Latest on Hamas rockets into Israel

ESCALATION: 130+ ROCKETS FIRED AT ISRAEL SINCE MIDNIGHT. IDF CALLING UP 40,000 RESERVISTS FOR POSSIBLE INVASION OF GAZA. HERE ARE THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS. 

Please pray without ceasing.

By Joel C. Rosenberg

(Washington, D.C., July 8, 2014) -- The security situation in southern Israel is deteriorating rapidly. We need to be praying without ceasing. 

Last month, Palestinian extremists kidnapped and murdered three Israeli teenage boys. Then, a few days ago, Jewish extremists kidnapped and murdered an Arab teenage boy, apparently burning him alive. Meanwhile, Palestinian extremists in Gaza began firing rockets at Jewish and Arab civilians in southern Israel. 

• More than 220 rockets have been fired at Israel by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza since July 1st. 

• Since midnight, more than 130 rockets were fired at Israel. (Three have been fired just while I was writing this update.) 

• At one point, they were coming in at about one per minute. (fortunately, Israel’s “Iron Dome” system is shooting down many of them.) 

• The Israeli Air Force is striking Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza, and this morning Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government authorized “Operative Protective Edge” to ratchet up attacks on the terrorists in Gaza. The IDF is calling up 40,000 reservists for a possible massive ground invasion of Gaza. 

Please pray: 

• for the Lord to restore calm on the Israeli/Gaza border 

• for Palestinian leaders and security forces to move decisively to arrest those committing these war crimes, firing at innocent civilians 

• for Israeli leaders to have wisdom to know how best to protect their citizens (hopefully an invasion of Gaza won't be needed) 

• for safety for Israelis and Palestinians caught in the crossfire 

• for the Lord to comfort people on both sides, reveal His Word to them, and draw them to Himself 

This morning, Lynn and I learned about an app called “Red Alert.” We both installed it on our iPhones. It alerts us every time a rocket is fired at Israel. It also tells us what city or town is being targeted. We’re using it to pray for Israelis and Palestinians each time the alert goes off. It’s a free app, and you can get it on iTunes. You can find a link on the blog. I’d encourage you to download it and use it to pray every time the siren sounds. Please let other people know about this and encourage them to download the app and use it to pray.