Free Republic

In response to the latest Israeli-Iranian hostilities, the head of Iran’s air force, Brig.-Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh, declared Monday: “We’re ready for the decisive war that will bring about Israel’s disappearance from the earth.” This statement echoes the message behind weeks of Iranian propaganda, accompanied by antisemitic symbols, predicting Israel’s imminent destruction. The latest hostilities started on January 20 with an attack on military targets in the Damascus region that Syrian media attributed to Israel. Iranian forces responded almost immediately by launching a rocket toward the Mount Hermon ski resort in the Golan Heights, crowded with civilians, yet the Iron Dome...

“The missiles, suspected to be Israeli, destroyed an arms warehouse near the Damascus International Airport,” Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. He had no immediate information on casualties. Israel has vowed to prevent Iran, which is a main backer of Syria’s government, from gaining a foothold in neighbouring war-torn Syria. Earlier this month, Israel acknowledged having carried out more than 200 strikes in Syria over the past 18 months, mainly against Iranian targets. It has also admitted to striking Syria to prevent what it says are deliveries of advanced weaponry to Lebanon’s Hezbollah, an armed movement backed by Iran...

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict, said three Israeli rockets had hit Syrian army outposts south of Damascus. Foreign reports attributing strikes against the Syrian regime to the IDF may only rarely elicit a military response, such as a barrage of rockets; however, they certainly result in a direct threat to Israel’s security systems.

Israel Radio reported this morning (Sunday) that the United States has apologized to Israel for disclosing that Israel was behind the strikes on Damascus two weeks ago. According to the report, the decision to disclose that Israel was behind the strikes was made at a low level in the Pentagon, and the US Department of Defense is investigating how that happened. According to the report, Israel believes that it is now facing much stronger threats from Bashar al-Assad as a result of the disclosure.

<p>Fresh strikes in Syria. Large explosions reported in Damascus and in northern Syria.</p>

Reports are coming out of Syria of multiple large explosions.

Israel bombed a warehouse in Syria overnight believed to contain chemical weapons.

The IDF fired warning shots into Syrian territory on Sunday after a mortar shell fired from Syria hit an IDF outpost in the Golan Heights. The incident follows a similar spillover from Syria on Thursday, when a shell from Syria exploded in Moshav Alonei Habashan. "Further attacks [from Syria] will illicit a vigorous response," the IDF Spokesman's Office stated. The military also sent a letter to the United Nations warning Syrian forces to be careful in avoiding fire into the Golan. Just hours earlier, Defense Minister Ehud Barak threatened that Israel would respond should stray Syrian ordnance continue to strike...

Classified documents obtained by the Al Arabiya network and released Thursday have revealed that the Syrian regime moved a chemical weapons stockpile with the help of Iran and knowledge of Russia. Furthermore, additional documents also reveal that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has also sought cross border cooperation with the State of Israel. The confidential files were acquired by Al Arabiya with the assistance of members of the Syrian opposition who refused to elaborate on how they got hold of the documents. Al Arabiya said it verified and authenticated hundreds of these documents and that it has decided to disclose the...

The Dark Time is a three-week period of fasting and mourning, marking the destruction of Israel’s First and Second Temples. The period, itself, is marked off by two fasts – opening on the 17th of Tammuz and concluding on the 9th of Av. This year, the Gregorian calendar dates for these events are July 3rd through July 24th. For Jews, it is a critical time, a low point in their annual calendar, when they expect that something dreadful might happen. Groping in the Darkness of the Dark Time: Olmert to Syria:"We would like to give back the Golan" Pray...