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Rabbi Pinchas Menachem Pashwazman was killed by a rocket in the city of Ashdod, the fourth person killed in the current round of fighting. When the siren went off, the deceased ran to a stairwell to take cover but was hit by shrapnel from the rocket. Rescuers who arrived at the scene attempted to revive him and evacuated him to the hospital, but he died of his wounds on arrival. The deceased, a young yeshiva student in his early twenties, was a Gur Hasid. He was born in Beit Shemesh to a father who serves as a teacher in the...

Israeli police seized a massive shipment of firecrackers, swords, tasers and other weapons at Ashdod port Thursday - a potentially deadly arsenal which was set to be delivered to Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem. Two containers intercepted by authorities at the southern port were packed with 18,000 fireworks, 5,200 commando knives, 5,500 tasers, 4,300 tasers concealed in flashlights, 1,000 swords and several thousand other "cold" weapons. The lethal cargo was hidden under a layer of Christmas decorations, and had been shipped in all the way from China. The weapons were in all likelihood destined to be used against police and Jewish...

An enemy Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), apparently laden with explosives, was shot down by the IDF near the port city of Ashdod Monday morning. The interception caused a strong explosion to rock Ashdod and the air raid sirens went off. The Navy is reportedly looking for remains of the UAV. The Air Force conducted a rehearsal in April for an event in which an enemy Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) infiltrates Israeli airspace. Both jet fighter and combat helicopter squadrons took part in the rehearsal, and practiced interception of a UAV near Israel's border, reported the Air Force website. The IAF...

The continued threat of economic boycotts targeting Israel hasn’t deterred China from forging ahead with a new freight rail link through Israel. The planned link could provide an alternative to the Suez Canal. The project would connect the 300-plus kilometers between Eilat on the Red Sea and Ashdod Port on the Mediterranean. And it could be the chance for China to gain a foothold in the region. …

Israel now is pumping natural gas from one of the enormous offshore fields which will transform Israel into an energy-independent nation and a global energy powerhouse: Natural gas from the offshore Tamar field was pumped to Israeli shores for the first time Saturday, four years after its discovery, in preparation for its first use in the Israeli energy market — a move that could transform the Israeli economy. The Tamar deposit, discovered in 2009 some 90 kilometers west of Haifa, holds an estimated 8.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. On Saturday, hailed an “important day for the Israeli economy”...

Archaeologists say they have discovered massive fortifications on the coast of Israel that may have protected an Assyrian artificial harbor during the Iron Age more than 2,700 years ago. Researchers from Tel Aviv University (TAU) unearthed the crescent-shaped structure in the Israeli city of Ashdod, just south of Tel Aviv. The impressive fortifications date back to the eighth century B.C. At their core is a mud-brick wall that measures more than 12 feet (3.6 meters) wide and 15 feet (4.5 m) high. This wall is covered in layers of mud and sand extending outward hundreds of feet. "The fortifications appear...

Israeli political officials have been taken aback by the rocket attacks from Gaza over the past few days, considering that the deal with Hamas for the release of Gilad Shalit has not been completed. Israel is supposed to release another 550 terrorists in the coming weeks, but some MKs have begun calling for that part of the Shalit deal to be cancelled if Hamas continues to allow rocket attacks on Israel. Attacks began last Wednesday, when a Grad Katyusha rocket was fired at Ashdod, setting off Red Color warning sirens throughout southern Israel, as far north as Rishon Lezion. The...

Terrorists from the Gaza Strip fired at least three Grad missiles at southern Israel early Friday morning. The Iron Dome missile interceptor was successfully employed against some of the Grads, but one missile, fired later in a second round of launchings, hit a synagogue in Ashdod at 8:15 a.m. Three were hurt moderately, but since the morning prayers had just finished, most congregants had left the bulding. One of the early morning missiles exploded in the vicinity of the city of Be’er Sheva. Two other missiles exploded near Ashdod. At that point, there were no reports of physical injuries or...

"Gaza flotilla: 2 dead, dozens injured in navy boarding." By JPOST.COM STAFF AND YAAKOV KATZ 05/31/2010 07:00 SNIPPET: "Passengers tried to wrest weapons from soldiers, Army Radio reports; Turkish leadership in emergency meeting to discuss response to attack at sea. Passengers tried to grab weapons away from soldiers boarding the Gaza protest flotilla, starting the violence, Army Radio reported Tuesday morning, responding to accusations that Israeli commandos assaulted the ships guns blazing."

IDF: Soldiers were met by well-planned lynch, concealed handguns. Armed Navy ships escorted boats from the Gaza protest flotilla to Ashdod on Monday afternoon, hours after IDF soldiers and activists clashed in a fatal raid. International activists aboard the ships opened fire on IDF soldiers who boarded the ships to prevent them from breaking the Israeli-imposed sea blockade, the IDF said Monday.

"Air Force strikes in Gaza" SNIPPET: "IDF retaliates for deadly Qassam attack: Air Force hits several Gaza targets, including metal foundry, smuggling tunnel; Vice PM Shalom says Israel to offer strong response to rocket attack that killed Thai worker Thursday" SNIPPET: "IDF aircraft struck at least four targets in the Gaza Strip on Friday, a day after a rocket fired from the Palestinian enclave killed a Thai worker in Israel, Hamas security officials and witnesses said." SNIPPET: "Israel also sent a letter of complaint to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who is due to visit Israel at the weekend,...

(IsraelNN.com) The cabinet has voted to accept a unilateral ceasefire in Gaza. Two ministers voted against the proposal and one abstained from voting.

(YNET NEWS.com) January 16, 2009 "THE GUARDIANS OF ISRAEL NEITHER SLUMBER NOR SLEEP" SNIPPET: "Israel and the US succeeded in preventing a United Nations announcement condemning the Jewish state for its strike on a UN compound in Gaza Thursday. The condemnation was proposed by Britain among other countries." SNIPPET: "Prime Minister Ehud Olmert apologized for the incident before UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, but stressed that IDF forces were attacked from the building before it was hit."

"HAMAS AND THEIR SYSTEMATIC VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAWS (NOT TO MENTION BASIC HUMAN DECENCY)" "Video follows"

Note: See map inlcuded on this report. Note: The following text is a quote: JANUARY 9, 2009...17:54 Captured Hamas Intelligence, 9 Jan 2009, 16:26 IST Jump to Comments Confiscated Intelligence Map from Hamas Hamas turn a Gaza neighborhood into a warzone. This map, confiscated Wednesday (Jan. 7) by IDF paratroopers operating in the north of Gaza, shows how Hamas uses an entire neighborhood, rigging it with explosive devices and putting the entire civilian population at great risk. The map shows the al-Tatraa neighborhood in Gaza City divided into three areas of operation (red, blue and green). The dots on the...

SNIPPET: "The fundamental truth is that Hamas' road to Iran runs through the international Muslim Brotherhood, and has for two decades. What is often missing in the discussion of the Muslim Brotherhood is that Hamas, according to its own founding charter, is an integral and armed part of the Ikwhan, not separate from it."

"THE BRIEF LIFE AND EXQUISITE MARTYRDOM OF A HAMAS MORTAR CREW" Snippet: "Via Hamas' al-Aqsa TV station, said to be filmed in Jabaliya on 06 January 2008. At about 1'15" the crew is hit by an apparent Israeli counter-strike."

Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/About+the+Ministry/Behind+the+Headlines/Ttragedy_school_Jebaliya_6-Jan-2009.htm Behind the Headlines: The tragedy at the school in Jebaliya 6 Jan 2009 An initial inquiry by forces on operating in the area of the incident indicates that a number of mortar shells were fired at IDF forces from within the Jebaliya school. In response to the incoming enemy fire, the forces returned mortar fire to the source. Preliminary Background Briefing Today, a reported 30 Palestinians were killed in a heartrending tragedy at a school in Jebaliya. Initial investigations indicate that Hamas terrorists fired mortar bombs from the area of the school...

Cheney stressed the US support for the Gaza operation, saying the rocket fire on Israel must stop.

"Summary of Overnight Events, 03 January 2009"