and armored strength.
Full story [DEBKAfile]
New Syrian-supplied weapon enables Hizballah to shoot down Israeli aircraft
Syria has defied Israel's caution that handing over new strategic weapons to the Lebanese Hizballah would compel Israel to strike targets inside Syria. debkafile's military sources disclose that Damascus has just smuggled across the border a number of Russian-made IGLA-S surface-to-air missiles capable of intercepting low-flying F-16 warplanes, drones, helicopters, cruise missiles, transports and surveillance aircraft in all weather conditions, by day or night.
Full story [DEBKAfile]
EXCLUSIVE: US intelligence finds 5,000 Hizballah trained to seize Galilee towns
Jones was not talking out of the top of his head, but on the strength of solid US intelligence gathered over months on detailed war plans Iran, Syria, Hizballah and Hamas have drawn up to send five Hizballah brigades sweeping across the border to seize five sectors of Galilee, while also organizing a massive Israeli-Arab uprising against the Jewish state.
Hamas would open a second front in the south and in the east. Syria is expected to step in at some stage.
Full story [DEBKAfile]
'Russia confirms MiG-29M sale to Syria'
A Russian newspaper is reporting that Russia has a contract to provide Syria with powerful MiG fighter jets but has not begun delivering the planes.
Full story [Jerusalem Post]
Hizballah deploys chemical and biological weapons near Israeli border - Arab, European sources
The Kuwaiti daily Al-Siyassa reported Thursday, Sept. 3, that chemical weapons were stored in the hidden Hizballah arms warehouse which blew up at Hirbet Salim near the Israeli border in mid-July. Of the 11 Hizballah operatives killed in the blast, 3 died of chemical poisoning. Hizballah denied any members had been killed or even that it maintains a weapons store in breach of UN resolutions.
Full story [DEBKAfile]
Russia builds key naval HQ in Syria: Missile presence worries Israel
A high-ranking Russian navy source reported July 21 that the Soviet-era naval maintenance base near Tartus in Syria is to be expanded and modernized to become "fully operational." DEBKAfile's military sources report that Russian is building the facility up as its main sea base for operations in four seas: The Atlantic and Indian Oceans and the Mediterranean and Red Seas. The upgrade of Russian port facilities at Tartus, its only foothold in the Mediterranean, will automatically enhance Moscow's strategic interests in Syria and Bashar Assad's regime.
Full story [DEBKAfile]
PA still seeks Israel's demise, US-trained army could attack Jewish state
A top Palestinian Authority official admits the "two-state solution" is really just a means of bringing about Israel's collapse, and the American general training up the new PA army reveals those troops could turn on Israel.
Full story [israeltoday]
'Syria building chemical weapons plant'
Syria has been conducting extensive construction work on a chemical weapons facility in the country's northwest, satellite images obtained by the defense analyst group Jane's reveal.
Full story [Jerusalem Post]
Seized documents show Hamas funding Israeli Arabs
Documents seized during Israeli army raids on Hamas offices and Islamic charities linked to the terror group over the past year show that Hamas has been taking in so much money from abroad that it is now funding Israeli Arab Islamic groups.
Full story [israeltoday]
Opinion: Dialogue to nowhere
Elyakim Haetzni's meeting with Arab students convinces him conflict can't be resolved
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
Opinion: Wrong approach to peace
US, Israel ignore leading scholar's insights about Muslim attitude to peace deals
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
Pray
We do not know what God has in store for Israel in the short term. We can only pray that it will be for the eventual salvation of the Jewish people.
So continue to pray for Israel, for the Jewish people and for the peace of Jerusalem and may God bless you as you lift up His nation and people before Him.
Lift up the cause of the Messianic believers in Israel and pray that the Lord would grant them more freedom to express their faith in Messiah.
Would you like to be kept informed of the prayer needs of Israel, the Body of Messiah in Israel and the Jewish people? Then perhaps you would consider subscribing to the Intercessors prayer letter.