Free Republic

"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,...

Iran was believed to have been receiving Russian help to develop a variant of the advanced S-300 surface-to-air missile. Western intelligence sources said Iran was contracting with Russia for the transfer of S-300 SAM technology. The sources said the technology and expertise provided by Russian engineers would enable Teheran to develop an S-300 variant while claiming that the system was indigenous. "Russia is under heavy U.S. and Israeli pressure not to export the S-300PMU1," a Western intelligence source said. "Instead, Moscow has quietly allowed Russian engineers connected to the S-300 program to work with Iran to develop a variant." The...