Humanitarian cease-fire derailed by rocket fire on Israel
(JNS.org) Sirens sounded in southern Israel on Friday morning, August 1, just two hours after the 72-hour humanitarian cease-fire agreed to by Israel and Hamas went into effect.
After the cease-fire collapsed and reports emerged that an Israeli soldier may have been kidnapped, heavy barrages of rockets pounded southern Israel.
A rocket fired at the Eshkol Regional Council at 10 a.m. exploded on the Gazan side of the Israel-Gaza border. Rockets were again fired, this time at Kerem Shalom, at 10:50 a.m., causing no injuries or damage, Israel Hayom reported.
On Thursday, Israel and Hamas had agreed to hold their fire for 72 hours starting at 8 a.m. Friday. Ahead of the cease-fire, Gaza terrorists barraged Israeli communities, firing rockets at the kibbutzim of Nahal Oz and Kissufim at 5 a.m., at the town of Ofakim around 6:30 a.m., and at the greater Ashdod area at 7:40 a.m. Another rocket was fired at the Eshkol Regional Council around 8 a.m.
Twenty rockets were fired from Gaza Strip at Israel over Thursday night.
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Israel fears IDF soldier kidnapped in southern Gaza
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) An Israeli soldier may have been kidnapped by Gaza terrorists, the Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson’s Unit said Friday.
According to the IDF, terrorists opened fire at an Israeli unit Friday morning in southern Gaza, and a soldier may have been kidnapped during the clash. Intense clashes between the IDF and terrorists in Gaza broke out just hours after a 72-hour cease-fire went into effect Friday. The IDF announced shortly after clashes erupted that the cease-fire was effectively over.
The IDF also lifted a gag order early on Friday revealing that five Israeli soldiers had been killed on Thursday evening when terrorists from Gaza fired a mortar at their position, bringing the total number of IDF soldiers killed since the start of Operation Protective Edge to 61.
The fallen soldiers were identified as Sgt. Maj. Daniel Marash, 22, from Rishon Lezion; Cpt. Omri Tal, 22, from Yehud; Staff Sgt. Shai Kushnir, 20, from Kiryat Motzkin; Staff Sgt. Noam Rozental, 20, from Meitar; and Cpt. Liran Adir, 31, from Moshav Azuz.
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Belgian doctor refuses to treat elderly Jewish patient, tells her to ‘go to Gaza’
(JNS.org) A Belgian doctor manning an emergency phone system refused to treat a 90-year-old Jewish woman who had suffered a rib fracture and was in need of urgent medical help, telling her to “go to Gaza” instead.
“I will not! Send her to Gaza for a few hours, then she will not feel pain anymore,” the doctor told the woman’s son, who had called the emergency hotline, the Belgian daily Joods Actueel reported.
According to the report, the doctor knew the patient was Jewish because of her name and her address in Antwerp, which has a large Jewish population, as well as the accent of her son.
When later confronted for his response by a family friend, the doctor said he was in a “fit of rage.” The woman’s grandson, Hershy Taffel, has filed a complaint of racism with police.
“This reminds me of what we underwent in Europe 70 years ago, I never thought that day would ever be repeated,” Taffel said his grandmother remarked after the phone call.
Along with the rest of Europe, Belgium has seen an increase in anti-Semitic incidents since the start of Operation Protective Edge.
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Obama administration blasts Israel for U.N. facility strike
(JNS.org) A White House spokesperson on Thursday blasted Israel for not doing enough to protect innocent civilians in Gaza after a shell hit a U.N. facility on Wednesday, resulting in 19 Palestinian deaths. The comments mark another possible sign of growing tension between Israel and President Barack Obama.
“The shelling of a U.N. facility that is housing innocent civilians who are fleeing violence is totally unacceptable and totally indefensible,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, Hamas terrorists near the school had fired on Israeli soldiers, forcing the troops to fire back at the target.
“Earlier this morning, militants fired mortar shells at [Israeli] soldiers from the vicinity of the UNRWA school in [the] Jabaliya [a refugee camp]. In response, soldiers fired towards the origins of fire, and we’re still reviewing the incident,” an IDF spokeswoman said on Wednesday.
Hamas terrorists have been repeatedly found operating in or near U.N. facilities and schools. This week saw the third discovery of Hamas rockets in a U.N. building since the current conflict began.
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CUFI runs ads in major daily papers to set record straight on Hamas terror
(JNS.org) Christians United For Israel (CUFI), which at 1.75 million members calls itself the largest pro-Israel organization in the U.S., has launched an advertising campaign seeking to set the record straight to the American public on Israel’s struggle against the terrorist group Hamas.
The full-page ad, which includes portions of Hamas’s covenant that calls on Muslims to fight Jews and “obliterate” Israel, ran Thursday in major American newspapers—including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times—and is scheduled to run in several other dailies on Friday.
“We decided to go provide a brief ‘Hamas 101’ and tell people the truth about the terrorists Israel is fighting,” David Brog, executive director of CUFI, told JNS.org. “Simply put, those who supported our troops when they battled Al-Qaeda should support Israel’s troops as they battle the Palestinian equivalent of Al-Qaeda, Hamas.”
The ad also encourages readers to email U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and call on him to stand with Israel in its battle with Hamas.
Kerry, who was in the Middle East last week in an attempt to broker a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, came under criticism for his purported willingness to accede to some of Hamas’s demands, which would serve to alienate not only Israel but also traditional Arab allies of the U.S. like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan.
The ad campaign follows CUFI’s 9th annual summit in Washington, DC, where nearly 5,000 supporters converged on the nation’s capital to hear speeches from pro-Israel experts and political leaders, and to lobby Congress to stand with Israel.
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Bolivia calls Israel ‘terrorist state,’ toughens entry for Israelis
(JNS.org) Bolivian President Evo Morales called Israel a “terrorist state” on Wednesday over the country’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza.
Additionally, Israelis will not be able to enter Bolivia without a visa, the South American country announced. Since 1972, Israelis had been able to travel freely to Bolivia. Now, visa applicants will be considered citizens of a “group 3” country, meaning their applications will be reviewed by the Bolivian National Migration Administration.
“Israel does not respect the principles or purposes of the United Nations charter nor the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” Morales said, the Bolivian newspaper Página Siete reported. Morales had already severed diplomatic relations with Israel in 2009.
Other South American countries such as Brazil, El Salvador, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru have recalled their ambassadors from Israel.
“Israel expresses its deep disappointment with the hasty decision of the governments of El Salvador, Peru, and Chile to recall their ambassadors for consultations. This step constitutes encouragement for Hamas, a group recognized as a terror organization by many countries around the world. … Israel expects countries that oppose terrorism to act responsibly and not to hand terrorists a prize,” Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said, according to Israel Hayom.
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32 countries ask U.N. to make Yom Kippur an official holiday
(JNS.org) Thirty-two countries signed a letter circulated Wednesday in the United Nations General Assembly that requests the recognition of Yom Kippur as an official U.N. holiday. The letter follows an Israeli government campaign on the issue that was launched in May.
The U.N. “recognizes the major festivals of many of the world’s main religions, yet Judaism is not represented,” states the letter to the U.N. General Assembly’s Committee on Conferences, TheAssociated Press reported.
“We believe that the United Nations calendar should reflect the organization’s founding principles of coexistence, justice, and mutual respect… We urge the United Nations to correct this inequity and recognize the holiest day of the Jewish faith,” the letter says.
The 32 ambassadors who signed the letter were from the U.S., Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Bahamas, Canada, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Dominica, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Micronesia, Monaco, Nauru, Nigeria, Palau, Panama, Philippines, Rwanda, Samoa, Seychelles, South Sudan, Suriname, Togo, Uruguay, and Vanuatu.
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