JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T
MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE
MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET
SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO
OTHER.
1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST
FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the
firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23
And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of
the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the
adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
WAR WITH IRAN - DAY 08 - Who is Mojtaba Khamenei, likely candidate to replace father as Iran’s supreme leader?
THE
NEXT US-ISRAEL HIT ON IRAN SHOULD BE VERSE 37. ALL OFFENSIVE NUKE SITES
MISSLES,DRONES,AND OF COURSE KHEMENI AND THE IRGC GUARDS.THEN AFTER
IRANS REGIME CHANGE. MUSLIMS COME TO JESUS BY THE MILLIONS.
JEREMEIAH 49:32-39 (IN IRAN AT THE BUSHEHR OR ARAK NUKE SITES AND ALL OFENSIVE WEAPONS DESTROYED IN IRAN)
Jeremiah 49:32-39
32
Their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a
spoil: and I will scatter to all winds those who have the corners [of
their hair] cut off; and I will bring their calamity from every side of
them, says Yahweh.
33 Hazor shall be a dwelling-place of jackals, a
desolation forever: no man shall dwell there, neither shall any son of
man sojourn therein.(Location & Size: It was strategically located
along the Via Maris (Way of the Sea), a major trade route connecting
Egypt with Syria and Mesopotamia.)
34 The word of Yahweh that came to
Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam,(IRAN) in the beginning of the
reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
35 Thus says Yahweh of
Hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam,(IRANS OFFENSIVE WEAPONS)
the chief of their might.(MISSLES AND NUKE SITES)
36 On Elam (IRAN)
will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of the sky, and will
scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation where
the outcasts of Elam shall not come.(SINCE 1979 IRANIANS HAVE GOTTIN OUT
OF IRAN BECAUSE OF KHEMENI AND HIS APOCOPOLIPTIC DEATH CULT
BELIEF-BLACK HATER 12ERS)
37 I will cause Elam (IRAN) to be dismayed
before their enemies, and before those who seek their life;(ISRAEL THE
LITTLE SATAN AND THE U.S THE BIG SATAN) and I will bring evil on them,
(MISSLES) even my fierce anger,(FIRE) says Yahweh; and I will send the
sword after them,(IRANS OFFENSIVE WEAPONS) until I have consumed them;
(DESTROYED THEM ALL NUKE SITES,MISSLES ETC)
38 and I will set my
throne in Elam,(IRAN WILL BECOME A CHRISTIAN NATION) and will destroy
from there king (KHEMENI, ISLAM) and princes, says Yahweh.(IRANIAN ARMY
GUARDS)
39 But it shall happen in the latter days, that I will bring
back the captivity of Elam,(IRAN) says Yahweh.(WERE IN THE LATTER DAYS
NOW)
JEREMEIAH 49:23-27
23 Concerning Damascus.(SYRIA) Hamath
is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are
fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea;(WAR SHIPS WITH NUKES COMING ON
SYRIA) it cannot be quiet.
24 Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth
herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have
taken her, as a woman in travail.
25 How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26
Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of
war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
27 And I
will kindle a fire (NUKES OR BOMBS) in the wall of Damascus, and it
shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.(ASSADS PALACES POSSIBLY IN
DAMASCUS)
Israel pounds Iran missile sites as Tehran fires back
repeated salvos, threatens Europe-More than 80 jets drop 230 bombs on
Iranian targets as Tehran fires additional missiles at Israel, expands
attacks across the Gulf and warns Europe nations against joining war By
Emanuel Fabian and AFP Today, 12:50 pm-MA7 7,26
Israel continued
its military campaign against Iran overnight Saturday, striking key
missile infrastructure, as Tehran launched repeated salvos of ballistic
missiles at Israel and issued new threats against European countries
that might join the war.As the war entered its second week, the Israel
Defense Forces said that more than 80 air force fighter jets carried out
a wave of strikes overnight on several Iranian military sites in Tehran
and central Iran, dropping around 230 bombs on the targets.Among the
targets was a subterranean site “for the storage and production of
ballistic missiles, from which hundreds of soldiers from the armed
forces of the Iranian terror regime operated,” the IDF said.The military
said the site “contained bunkers and military headquarters of regime
elements.”Additionally, the IDF said it struck another missile storage
site, which included bunkers and launch infrastructure, as well as Imam
Hossein University, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps military
academy, which the IDF says “served as an emergency asset and an
assembly complex for the IRGC,” including during the war.As the war
entered a new phase, the military said it was ramping up strikes on
Iran’s weapon production facilities across the country, including those
used to manufacture missiles and launchers.Earlier, footage posted to
social media showed strikes and large fires at Tehran’s Mehrabad
International Airport, after the Israeli military said it was carrying
out an “extensive” wave of strikes against regime targets in Iran’s
capital.Iran launches missiles at Israel-Even as Israeli strikes
intensified inside Iran, Tehran continued firing missiles toward Israel
overnight and into Saturday morning.Frequent launches throughout the
night triggered sirens in Jerusalem, Beersheba and northern Israel,
repeatedly sending millions of people scrambling for bomb shelters.At
around 6:20 a.m., the IDF said it detected the fifth launch of ballistic
missiles from Iran since midnight, triggering sirens in Tel Aviv and
other parts of central Israel.While the attacks came every few hours,
there were a relatively small number of missiles in each salvo and most
were intercepted. Medics said there were no reports of injuries
following the attacks, and there were no reports of missile
impacts.Short warnings-On Friday evening, several Iranian missile
barrages prompted sirens across central Israel, though the advance
warning time before the alarms sounded was shorter than in previous
attacks.A review of Home Front Command alerts showed that at 7:16 p.m.,
an early warning was issued for central Israel, with sirens sounding
three minutes later at 7:19 p.m. Another alert at 8:40 p.m. was followed
by sirens just one minute later, and a third warning at 9:54 p.m.
preceded sirens by about two minutes.Earlier attacks during the war had
typically provided civilians four to eight minutes of preparation
time.The IDF Home Front Command on Saturday morning clarified that the
shorter-than-usual early warnings issued for the Friday night attacks
were related to a variety of factors surrounding the detection of the
projectiles, rather than a technical issue.“The detection of barrages
and launches is influenced by a variety of operational factors, and
therefore it is not always possible to provide a long preparation time
between the advance notification and the sirens,” the military said in a
statement.“At times, the notification may be received relatively close
to the sirens. It is important to clarify that there are situations in
which sirens may be sounded without a prior advance notification,
depending on operational conditions,” the IDF said.The military said
that the Home Front Command “sends an advance notification to mobile
phones in the relevant areas as early as possible, as part of its public
warning policy.”The early alerts are issued based on the detection of
launches from Iran and the stage of flight the missile has reached,
meaning that in some cases, the warning may come only shortly before the
siren itself.Some unverified reports have attempted to tie the shorter
warnings to damage caused to US radars in the region in Iranian strikes;
however, this is highly unlikely.The radar systems were damaged days
ago, not on Friday night, and overnight attacks saw typical early
warnings of three to seven minutes before sirens sounded.Tehran presses
attacks on Gulf states-The conflict has also spilled across the Gulf
region, where Iran has targeted countries hosting US forces.On Saturday
morning, AFP journalists reported hearing two explosions in Dubai and
another blast in Bahrain’s capital Manama, where warning sirens sounded,
and authorities urged residents to seek shelter.A friend shared this
video of Dubai airport being hit by an Iranian drone a few minutes back.
Seems very close to the @Emirates plane Really scary situation ✈️#iran
#israel #dubai #us #war pic.twitter.com/8ICMtIM3kh — Tarun Shukla
(@shukla_tarun) March 7, 2026-Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, said it had
intercepted an Iranian missile fired at an airbase southeast of the
capital Riyadh. The nation also reported at least two drone attacks
earlier in the week that targeted the Ras Tanura refinery in the
east.Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman warned Iran against
further escalation.“We stressed that such actions undermine regional
security and stability and expressed hope that the Iranian side will
exercise wisdom and avoid miscalculation,” he wrote on X after meeting
Pakistan’s army chief to discuss the attacks.Iran’s warning to Europe-As
the conflict widens, Tehran has also issued direct warnings to European
governments.Iran’s deputy foreign minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said
any European Union member states that join the US and Israel in attacks
against Iran would become “legitimate targets” for Iranian
retaliation.“Any country that joins in the aggression against Iran,
joins America and Israel in the aggression against Iran, definitely,
they will also be legitimate targets for Iran retaliation,”
Takht-Ravanchi said in an interview with France 24.While some EU
countries, such as France, Greece and Italy, have sent warships towards
the Middle East and most EU top officials have condemned Iranian strikes
in the region, they have mostly called for an end to the conflict and
called for a diplomatic solution.German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said
on Friday that Berlin was working with partners to find an approach to
end the fighting with Iran, while saying his country shared the aims of
the US and Israel.US mulls future of war-In Washington, the White House
sought to reassure the public about America’s readiness as the war
entered its second week.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt
said the United States has sufficient weapons stockpiles to meet
operational needs related to the conflict in Iran.Her comments came as
US President Donald Trump prepared to meet with major defense
contractors alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in talks expected
to focus on expanding weapons production as the war continues.This came
as Trump has privately expressed interest in deploying ground forces to
Iran, according to NBC News.In a report citing several sources, the US
broadcaster said that Trump had raised the idea with White House aides
and Republican officials while laying out his vision for Iran after the
war, which he envisions will include cooperation between Tehran and
Washington on oil similar to the US and Venezuela.The sources cited in
the report said Trump hasn’t discussed a major ground offensive in
Iran, but instead a small group of US forces to carry out missions that
the report describes as having specific strategic purposes. The sources
add that Trump hasn’t yet made any decision on the matter.Meanwhile,
Trump said unconditional surrender in the American-Israeli war against
Iran could mean the total destruction of the Islamic Republic’s military
capabilities and not necessarily a formal capitulation by
Tehran.“Unconditional surrender could be that [the Iranians] announce
it. But it could also be when they can’t fight any longer because they
don’t have anyone or anything to fight with,” he told Axios.
‘Death
to America’ chanters, counter-protesters clash at NYC Khamenei
memorial-Demonstrators dub supreme leader’s death an ‘assassination by
US government forces’ as counter-protesters chant ‘terrorist’ and ‘Bibi,
thank you’ across a police barricade-By ToI Staff Today, 11:34 am-MAR
7,26
Protesters in New York City chanted “death to America, death
to Israel” in Farsi at a vigil honoring late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali
Khamenei in New York City on Friday night, shortly before clashes
erupted with counter-protesters, resulting in multiple arrests.The
86-year-old Iranian supreme leader was killed in Tehran on Saturday in
the initial joint US-Israeli airstrikes that started the war, with his
death confirmed by the Iranian government the following day.Protesters
set up images of Khamenei on a table alongside flowers and candles, with
signs reading, “Solidarity with Iran.” Other pictures included US civil
rights leader Malcolm X and George Floyd, and local media noted that
the display table also carried copies of the Quran and zines with titles
such as “Zionism and Racist Landlords” and “ICE & Friends.”The
event was billed as both a memorial for Khamenei — whose death was
dubbed by those present as an “assassination by US government forces” —
and for “all martyrs of Amerikan [sic] imperialism.”“We must live like
the ayatollah did, with his heart for his people, and we must die like
he did,” a speaker told the crowd.Meanwhile, Iranian counter-protesters
waved American and Israeli flags while chanting “USA,” “terrorist,” and
“Bibi, thank you” — using the nickname for Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu — from across a metal police barricade.According to reports,
clashes between demonstrators and counter-protesters occurred after a
man attacked another for attempting to pull down a poster of Khamenei.
Multiple people were taken into police custody.“Of course, we needed
external intervention to get rid of these terrorists from the whole
Middle East, and they have the power of oil behind them,” one pro-war
Iranian protester told local media.Now in its seventh day, the conflict —
codenamed Operation Epic Fury by the US and Lion’s Roar by Israel — the
US and Israel have battered Iran with strikes, targeting its military
capabilities, leadership and nuclear program.The stated goals and
timelines for the war have repeatedly shifted, as the US has at times
suggested it seeks to topple Iran’s government or elevate new leadership
from within.The fighting has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more
than 200 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to
officials in those countries. Six US troops have been killed.
White
House to press defense firms to boost production as Iran strikes drain
stockpiles-Sources say Lockheed Martin and Raytheon are focus of Trump
administration’s campaign to push companies to prioritize production
over shareholder payouts-By Mike Stone 6 March 2026, 1:32 pm
WASHINGTON
(Reuters) — The Trump administration plans to meet executives from the
biggest US defense contractors at the White House on Friday to discuss
accelerating weapons production, as the Pentagon works to replenish
supplies drawn down by US strikes on Iran and other recent military
operations, sources said.The meeting underscores the Trump
administration’s drive to shore up weapons stocks after the Iran
operation drew on munitions.Companies including Lockheed Martin and
Raytheon and parent RTX, along with key suppliers, have been invited to
attend the meeting, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of
anonymity because the plan is private.Pentagon negotiators have not been
able to reach terms with large defense contractors as quickly as they
would like, a US official told Reuters earlier this week.Lockheed and
the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
RTX declined to comment on the meeting.The administration has been
steadily ratcheting up pressure on defense contractors to prioritize
production over shareholder payouts. Trump signed an executive order in
January to identify contractors deemed to be underperforming on
contracts while distributing profits to shareholders.Since Russia
invaded Ukraine in 2022 and Israel’s military operations in Gaza, the US
has drawn down billions of dollars’ worth of weapons stockpiles,
including artillery systems, ammunition and anti-tank missiles.In a sign
of the preparations underway ahead of Friday’s gathering, Deputy
Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg held a call with select defense
contractors on Wednesday evening, a previously unreported development,
people familiar with the matter told Reuters, speaking on condition of
anonymity. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.At the center of the talks are deals with large contractors like
Lockheed Martin, two government sources and one industry executive
said.In January, the company reached a seven-year agreement with the
Pentagon to increase annual production capacity for its PAC-3 missile
interceptors to 2,000 units a year from about 600 previously. The
company has announced it expects to quadruple production of its Terminal
High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, missile interceptors to 400 per
year from 96.Demand for air defense systems such as the PAC‑3 has surged
among the United States and its allies amid heightened geopolitical
tensions and the conflict in Iran.The White House meeting also may
coincide with the release of a supplemental budget request of around $50
billion, which Reuters was first to report on Tuesday. The new money
would pay for replacing weapons used in recent conflicts, including
those in the Middle East. The figure is preliminary and could change
depending on the length of the operation.The supplemental request would
come on top of an additional $150 billion in defense spending included
in the Republicans’ sweeping “one big beautiful bill.”
ExplainerSanctioned
by US; fought in IRGC, which crushes protests-Who is Mojtaba Khamenei,
likely candidate to replace father as Iran’s supreme leader? Described
as ‘the power behind the robes,’ son of slain ayatollah was said to
serve as ‘principal gatekeeper’ to his late father; secretive figure has
never been elected By Jon Gambrell 6 March 2026, 10:22 am
DUBAI,
United Arab Emirates (AP) — Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of Iran’s late
supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has long been considered a
contender to the post of the country’s next paramount ruler, even before
an Israeli strike killed his father on Saturday and despite never
having been elected or appointed to a government position.A secretive
figure within the Islamic Republic, Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen
publicly since Saturday, when the Israeli airstrike targeting the
supreme leader’s offices killed his 86-year-old father. Also killed were
the younger Khamenei’s wife, Zahra Haddad Adel, who came from a family
long associated with the country’s theocracy.Khamenei is believed to
still be alive and likely has gone into hiding as American and Israeli
airstrikes continue to pound Iran, though state-run Iranian media have
not reported on his whereabouts.Mojtaba Khamenei’s name continues to
circulate as a possible candidate to replace his father, which had been
criticized in the past as potentially creating a theocratic version of
Iran’s former hereditary monarchy.But now with his father and wife
considered by hard-liners as martyrs in the war against the United
States and Israel, Khamenei’s stock likely has risen with the aging
clerics of the 88-seat Assembly of Experts, who will select the
country’s next supreme leader.Whoever becomes the leader will gain
control of an Iranian military now at war and a stockpile of highly
enriched uranium that could be used to build a nuclear weapon, should he
choose to decree it.Khamenei had occupied a similar role to that of
Ahmad Khomeini, a son of Iran’s first supreme leader, Ruhollah Khomeini,
which was “a combination of aide-de-camp, confidant, gatekeeper and
power broker,” according to United Against Nuclear Iran, a US-based
lobby.And US President Donald Trump may have indirectly boosted his
candidacy by criticizing Khamenei in an interview with news website
Axios on Thursday and insisting he be involved in selecting Iran’s next
leader.“They are wasting their time. Khamenei’s son is a lightweight. I
have to be involved in the appointment,” Trump said. “Khamenei’s son is
unacceptable to me,” Trump added. “We want someone who will bring
harmony and peace to Iran.”Born into dissent-Born in 1969 in the city of
Mashhad, some 10 years before the 1979 Islamic Revolution that would
sweep Iran, Khamenei grew up as his father agitated against Shah
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.An official biography on Ali Khamenei’s life
recounts one moment when the shah’s secret police, the SAVAK, broke into
their home and beat the cleric. Woken up after, Mojtaba and the rest of
Khamenei’s children were told their father was going on vacation.“But I
told them, ‘There is no need to lie.’ I told them the truth,” the elder
Khamenei was quoted as saying.After the fall of the Shah, Khamenei’s
family moved to Tehran, Iran’s capital. Khamenei would go on to fight in
the Iran-Iraq war with the Habib ibn Mazahir Battalion, a division of
Iran’s paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that would see
several of its members ascend to powerful intelligence positions within
the force, likely with the backing of the Khamenei family.His father
became the supreme leader in 1989, and soon Mojtaba Khamenei and his
family had access to the billions of dollars and business assets spread
across Iran’s many bonyads, or foundations, funded from state industries
and other wealth once held by the shah.Power rises with his father’sHis
own power rose alongside his father’s, working within his offices in
downtown Tehran. US diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks in the late
2000s began referring to the younger Khamenei as “the power behind the
robes.” One recounted an allegation that Khamenei actually tapped his
own father’s phone, served as his “principal gatekeeper” and had been
forming his own power base within the country.Khamenei “is widely viewed
within the regime as a capable and forceful leader and manager who may
someday succeed to at least a share of national leadership; his father
may also see him in that light,” a 2008 cable read, also noting his lack
of theological qualifications and age.“Mojtaba is, however, due to his
skills, wealth, and unmatched alliances, reportedly seen by several
regime insiders as a plausible candidate for shared leadership of Iran
upon his father’s demise, whether that demise is soon or years in the
future,” it said.Khamenei has worked closely with Iran’s IRGC —
designated a terrorist group by the US and EU — both with commanders of
its expeditionary Quds Force and its all-volunteer Basij that violently
suppressed nationwide protests in January, murdering thousands of
Iranians, the US Treasury has said.The United States sanctioned him in
2019 during Trump’s first term over working to “advance his father’s
destabilizing regional ambitions and oppressive domestic
objectives.”That includes allegations that Khamenei, from behind the
scenes, supported the election of hard-line president Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad in 2005 and his disputed re-election in 2009 that sparked
the Green Movement protests.Mahdi Karroubi, who was a presidential
candidate in 2005 and 2009, denounced Khamenei as “a master’s son” and
alleged he interfered in both votes. His father reportedly said at the
time that Khamenei was “a master himself, not a master’s son.”Powers of
the supreme leader at stake-There has been only one other transfer of
power in the office of the supreme leader of Iran, the paramount
decision-maker since the Islamic Revolution. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini
died at age 86 after being the figurehead of the revolution and leading
Iran through its eight-year war with Iraq.Now the new leader will come
on board after the 12-day war with Israel and as a US-Israeli war with
Iran is seeking to eliminate Iran’s nuclear threat and military power,
hoping also that the Iranian people will rise up against the Iranian
theocracy.The supreme leader is at the heart of Iran’s complex
power-sharing Shiite theocracy and has final say over all matters of
state. He also serves as the commander-in-chief of the country’s
military and the IRGC, which the United States designated as a terrorist
organization in 2019, and which his father empowered during his
rule.The IRGC, which has led the self-described “Axis of Resistance,” a
series of terror groups and allies across the Middle East meant to
counter the US and seeking to destroy Israel, also has extensive wealth
and holdings in Iran. It also controls the country’s ballistic missile
arsenal.
PROOF HALF ON EARTH DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD (8 BILLION ON EARTH)
REVELATION 6:7-8 (8 BILLION- 2 BILLION = 6 BILLION)
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8
And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that
sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given
unto them over the fourth part of the earth,(2 BILLION) to kill with
sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE
DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).
REVELATION 9:15,18 (6 BILLION - 2 BILLION = 4 BILLION)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,
18
By these three was the third part of men killed,(2 BILLION) by the
fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their
mouths.(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMBS)
HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
LUKE
17:34-37 (8 TOTAL BILLION - 4 BILLION DEAD IN TRIB = 4 BILLION TO JESUS
KINGDOM) (HALF DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD JUST LIKE THE
BIBLE SAYS)(GOD DOES NOT LIE)(AND NOTICE MOST DIE IN WAR AND
DISEASES-NOT COMETS-ASTEROIDS-QUAKES OR TSUNAMIS)
34 I tell you, in
that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken,(IN
WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other shall be left.(half earths population 4
billion die in the 7 yr trib)
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
37
And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto
them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered
together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against
Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten
by the birds).THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-NOT RAPTURE
SCRIPTURES.BECAUSE NOT HALF OF PEOPLE ON EARTH ARE CHRISTIANS.AND THE
CONTEXT IN LUKE 17 IS THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION OR 7 YR TREATY PERIOD.WHICH
IS JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH.NOT 50% RAPTURED TO HEAVEN.
MATTHEW 24:37-42 (THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-SURE NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38
For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe
entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
42 Watch therefore:(FOR THE LAST DAYS SIGNS HAPPENING) for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
'We’ve
been there, done that'From fortified ORs to popup clinics, Israel’s
medical centers streamline wartime operations-Using knowledge gleaned
the hard way during the Oct. 7 Hamas invasion and June war with Iran,
hospitals go underground amid incoming missile fire – and staff know the
drill-By Diana Bletter-Today, 7:24 am-MAR 7,26
Two days after
the deadly Iranian missile attack on Beit Shemesh that killed nine and
wounded dozens, Dr. Jonathan Lifshitz, a family doctor in the city’s
Mishlat General Clinic, traveled to Jerusalem to provide medical care to
his patients who were among the 780 people evacuated to two Jerusalem
hotels.On a hotel table covered with a tablecloth, Lifshitz connected
two computers, setting up a makeshift clinic, and got to work.“When I
learned that my patients were evacuated from their homes, it was clear
to me that I would reach out to them,” Lifshitz said in a statement.
“Beyond medical care, sometimes the mere encounter with a familiar
doctor gives a sense of security during such a turbulent time.”In
improved pop-up clinics, underground parking lots converted to wards and
fortified operating rooms, hospitals and health clinics around the
country are once again providing services under fire since the joint
US-Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28.Immediately after the
start of the war, the Health Ministry directed medical centers around
Israel to switch to emergency mode, moving intensive care patients and
operations to underground complexes or performing surgeries in protected
spaces.During the two years of war sparked by the bloody Hamas invasion
of October 7, 2023, Israeli medical centers provided care even as some
hospitals — such as Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon — sustained
rocket damage themselves.At Beersheba’s Soroka University Medical
Center, an Iranian ballistic missile slammed into the hospital’s
surgical ward during the 12-day war with Iran this past June, injuring
more than 80 people and wrecking eight operating rooms along with six
research laboratories.“This is something that no hospital in Israel or
the world has ever had to deal with,” said Soroka University Medical
Center director Prof. Shlomi Codish. “Soroka now operates at the highest
level of alert and continues to provide life-saving
medicine.”‘Implementing all the things we have learned’“We’ve been
there, done that,” was how Dr. Mira Maram, deputy director general at
Clalit Health Services put it, speaking to The Times of Israel by
telephone on Wednesday.Maram, who oversees 14 hospitals across the
country, said that after the war with Iran in June, which saw heavy
incoming ballistic missile fire, “We’re now implementing all the things
we learned.”“We learned exactly what kind of equipment we have to take,
what kind of beds we need to take and the distance needed between them,
how to handle infection control, and what other machines we need to
bring,” Maram said.Northern hospitals in ‘fortified facilities’Staff at
the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya, located less than 10 kilometers
(six miles) from the northern border, went into emergency mode soon
after the Health Ministry directive on February 28.In a race against the
clock, a hospital spokesperson said the staff moved everything
underground and into protected areas four hours faster than they did
immediately after the start of the October 7 onslaught.“All surgical
procedures, deliveries, and cardiac and neuro catheterizations are being
conducted in fortified facilities,” CEO/Director Prof. Masad Barhoum
told The Times of Israel.During the 14 months of conflict with Hezbollah
concurrent with the war in Gaza, Hezbollah fired thousands of rockets,
missiles, and drones into northern Israel in support of Hamas. Amid the
bombardments, hospital staff worked in underground, fortified rooms
without windows or fresh air.After the temporary ceasefire was signed
with Hezbollah in late November, the hospital began moving back to its
regular facilities.However, deputy director Dr. Tsvi Sheleg said at the
time, “It could happen again, and we’re still prepared to go
underground.”Since then, the hospital has expanded the inpatient
internal medicine capacity by 60 beds. It has also activated
semi-elective services within protected facilities, including oral and
maxillofacial surgery and other services.In Safed, Prof. Salman Zarka,
director of Ziv Medical Center, seven miles from the Lebanese border and
50 miles from the border with Syria, told The Times of Israel that
after the conflicts of the last few years, the hospital teams are
“accustomed to dealing with extreme situations,” such as the deadly
July, 2024, Hezbollah missile attack on the Druze town of Majdal Shams
in the Golan Heights, in which 12 children were killed and dozens
wounded.“Even in the most complex situation, such as a mass casualty
incident, civilians and soldiers are in the most skilled hands,” Zarka
said.After the June war, said Dr. Osnat Levtzion-Korach, the director of
Shamir Medical Center in central Israel, hospital staff “prepared a
heavy, thick booklet with the protocols” for transferring patients and
equipment to parking lots three to four stories underground.“It’s a
whole operation,” said Levtzion-Korach. “It’s huge, and it’s definitely
not easy.”She said that the staff “tweaked different things, but the
protocol that worked for us then worked very well this time.”Even before
the Health Ministry’s directive, Levtzion-Korach began preparations in
case a war with Iran broke out, and closed the underground parking lot
to be ready to receive patients.“It’s really unimaginable what we’ve
done here, but it’s a temporary solution,” she said. “The right solution
is to build departments that are protected so that the patient can stay
in their own bed. Having 200 patients in a parking lot is definitely
not ideal. There’s no privacy, there’s no infection control management.
Of course, it’s very safe, but it has many issues. Thankfully, all the
patients are very collaborative and cooperative, and you don’t hear any
complaints.”“I’ll probably get invited to conferences of CEOs of
hospitals to tell people how to deal with earthquakes or other
emergencies,” she quipped. “There’s much to learn from us, and we’ll
share the knowledge that we have here.”
Two UN peacekeepers from
Ghana critically hurt in Lebanon missile attack-Ghanaian military says
officers’ mess ‘burnt down completely’ after base was hit; UNIFIL
investigating source of fire, which Lebanese president blames on Israel
By AFP Today, 3:50 am-MAR 7,26
Three UN peacekeepers were wounded
when their base in southern Lebanon was hit on Friday, the UN force and
the Ghanaian military said, with Lebanon’s president accusing Israel of
targeting them.The attack came as Israel and Iran’s Lebanese proxy
Hezbollah exchanged fire after the Middle East war expanded into the
country on Monday.“Amid heavy firing this evening, three peacekeepers
were injured inside their base in… Qawzah” in southern Lebanon, the
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a
statement.“The most severely injured has been transferred to hospital in
Beirut for treatment.”Ghana’s military said that its UNIFIL battalion
headquarters came under “two missile attacks,” adding that “two soldiers
are critically injured, while one other has been traumatized.”“The
officers’ mess facility also got hit and has been burnt down
completely.”Neither UNIFIL nor the Ghanaian army specified the source of
the attack, but the international force said it would investigate the
circumstances of the incident.“It is unacceptable that peacekeepers
performing (UN) Security Council-mandated tasks are targeted,” it
added.In a statement, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned “Israeli
attacks on Lebanon,” adding that they had “even reached the point of a
direct assault on UNIFIL.”There was no immediate comment from the Israel
Defense Forces.French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the
“unacceptable attack” on UNIFIL after speaking with his Lebanese and
Syrian counterparts.“France is working with its partners to prevent the
conflict from spreading further in the region,” Macron said on X,
highlighting the “key stabilizing role” played by the UN force.He added
that France would remain “engaged” in UNIFIL, which includes around 700
French troops.In a post on X, the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon
Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said that she was “dismayed that our
colleagues have suffered injuries and wishing them a full
recovery.”UNIFIL has acted as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon for
decades and was assisting the Lebanese army while it was dismantling
Hezbollah infrastructure near the Israeli border after the last war
opposing the Iran-backed terror group and Israel in 2024.It plans to
withdraw all troops from Lebanon by mid-2027.Times of Israel staff
contributed to this report.
‘Knew they were next’: Hezbollah
rearmed for months after concluding war inevitable-Sources tell Reuters
that terror group relied on $50m monthly budget largely supplied by
Iran, its own weapons factories in Lebanon to ready for latest round of
fighting with IDF-By Reuters and ToI Staff Today, 2:56 am-MAR 7,26
Hezbollah
spent months restocking its arsenal of rockets and drones, using
support from Iran and its own weapons factories to prepare for a new war
with Israel, six sources familiar with the Lebanese terror group’s
preparations said.Down but not out after its devastating 2024 conflict
with Israel, Hezbollah had concluded that another round of fighting was
inevitable — and that this time, it could face an existential threat,
according to the sources.Reuters spoke to three Lebanese sources briefed
on Hezbollah’s activities, two foreign officials in Lebanon and an
Israel Defense Forces official, who all spoke on condition of anonymity
as they were not authorized to speak to the press.The details of
Hezbollah’s recent efforts to rearm have not been previously
reported.The head of Hezbollah’s media office, Youssef al-Zein, told
Reuters that Hezbollah would not comment on its military operations,
though he said the group had decided to “fight to the last
breath.”Founded by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in 1982,
Hezbollah launched rockets and drones at Israel on Monday to avenge the
death of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, pulling Lebanon into the
war raging across the Middle East.Although the decision caught some of
its own officials off guard, Hezbollah had been readying its military
stockpiles and its command-and-control structure for an eventual rematch
with Israel, the six sources said.To do so, it had drawn on a monthly
budget of $50 million, most of it from Iran and earmarked for fighters’
salaries, according to one of the Lebanese sources, who has been briefed
on the terror group’s finances and military activities. One of the
foreign officials confirmed the $50 million budget.It was not
immediately clear how long Hezbollah had been relying on that monthly
budget and how it compared to its previous financial resources.Hezbollah
has said funds from Iran helped finance rents for people displaced by
the 2024 war. Around 60,000 Lebanese, most of them from the Shi’ite
Muslim community from which Hezbollah draws its popular support,
remained displaced over the last year, with their homes still in
ruins.Hezbollah had also worked to replenish its drone and rocket
stashes through local manufacturing, the first Lebanese source, the
foreign officials and the IDF said. The IDF official said Hezbollah had
used Iranian funding both to smuggle arms and make its own weapons, but
added that its manufacturing capability had been diminished.The second
foreign official said the group had stationed new rockets and
Iranian-made logistical materials in southern Lebanon before the latest
war began.Hezbollah’s media office did not immediately respond to
questions on its rearmament and Iranian support for it.IDF spokesperson
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani told Reuters that Hezbollah “had a lot of arms
left” and was also seeking to rearm. “They were trying to smuggle and we
were preventing that,” Shoshani said.Pace of fire builds up-In 2024, a
punishing two-month war with Israel ended with a ceasefire brokered by
the United States. Hezbollah halted its attacks on Israel, which
continued strikes on what it said were Hezbollah’s efforts to rebuild
military capabilities in violation of the ceasefire deal.Israel also
kept troops in five hilltop positions in southern Lebanon.Last year,
Lebanon also began confiscating Hezbollah weapons in the country’s south
— but Israel said the terrorist organization was rearming faster than
it was being disarmed.Speaking to Reuters weeks before Hezbollah entered
the regional war, the first Lebanese source confirmed that the group
had been rebuilding its military capabilities “in parallel” with
Israel’s campaign to destroy them.The pace of Hezbollah’s attacks this
week provides clues about its weapons stocks.The group launched 60
drones and rockets on March 2, the first day it attacked Israel, and a
similar number the following day, said the second foreign official, who
tracks Hezbollah’s activities closely.But on March 4, Hezbollah launched
more than double that number of projectiles, a sign it had been able to
draw from its larger caches, the official said.ALMA, an Israeli think
tank that monitors security on Israel’s northern border, said it
assessed that Hezbollah’s arsenal on the eve of its attack included
approximately 25,000 rockets and missiles, most of them short- and
medium-range.A video published by Hezbollah on March 4 showed a fighter
setting up a drone in a wooded area. Riad Kahwaji, a Dubai-based defense
analyst and founder of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military
Analysis, identified the drone in the video as a Shahed-101, which he
told Reuters could be produced locally.Hezbollah expected a fight for
survival-Hezbollah has also dispatched fighters from its elite Radwan
force back to southern Lebanon, Reuters reported this week. They had
been withdrawn from the area after the 2024 conflict.Israeli strikes
after the 2024 ceasefire included the targeting of what Israel said were
Hezbollah training camps. In late February, the IDF said it struck
eight military compounds used by the Radwan force to store weapons and
prepare for a confrontation.The Israeli official and the first foreign
official said Hezbollah had been struggling to recruit new operatives as
a result.Hezbollah lost 5,000 operatives in the 2024 war, an
unprecedented blow to its fighting force, though the second Lebanese
source said it still had some 95,000 fighters left.In the lead-up to its
entry into the current regional war, Hezbollah had become convinced
Israel would carry out a major strike on the group that would seek to
“disable its ability to retaliate,” the first Lebanese source said.A
third foreign official familiar with Hezbollah’s thinking said that
assessment had driven the group’s decision to launch the first salvo,
fearing Israel would eventually turn its attention from Iran to
Hezbollah.“They knew they were next on the list,” the official said.
Israel
said bombing parts of western Iran to enable potential Kurdish
offensive-Sources tell Reuters of ‘long-term’ contacts, with Kurdish
militants poised to assault border territories and fight IRGC; senior
PDKI official says group ready to join fight-By Reuters, ToI Staff and
AFP 6 March 2026, 11:41 pm
Israel has been bombing parts of
western Iran to support Iranian Kurdish militias who hope to exploit the
US-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic to seize towns near the
frontier, three sources familiar with Israel’s talks with the factions
told Reuters Friday.The notion of an offensive by Iranian Kurdish forces
based in Iraq gained attention in recent days amid reports that
Washington was encouraging such action.US President Donald Trump told
Reuters on Friday it would be “wonderful” if they crossed the border.
Trump’s comments came after some reports had suggested that Iraqi
Kurdish groups had already crossed the border into Iran, though the
Iraqi government and the autonomous Kurdistan region denied the claims
and said that “Iraqi territory must not be used as a launching point for
attacks against neighboring countries.”A Kurdish insurgency could have
serious consequences for Iran as it defends itself against the
Israeli-American air campaign. The militias have consulted with the US
about how and whether to attack Iran’s security forces, Reuters has
reported.Israel has been holding its own talks with Iranian Kurdish
insurgent groups based in the semi-autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan
for around a year, two Iranian Kurdish sources said, while an Israeli
source said talks had been “long-term.”The two Iranian Kurdish sources
have direct knowledge of the armed dissident groups and the source from
Israel has direct knowledge of its engagement with them. All spoke on
condition of anonymity.Israel’s government and military did not
immediately respond to requests for comment, and Israel has not
commented publicly on such engagement during the current war.An initial
goal of the Kurdish factions would be seizing Iranian territory along
the border, the three sources said. One of the Kurdish sources said
their aim was to seize the towns of Oshnavieh and Piranshahr, among
others.These sources said thousands of fighters were gathering on the
Iraqi side of the border and preparing to launch an offensive within a
week, something Reuters was not able to confirm.Independent estimates
put the militias’ combined strength at 5,000-8,000.They possess only
light arms, according to the Kurdish sources. But while they might not
have the firepower to mount a significant bid for self-rule, with US and
Israeli help, they could cause trouble on the border.The Israeli source
said Israel did not expect them to be able to overthrow the Iranian
government, but that backing them could erode Iran’s control over its
hinterlands and distract its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.Five
long-standing Iranian dissident groups announced an alliance just at the
end of last month.It includes the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), the
Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), and the Kurdistan Freedom
Party (PAK), which have all participated in insurgencies and maintain
fighters in Iraq.It is not clear that they will get any support from
their ethnic brethren in Iraq, however. Iraqi Kurdistan’s political
leadership has publicly denied any plan to send fighters or get involved
in Iran, despite reports of outside pressure to do so.The Israeli
source cautioned that there was pushback from the Iraqi Kurds, and
without their practical support, it would be hard for the Iranian Kurds
to mobilize. Trump’s lack of clarity on how long the war could last had
also led to hesitancy.Iran has been attacking Kurdish armed groups
inside Iraq, along with US bases in the area, and on Friday warned Iraqi
Kurdistan that it would retaliate against any deployment of hostile
forces on the frontier.Kurdish militant says group ready to join
fight-In an interview with Channel 12 published Friday, senior PDKI
official Mohammad Saleh Qadri said that his group was ready and waiting
to enter Iran from Iraq and begin seizing territory from the Iranian
government.In the first interview of its kind with Israeli media, the
Iranian Kurdish official, who is currently based in Iraq, said: “This is
a historic moment for the destruction of the regime. History has given
us the responsibility to act immediately in defense of our people, for
the redemption of Iranian Kurdistan — we will begin to act as soon as
possible.”“Our request to Israel, Europe and the United States is to
give us guarantees for the national and ethnic rights of our people. We
do not want to replace this regime with another dictatorial regime,” he
said.“We must remember that for the past 47 years, the Kurds have been
victims of the ideology that has taken over Iran. Fifty thousand Kurds
have been killed in the years of our struggle,” Qadri told the Israeli
outlet. “Our struggle is for the self-determination of the Kurdish
people in Iranian Kurdistan.”“Our struggle is to destroy the ideology of
the Iranian regime, and to create an Iran that will not have conflict
with any country in the region or any of its neighbors,” he said.When
asked if his organization is ready to join the fight against Iran, he
said: “Yes. The Kurdish forces in Iran are currently preparing and are
waiting for the coalition’s decision to immediately begin operations
against Iran.”“Our largest force is already in Iran,” he claimed.Kurds
providing target intel to US and Israel-The three sources speaking to
Reuters said Kurds within Iran had been providing targeting intelligence
on the border areas to the US and Israel.Israeli analyst Jonathan Spyer
said Israel was seeking to “destroy the regime by any means available,”
but Danny Citrinowicz, an Iran expert and former Israeli intelligence
officer, said an insurgency in Iran did not have broad support among
Iraqi and Iranian Kurds.“I think they’re all waiting to see if the
regime will hold on or not,” he said.Turkish and Iraqi officials,
neither keen to support separatism among an ethnic group spread across
parts of Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Iran, have also expressed reservations
about any insurgency in Iran.Citrinowicz said supporting an uprising
might backfire on the US and Israel by fanning nationalism.Israel has
maintained discreet military, intelligence and business ties with
various Kurdish groups since the 1960s, viewing them as a buffer against
shared adversaries.The two Kurdish sources said the factions were in
closer coordination with the US than with Israel, but that any
cross-border offensive would require air support from both.One of those
sources said they had not yet received weapons, but would request air
defense systems, drones, small arms, and artillery support.Kurdish
groups have a long history of working with the US, but recent incidents
have strained ties.One of the Iranian Kurdish sources said Kurdish
leaders had concerns about being “betrayed” like the Kurdish groups in
northern Syria, who had been forced to cede territory after long serving
as the primary US partner in the area.The source said Iranian Kurdish
leaders had requested guarantees from the US, without saying what they
were.Both Iranian Kurdish sources said the factions’ goal would be to
establish a semi-autonomous region in a federal Iran, similar to the
model in Iraq.
Azerbaijan says it foiled Iranian terror attacks
on synagogue, Israeli embassy-Authorities say at least 7 Azerbaijani
nationals detained; plot also said to include targeting Jewish community
leaders, attack on pipeline servicing Israeli oil imports-By AFP and
ToI Staff 6 March 2026, 10:59 pm
BAKU — Azerbaijan said on Friday
it had foiled a series of Iranian terror attacks on its territory,
including against the Israeli embassy in Baku, a synagogue and Jewish
community leaders.Israel has warned of “concrete threats” of Iranian
attacks on Israeli civilians and missions around the world, and security
for Jewish sites has been upped in many countries amid the war, due to
the potential of Iranian-led terror. Azerbaijan has a Jewish population
generally estimated at some 7,000-10,000.The Azeri accusation came a day
after Baku accused Iran of firing drones at an Azerbaijani border
region, an incident that has sparked fears of the Middle East war
spilling over into the Caucasus.In a video statement, Azerbaijan’s state
security service said it had “prevented terrorist acts and intelligence
operations in Azerbaijan organized by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps (IRGC).”Also among the planned targets was the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which runs through neighboring Georgia and
Turkey and carries around a third of Israel’s oil imports, it said.At
least seven Azerbaijani nationals have been detained in connection with
the probe, it said.Iran made no immediate public comment on Azerbaijan’s
accusations.The United States and Israel began strikes against Iran on
Saturday, killing its supreme leader and sparking retaliatory attacks
across the Gulf.The war, now in its seventh day, has embroiled nations
beyond the region and upended the world’s energy and transport
sectors.Azerbaijan said on Friday it was withdrawing diplomatic staff
from Iran.“The process applies to both the embassy in Tehran and the
consulate in Tabriz,” Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said.Thursday’s
attacks involved at least four drones that crossed from Iran into
Azerbaijan’s exclave of Nakhchivan bordering Iran.One hit the airport
and another exploded near a school, Baku said. Four people were
wounded.Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev accused Iran of “terrorism”
and threatened retaliation.The general staff of Iran’s armed forces said
it had not carried out the attack and pointed the finger at Israel.Iran
has long expressed concern that Israel — a close ally of Azerbaijan and
a key arms supplier — could use Azerbaijani territory to stage attacks
on it. In June 2025, Azerbaijan reassured Tehran that it would not allow
such use of its territory after Israel launched a large-scale strike on
Iranian targets. Tehran has historically been wary of separatist
sentiment among its ethnic Azerbaijani minority, which makes up around
10 million of Iran’s 83 million citizens.
Israel boosts security
for missions, tourists abroad amid ‘concrete threats’ during Iran
war-Shin Bet and Foreign Ministry announce ‘overt and covert security
measures’ to protect Israelis, with emphasis on Middle East, Europe and
Africa By Nava Freiberg and ToI Staff 6 March 2026, 9:02 pm
The
Shin Bet and Foreign Ministry announced moves on Friday to reinforce
security for Israeli civilians and diplomatic missions around the world,
amid increased threats due to the ongoing US-Israeli campaign against
Iran.“In light of concrete threats against Israeli targets and Israeli
missions around the world, the Shin Bet, in cooperation with the Foreign
Ministry, has recently increased the operational readiness of security
teams through specialized activities carried out in close coordination
with local security forces around Israeli targets abroad,” read a joint
statement.The efforts “include enhancing rapid-response procedures,
emergency evacuation capabilities and cooperation with local security
authorities at Israeli missions worldwide, with particular emphasis on
the Middle East, Europe and Africa,” the statement continued.Both “overt
and covert security measures” were taken to strengthen security around
Israeli diplomatic missions, diplomats, official delegations and
aviation-related targets, as well as in areas where Israelis gather
abroad, the statement added.The statement did not specify the nature of
the threats or the details of the measures taken to combat them.Days
ago, Israel conducted a covert extraction of part of its embassy staff
in the United Arab Emirates after two Iranian terror plots targeting the
diplomatic team were foiled, an Israeli official told The Times of
Israel.The Foreign Ministry confirmed the evacuation, stating that “in
light of concrete threats against Israeli missions in the UAE, and at
the request of security authorities, non-essential staff were evacuated
from the United Arab Emirates.”A senior Israeli official told Channel 12
news that the attacks were part of “a specific effort to hunt the
Israeli diplomats” and “were already underway.”Thousands of Israelis
remain in the UAE, including tourists whose flights were canceled,
Israeli residents and Israelis holding foreign citizenship, many of whom
were said to be seeking immediate assistance from Emirati and Israeli
authorities to exit the country amid the heightened tensions with
Iran.Israel reopened its skies for repatriation flights Thursday, and is
ramping up the number of planes allowed every day in order to bring
Israelis home.The National Security Council has issued a travel warning
in light of a “concrete concern that terrorist elements are currently
working to harm Israelis abroad.”Since the war began, there have been
“several attempts” to carry out terrorist attacks against Israelis
abroad, all of which have been foiled, the NSC added, telling Israelis
to avoid flying through the UAE; to avoid public displays of Jewish or
Israeli symbols; and to avoid synagogues and other Jewish sites.
Army
chief says Israel 'crushing the Iranian terror regime'IDF says it
destroyed Khamenei’s bunker, being used by top brass; Trump demands
unconditional surrender-Rubio said to tell Arab states war to last
‘several more weeks’; Israeli official says it’s going ‘much better than
expected’By Emanuel Fabian,Jacob Magid,Lazar Berman,ToI Staff and
Agencies 6 March 2026, 9:01 pmUpdated: Today, 2:08 am-MAR 7,26
A
massive Israeli strike Friday morning destroyed the underground Tehran
bunker of Iran’s late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, which was being used
by senior regime officials, the IDF announced, as the US-Israeli bombing
campaign against the Islamic Republic continued into its seventh
day.Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said the assault would not let
up until Iran announced its unconditional surrender. And IDF Chief of
Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said Israel was “crushing the Iranian terror
regime, and will seize every opportunity to deepen our achievements.”In
the opening strike of the war, the IDF struck and killed Khamenei while
he was at his compound, but not in the bunker buried deep
underground.According to the military, Friday saw some 50 Israeli Air
Force fighter jets drop around 100 bombs on the bunker, completely
destroying it.The bunker was located under the “leadership complex” in
Tehran. Its rooms and tunnels were spread across multiple streets and
included “many entry points and rooms for gatherings of senior members
of the Iranian terror regime,” the army said. “The underground bunker
was built beneath the [leadership] compound and was a secure emergency
asset for managing the war by the leader, who was eliminated before he
managed to use it.”The military added that “the compound continued to be
used by senior members of the Iranian regime” even after the killing of
Khamenei days ago.The results of the strike were not yet clear, and the
military did not immediately name the officials targeted.The Military
Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 8200 and Unit 9900 — which are tasked
with signal and visual intelligence, respectively — mapped out the site
over a years-long effort, enabling Friday’s “precise” strike, according
to the IDF.The IDF has struck sites at Iran’s leadership complex in
Tehran several times amid the conflict.The first attack of the war
killed Khamenei at the complex. Another strike on a nearby building
killed eight top Iranian officials, according to the military. On
Tuesday, the IDF said it hit several sites at the complex, including
Iran’s presidential bureau and the headquarters of Iran’s Supreme
National Security.Witnesses in Tehran described Friday’s airstrikes as
particularly intense, shaking homes in the area. Others reported
explosions around the Iranian city of Kermanshah in an area that is home
to multiple missile bases.Hours later, the IDF said it carried out
another strike in Tehran, this time targeting “a senior Iranian terror
regime commander.”According to Israeli security sources, the target of
the strike was Asghar Hijazi, acting chief of staff of the supreme
leader’s office.The IDF said that further details on the strike would be
provided later. Hijazi’s state was not yet known.Hijazi was close to
Khamenei and was a key figure in the Islamic Republic’s senior
leadership structure.“For years, he has been considered one of the most
influential figures in the supreme leader’s office,” said Raz Zimmt,
Director of the Iran and Shiite Axis Program at the Institute for
National Security Studies think tank. He added that Hijazi was “far more
than just the chief of staff,” as he “served as Khamenei’s
representative in sensitive political and security
consultations.”#Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson says that the #IDF
attacked a senior commander of the #Islamic Republic Regime in #Tehran
minutes ago#IranWar#BREAKING-????????❌???????? Israeli sources reports
that the Senior Iranian Commander is actually Seyyed Asghar Hijazi, the
Deputy Chief of… pic.twitter.com/mhxNkVnRvE — Mahalaxmi Ramanathan
(@MahalaxmiRaman) March 6, 2026-In all, the IDF said it hit over 400
Iranian military targets in western Iran on Friday, including ballistic
missile launchers and warehouses containing drones.The army said it
estimated that Iran still has 100-200 remaining ballistic missile
launchers, after destroying over 300 of them so far in the current war.
It is continuing to “hunt down” launchers to “reduce as much as possible
the scope of fire towards Israel,” the military added.According to the
military, the Air Force has dropped over 6,500 bombs in Iran since the
start of the war. In all, IAF fighter jets have carried out 2,500
sorties and 150 separate waves of strikes, the IDF said.The military
said it was now increasing strikes targeting Iranian regime sites in
Tehran, as well as against Iran’s weapon production facilities across
the country — including those used to manufacture missiles and launchers
— as it moves into a new phase of the war.Trump: No deal without
unconditional surrender-Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said Friday
that “some countries” had begun seeking to mediate an end to the war.
But shortly afterward, Trump declared that there would be no agreement
with Tehran without a complete surrender.“There will be no deal with
Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” he said in a Truth Social
post.“After [Iran’s unconditional surrender], and the selection of a
GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very
brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from
the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better and
stronger than ever before,” Trump wrote.“IRAN WILL HAVE A GREAT FUTURE,”
he declared.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later told Fox
News that what Trump meant by unconditional surrender “is when he — as
commander-in-chief of the US military and the leader of the free world —
determines that Iran can no longer pose a threat to the United
States.”Speaking later with Axios, Trump said unconditional surrender
could mean the total destruction of the Islamic Republic’s military
capabilities and not necessarily a former capitulation by
Iran.“Unconditional surrender could be that [the Iranians] announce it.
But it could also be when they can’t fight any longer because they don’t
have anyone or anything to fight with,” he said.The remarks raised
fresh questions over the Trump administration’s assertions that regime
change is not one of the goals of the war. The US president said several
times on Thursday that he wanted a role in the selection of the
country’s next leader.Pezeshkian, in his announcement that some
countries have begun mediation efforts to end the war, stressed that any
talks must first address those who started the war.“Some countries have
begun mediation efforts,” he said. “Let’s be clear: We are committed to
lasting peace in the region, yet we have no hesitation in defending our
nation’s dignity and sovereignty.“Mediation should address those who
underestimated the Iranian people and ignited this conflict,” the
Iranian president said in a post on X.Rubio said to tell Arabs war will
last ‘several more weeks’According to a Friday report in Axios citing
unnamed sources, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Arab foreign
ministers in a series of phone calls Thursday that the war with Iran is
expected to last several more weeks.Rubio told the ministers that the US
is focused on targeting Iran’s missile launchers, stockpiles and
manufacturing sites, Axios said. The secretary tried to explain that the
goal of the war is not regime change, even though he acknowledged that
the US wants different people running Iran.Rubio said there is currently
no dialogue with the regime, as such contact at this stage would
undermine military objectives, Axios added.While Iran has targeted
Israel and the US military with its retaliatory missile and drone
strikes, it has also launched hundreds of ballistic missiles and
thousands of drones at the Arab states in the Gulf, targeting energy
infrastructure and civilian sites as well as US bases in the region, in
an apparent bid to press Arab leaders to lobby for an end to the war.On
Friday, Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry said its military intercepted
and destroyed a cruise missile near the central Al-Kharj area.Iranian
strikes also targeted Iraq on Friday, with an Iraqi security official
saying that four drones struck Basra airport and two oil facilities in
the south of the country.“One drone crashed into the cargo terminal at
Basra airport,” the official said, adding that two others hit a US
company in the Burjesia oil complex, and a fourth struck the Rumaila oil
field, where energy giant BP operates.Amid the strikes, Kuwait has
begun cutting production at some oil fields after running out of room to
store its bottled-up crude, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday,
citing people familiar with the matter.The country, which is a founding
member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC),
is discussing limiting its production and refining capacity further, to
just what it needs to cover domestic consumption, WSJ said.Additionally,
Qatari Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi told the Financial Times that he
expects all Gulf energy producers to shut down exports within weeks if
the Iran conflict continues and drives oil to $150 a barrel.Qatar halted
its production of liquefied natural gas on Monday, as Iran continued to
strike Gulf countries in retaliation for Israeli and US attacks. The
country’s LNG production is responsible for about 20 percent of global
supply and plays a major role in balancing both Asian and European
markets’ demand for the fuel.“If this war continues for a few weeks, GDP
growth around the world will be impacted,” Kaabi said. “Everybody’s
energy price is going to go higher. There will be shortages of some
products and there will be a chain reaction of factories that cannot
supply.”Kaabi said that even if the war ended immediately, it would take
Qatar “weeks to months” to return to a normal cycle of deliveries.
Analysts and economists have highlighted the potential impact of the war
on economies globally.Senior Israeli official says war going ‘much
better than expected’While Iran has not stopped launching missiles and
drones across the region, the Israeli military said Friday that the
frequency has decreased significantly, estimating that the number of
ballistic missiles launched from Iran at Israel has slowed to around 20
per day in recent days.On the first day of the war on Saturday, some 90
ballistic missiles were fired toward Israel. The following day, Sunday,
the number dropped to around 60.On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and
Thursday, roughly 20 missiles were fired each day in multiple salvos,
each consisting of a small number of projectiles.Iran has launched
dozens more ballistic missiles at other countries in the Middle East
during the conflict. In total, Iranian media claims about 500 ballistic
missiles have been fired.CENTCOM chief Adm. Brad Cooper said Thursday
that Iran’s ballistic missile attacks have decreased by 90% since the
first day of the war.
s Iran seems to be slowing its missile and
drone campaign, a senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel
Friday that the Israeli-US campaign against Iran is “proceeding much
better than expected.”“Nobody could have expected such smooth
execution,” said the official. “With such payloads being dropped, and
such a complex level of coordination required — no one could have
anticipated such success so soon.”The official stressed that there is
still much to be done, “but the achievements are epic.”
Russia
said supplying Iran with intel, as Ukraine military drone experts
expected in Gulf-Moscow said providing Tehran with information on US
military assets; Kyiv called in to assist US and its allies thanks to
expertise after years of war-By ToI Staff and AFP 6 March 2026, 7:07 pm
The
Washington Post reported Friday that Russia has been assisting Iran in
its war with the US and Israel by providing intelligence on the
locations of American military assets in the Middle East. The report
cited US officials familiar with the details.Meanwhile, Ukrainian
military personnel are expected to arrive in the Gulf soon to help
countries there fend off Iranian drone attacks, a senior Ukrainian
official told AFP Friday.Since the US and Israel launched their opening
attack on Iran on Saturday, Russia has given Iran the locations of
several US military assets, the sources said, including warships and
aircraft.The Washington Post report noted that the extent to which
Russia is able to provide accurate information to Iran is unclear,
although one of the sources said it appeared to be “a pretty
comprehensive effort” on Moscow’s part.The White House downplayed the
report. “It clearly is not making a difference with respect to the
military operations in Iran because we are completely decimating them,”
House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.“We are achieving
the military objectives of this operation and that is going to
continue,” Leavitt said.Iran has launched numerous attacks on US assets
in the region in retaliation for the American-Israeli campaign.CNN
reported Friday that satellite imagery shows several US radar sites in
the region have been hit in recent days, impeding air defense
capabilities, including one servicing a THAAD defense battery in Jordan
and several radar systems in the United Arab Emirates. The New York
Times reported on seven US radar and communication sites hit across the
region.Iranian drones and missiles have been pummelling Israel and the
Gulf since the outbreak of war on Saturday.Six US service members were
killed in a drone attack on a US base in Kuwait on Sunday and the CIA
station in Riyadh has also been hit.“The Russians are more than aware of
the assistance that we’re giving the Ukrainians,” one source told The
Post. “I think they were very happy to try to get some payback.”At the
same time, officials assessed that Russia’s focus remains firmly on
Ukraine, and that it will not devote significant resources to
Iran.Russia and Iran have long enjoyed close ties, and in January 2025,
the two countries signed a strategic partnership agreement to further
improve cooperation, including military and defense partnerships.Earlier
this week, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Russia was “not
really a factor” in the fighting with Iran.President Volodymyr Zelensky
said on Thursday that the United States had appealed for help from Kyiv
in downing Iranian drones, due to their expertise in defending against
those threats over the years of the war with Russia.Russia has deployed
thousands of the Iranian-designed Shahed drones against Ukrainian cities
and critical infrastructure, including energy facilities.“The arrival
of Ukrainian military personnel in the Persian Gulf is expected in the
near future,” the source told AFP, cautioning that talks were still
underway to “determine how to make this happen” and that “right now
everything is being decided.”Kyiv has developed a range of cheap and
effective drone interceptors — aerial craft designed to hit incoming
attack drones mid-air.Zelensky has said that in return for Ukrainian
anti-drone help, Gulf countries could provide Kyiv with missiles for air
defense systems that were supplied to Ukraine by Western countries.He
has also suggested that Gulf countries with open ties to the Kremlin
could pressure Russia to halt its war in Ukraine in return for Ukrainian
military support.“We need missiles for Patriots, funding for weapons
production for our defense, and diplomatic support to end the war here,”
the source told AFP.“Depending on our partners’ capabilities, we
determine what it can be,” the source added, referring to what Ukraine
could receive in return.A top manager from the Ukrainian defense sector
separately told AFP that there was “a lot of interest” in Ukrainian
anti-drone warfare from “private and public channels” in Gulf
countries.“It’s not only about the products or gadgets, it’s also about
complex solutions that consist with gadgets, solutions, teams,” said the
manager, who asked not to be named to speak on sensitive military
issues.That source said that requests had come from Saudi Arabia, Qatar,
and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the United States.“It gives us
a lot of geopolitical power. It gives us a chair near these big
geopolitical powers, so it’s very important for us and for our country,”
the defense sector source said.The source added that solutions could be
provided from “a couple days to a couple weeks.”
AnalysisDo
clear goals in Iran campaign matter? They won’t specify it in their war
aims, but both Israel and US want Iran regime change-Netanyahu has been
more consistent in defining goals of campaign than the White House, but
Israel might once again dazzle on the battlefield while disappointing
strategicallyBy Lazar Berman-6 March 2026, 3:58 pm
Much of the
unease about the US-Israeli campaign against Iran — especially among its
backers — centers on the aims of the operation.Some are concerned about
the scope of the goals, especially as pertaining to regime change.
“Trump talks regime change in Iran after strikes, but history shows that
could be very hard,” read an Associated Press headline on Sunday.Others
argue that US President Donald Trump has “shifting Iran strategies.”The
unease, and the ambiguity, shouldn’t come as a surprise. Americans on
both sides of the political spectrum are now averse to anything even
faintly resembling the costly nation-building wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks, and they are less than enthused to
see US forces back once again in the Middle East fighting in a major
conflict.There is reason for concern about war aims on the Israeli side
as well. Israel fought a series of undecisive campaigns whose goals were
not at all clear in the decades before the October 7, 2023, Hamas
attacks that set off the ongoing conflicts between Israel and the
Iranian axis.In the Gaza war against Hamas, the feasibility of and
motivations behind Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s stated war aims
are the topic of intense debate.Both the US and Israel have been
somewhat vague at times when laying out war aims during the current
campaign, but Israel has been more consistent than its ally. Still, they
both seem to want regime change, but won’t state it as an explicit aim,
likely because both countries know that, ultimately, the decision to
topple the regime doesn’t lie in their hands.‘Creating conditions’ for
regime change-Speaking to The Times of Israel on Thursday, a senior
Israeli official made clear that Jerusalem wants to see the regime in
Iran replaced, but that it won’t be the one to do so.“The goal is to
remove the existential threat posed by the ayatollah regime,” said the
official. “That can best be done by removing the regime. It could also
help open the door for the Iranian people to grasp this generational
opportunity to set their own destiny. I doubt the Iranian people want to
replace one ayatollah with another ayatollah.”That approach has been
extremely consistent throughout the first week of the war in comments
from a range of Israeli officials.On Wednesday, in the only press
briefing offered by the government thus far, PMO spokeswoman Shosh
Bedrosian gave a similar account of Netanyahu’s war aims, which she
presented as “removing the existential threat against the United States,
Israel, Europe and countries in the Middle East.”As Israel has
throughout, she stressed the threat from Iran’s nuclear and ballistic
missile capabilities.And she also gave the formula that Israel has been
using to underscore its desire to see regime change without assuming the
responsibility for making it happen: “We are creating the conditions
for the Iranian people to take charge of their own destiny.”Netanyahu
has set the tone by expressing Israel’s desire to see new rulers in
Tehran, while not stating goals that the country cannot see realized“It
is up to the people of Iran to change their government,” he stressed in a
Tuesday interview with Fox News. And in the opening hours of the
campaign, Netanyahu said that “the time has come for all parts of the
Iranian people — the Persians, Kurds, Azeris, Baloch and Ahwazis — to
cast off the yoke of tyranny and bring freedom and peace-loving values
to Iran.”Mixed messages-US Vice President JD Vance insisted that
Operation Epic Fury wouldn’t drag out for years because the US has a
clear goal. “There’s just no way that Donald Trump is going to allow
this country to get into a multiyear conflict with no clear end in sight
and no clear objective,” Vance asserted.“He’s defined the objective as:
Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and has to commit long-term to never
trying to rebuild their nuclear capability,” the vice president said,
offering the narrowest definition of the US war aim.But US officials
have offered mixed messages on whether regime change is the goal.On
Saturday, in a video message announcing the operation, Trump said the
operation was designed to “prevent this very wicked, radical
dictatorship from threatening America and our core national security
interests.”He promised to stop Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions, but
also pledged to obliterate Iran’s missile industry and deal with its
armed proxy network — three core Israeli concerns.Then he called on
Iranians to “take over your government” once all those goals have been
achieved. On the second day of the war, Trump followed up with that
plea, urging Iranians to “seize this moment, to be brave, be bold, be
heroic and take back your country.”The very next day, White House Press
Secretary Karoline Leavitt — undoubtedly with Trump’s blessing — laid
out the clearest explication of the US war aims, but, unlike her boss,
did not allude to regime change in any way.Also Monday, US Defense
Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed back on the notion that the Trump
administration is getting engaged in another entrenched Mideast
conflict: “This is not a so-called regime change war, but the regime
sure did change, and the world is better off for it.”US Secretary of
State Marco Rubio gave a similar version of the war aims, while adding,
“We hope that the Iranian people can overthrow this government.”Still,
it seems that Trump and his team have given thought to who it wants to
run Iran next, even if the same regime would remain in place.“We’d like
to see somebody in there that’s going to bring it back for the people,”
Trump said Tuesday in response to a question from a reporter. “Most of
the people we had in mind are dead. Now we have another group. They may
be dead also, based on reports.”And of the frontrunner to succeed the
killed supreme leader Ali Khamenei, his son Mortaja, Trump said
Thursday, Khamenei’s son is a lightweight… unacceptable to me. We want
someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran.”Given that it is a
powerful but undoubtedly junior partner in the Iran war, Israel has to
keep a close eye on how US leaders are defining what they want to
achieve in the campaign.“I can imagine it’s a challenge for Israeli
policymakers,” said military historian and former Israeli ambassador in
Washington Michael Oren, “because there has been so much fluidity on the
American side.”Do clear war goals matter? At their essence, war aims
define what the government wants to achieve within the bounds of what it
believes its military can accomplish.But, especially in a democracy
like Israel, there is always an eye on public opinion when declaring the
goals of a military campaign — how voters will react to what is
achieved in a conflict when compared with what was promised. In
particular, when Israel is facing an election year.Goals of a war can
also shift as new opportunities present themselves during the fight, and
other possibilities dissipate.There are also undeclared aims, either to
keep them secret from the public, the enemy, or the world, or to avoid
firmly committing to those goals. For instance, Israel’s conventional
wars against Arab armies have had very specific aims of removing urgent
military threats and improving deterrence, alongside the ever-present
unstated goal of convincing Arab neighbors to give up their dreams of
destroying Israel and to normalize relations.Still, some argue that
Israel has long avoided laying out clear war aims.“The state has had no
clearly defined war aims in any of its wars since 1956,” insisted
Israeli strategist Tzvi Lanir in a 1987 interview, arguing that prime
minister David Ben-Gurion understood after the Sinai campaign that
Israel could never force its neighbors to make peace by winning wars.
Instead, Israel just tried to win on the battlefield and buy a few years
of quiet.In its wars, many argue, Israel displays tactical and
technological brilliance, but struggles to lay out and achieve clear
strategic goals.Israel has especially struggled in that regard in its
wars against non-state actors over the last 40 years.Writing in 2019, 12
years after Hamas took over the Gaza Strip by force, retired senior IDF
officer Gur Laish argued that “Israel has no solution it is attempting
to achieve in Gaza. Israel declares that it is interested in a change of
regime in Gaza, replacing Hamas, but Israel has no strategy for
achieving this long-term goal.”“Instead Israel follows only short-term
goals,” he wrote, “maintaining its security, while attempting to prevent
a humanitarian crisis in Gaza by providing it with a measured level of
funding and basic supplies.”“It’s not so clear at what point you can
truly force the other side to wave a white flag, to ask for a
ceasefire,” said Eitan Shamir, director of the Begin-Sadat Center for
Strategic Studies.“Until the 1980s, it was clearer. Since then, it’s
become more complicated to define. We know the debates within Israeli
leadership [about] the [2006] Second Lebanon War, [2008-9] Operation
Cast Lead, [2014] Protective Edge — in all those cases, there really was
some confusion or hesitation about the right objectives to set. And we
also see the difficulty now, even in the Gaza war.”Israel’s security
approach changed dramatically after the Hamas invasion on October 7,
2023, and Netanyahu laid out clearly defined goals for that war.That
hasn’t guaranteed success. Israel has brought all its hostages home, but
has not achieved the other two stated aims — disarming Hamas and ending
its rule of Gaza.Netanyahu’s approach in both Gaza and Iran, said Oren,
is to focus on defeating the enemy first, then moving to examining what
post-war order is possible.In Iran, Israel faces the risk of falling
back into its familiar pattern — using technological wizardry, tactical
excellence, and a fair dose of bravado to rack up almost unimaginable
achievements on the battlefield, but to find itself facing the same
threats, or even growing dangers, again and again.Not everyone is
worried about that happening against Iran.“Is it necessary to have a
day-after scenario here?” Oren asked. “The bomb doesn’t care. The target
of the bomb doesn’t care. Maybe it helps you politically a little bit.
The important thing is to kill as many of these people as they can,
degrade as much of the regime’s capabilities as you can, and then we see
what happens.”Even if you don’t bring down the regime, concurred
Shamir, “you basically put it on its knees.”“Everything it built and
invested money in over the past almost 25 years, you’re destroying. And
then it’s a new game in town,” he continued, “because we’re talking
about a Middle East with a very, very weak Iran, economically in
shambles, exhausted, broken, crushed.”“True, there’s a scenario of a
rebound,” he allowed, “but it’s not very likely, and in any case, you’ve
changed the entire regional balance in the Middle East. Iran won’t be a
threat for a very long time, at least — and that’s the worst case.”“In
the best case, we’ll have regime change.”
UN: 'Massive
displacement orders' spark legal concern-Five soldiers seriously wounded
by Hezbollah rocket as Air Force pounds Beirut-3 more, including
minister’s son, lightly hurt as projectile hits near border; dozens of
IRGC officers said to flee Lebanese capital; campaign set to last after
Iran war ends, officials sayBy Emanuel Fabian and Agencies 6 March 2026,
4:58 pm
Eight Israeli soldiers were wounded, five of them
seriously, in a Hezbollah rocket attack in northern Israel on Friday,
the military said.The rocket struck an army position near the Lebanon
border. An alert sounded in the area, though the soldiers did not manage
to seek shelter in time, according to a preliminary probe by the Israel
Defense Forces.The troops, who all serve with the Givati Brigade, were
taken to a hospital for treatment. Five were listed in serious condition
and three were lightly hurt, the army said.Among those lightly injured
by the rocket strike was the son of Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich,
the minister’s office said.The Israeli Air Force launched airstrikes in
Beirut overnight and throughout Friday, as officers from Iran’s
Revolutionary Guards reportedly fled the Lebanese capital amid Israel’s
attacks.According to the IDF, overnight strikes hit 10 multi-story
buildings that were being used by the terror group in Beirut’s southern
suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold known as the Dahiyeh.The buildings,
including a drone warehouse and the headquarters of Hezbollah’s
executive council, “were intended to be used by Hezbollah to advance and
carry out numerous attacks against IDF troops and the State of Israel,”
the military said in a statement.A wave of strikes in the afternoon in
the Dahiyeh struck a headquarters of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps, as well as several Hezbollah sites.According to the IDF, the
headquarters served the IRGC air force. In addition, the military said
it struck three Hezbollah headquarters — of the terror group’s naval
force, executive council, and financial division.The IDF strikes in
Beirut were preceded by a mass evacuation order for residents in all
four major neighborhoods of the Dahiyeh. Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf
Salam warned Friday that the displacement risked a “humanitarian
disaster.” The UN said Israel’s blanket evacuation orders raised
“serious concern” under international law. Israel says the evacuations
are meant to prevent harm to civilians as it targets terror
infrastructure.The IDF also issued evacuation orders in Hezbollah
strongholds in southern Lebanon and in the country’s eastern Beqaa
Valley.Hezbollah, for its part, issued its own evacuation warning for
Israeli towns near the border with Lebanon on Friday, apparently in a
sardonic rejoinder to Israel’s Dahiyeh evacuation order. Israel has said
it is not evacuating northern Israeli towns, and instead has launched a
ground and air offensive aimed at pushing Hezbollah away from the
border.And unlike the hundreds of thousands who have answered Israel’s
call to leave in Lebanon, there is little evidence of mass departures
from northern Israel, despite a rise in rocket attacks from
Lebanon.Meanwhile, Lebanese state media reported Friday that Israel
struck a building on a main thoroughfare in the southern coastal city of
Sidon with no prior warning. The IDF has not commented on the
reports.An AFP photographer said the strike targeted the 10th floor of
an office building near two shelters for displaced people. According to
Lebanon’s Health Ministry, at least five people were killed and seven
others wounded.At least 123 people have been killed and 683 wounded in
Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon after Hezbollah waded into the regional
conflict earlier this week, according to the ministry, which does not
distinguish between civilians and combatants.IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen.
Effie Defrin said Friday that the military has killed more than 70
Hezbollah operatives in strikes in Lebanon since Hezbollah joined the
fray.According to the IDF, since Hezbollah attacked Israel on Monday,
the military has struck over 500 targets in Lebanon, including 170
rocket launchers. On Friday alone, over 100 targets were struck, the
army said.Israel has also sent troops deeper into Lebanon following the
renewed Hezbollah attacks. At least five IDF soldiers have been wounded
fighting inside Lebanon, including an officer who was seriously wounded,
according to the military.In an assessment with senior IDF officers on
Friday, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel would defeat Hezbollah
“one way or another” and that no resident of northern Israel should have
to evacuate.“No resident of the north should have to leave or move from
their land and communities, and our mission is to ensure and guarantee
their safety and security,” said Katz, according to his office. “The IDF
has reinforced troops inside enemy territory and has now significantly
expanded to additional positions.”“We will do this until Hezbollah is
defeated, one way or another,” he added.Among those killed in Israel’s
strikes in Lebanon since Monday are Iranian officials and senior
officers in Iran-backed terror groups, according to the military, Arabic
media reports, and the organizations themselves.Citing senior Israeli
defense officials and a third source with knowledge of the matter, Axios
reported overnight that dozens of IRGC officers had fled Lebanon in the
past two days over fears they could be targeted by Israel.According to
the news site, most of the fleeing officers are from the Quds Force, the
IRGC’s extraterritorial branch, who serve as military advisers for
Hezbollah and hold significant sway over its operations.“We expect the
IRGC exodus from Lebanon to continue over the next several days,” one of
the Israeli defense officials was quoted as saying.The report added
that a small group of Iranian officers was expected to remain in Lebanon
to maintain the Quds Force’s presence and liaise with Hezbollah.Lebanon
campaign expected to continue after Iran war-Overnight Sunday-Monday,
Hezbollah launched its first rocket barrage at Israel since the November
2024 Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire agreement, which had ended over a year
of conflict initiated by the terror group.Following Hezbollah’s renewed
attacks, the IDF has struck over 500 targets in Lebanon, according to
the military. The targets have included top Hezbollah commanders,
members of the group’s elite Radwan Force, rocket launchers, command
centers and weapon depots, as well as members of other terror groups and
their infrastructure, the IDF said Friday.Israel had regularly struck
Lebanon following the 2024 agreement, accusing Hezbollah of ceasefire
violations, and continued to hold on to five border posts inside
Lebanon, citing security needs. It has now expanded beyond those
points.The Lebanese government, which seeks to disarm Hezbollah, has
slammed its renewed attacks on Israel, accusing the terror group of
dragging Lebanon into a regional war.Hezbollah has portrayed its renewed
attacks as a response to “15 months of hostilities” by Israel, while
also describing the attacks as a retaliation for the killing of Iran’s
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at the start of the US-Israeli bombing
campaign, which seeks to destroy Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile
capabilities and potentially lead to regime change.Speaking with
Reuters, a source briefed on Israel’s military strategy described the
Iranian and Lebanese fronts as separate, and said Israel’s attacks on
Hezbollah would likely continue after the US-Israeli bombing campaign
ends.Israel would not tolerate threats to northern Israeli towns and
villages, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.Two
senior Lebanese security officials and a foreign security official based
in Lebanon said they also expected Israel to pursue military operations
in Lebanon even once the broader conflict with Iran came to a
close.“This is about ending Hezbollah once and for all,” one of the
Lebanese security officials said.All three officials said a long-term
Israeli military occupation of the entire border strip of southern
Lebanon was likely.Lebanese, UN officials warn of humanitarian
disaster-The IDF said Friday that it estimates some 420,000 Lebanese
civilians had evacuated their homes in southern Lebanon, and that tens
of thousands more had evacuated Beirut’s Dahiyeh, following Israel’s
evacuation warnings.Salam, the Lebanese premier, warned on Friday that
“a humanitarian disaster is looming” as a result of Israel’s evacuation
orders and appealed to the international community to help stop Israel’s
attacks and spare Lebanon’s infrastructure.“The humanitarian and
political consequences of this displacement could be unprecedented,”
Salam told foreign ambassadors.He criticized both Israel and Hezbollah
over the crisis, saying that the Lebanese state and people “did not
choose this war.”UN human rights chief Volker Turk accused Israel on
Friday of issuing “blanket, massive displacement orders.”“We are talking
here about hundreds of thousands of people,” said Turk at a press
conference in Geneva. “This raises serious concern under international
humanitarian law, and in particular when it comes to issues around
forced transfer.”Imran Riza, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon,
told Reuters on Friday that about 100,000 displaced Lebanese were
staying in shelters and the number of displaced is expected to rapidly
increase following Israel’s “unprecedented” evacuation warnings.The
100,000 people were gathered in “some 477 collective shelters,” said
Riza, adding that “there are some 57 shelters that still have some
space, but basically the capacity is being reached very, very
quickly.”“What we saw in the last couple of days is, I would say …
unprecedented in terms of the scale here in Lebanon of the warnings, the
displacement orders, and the reaction, the panic also, that this has
all created,” said Riza.“We had people moving all over the place and not
knowing where to go to. So yes, I think we’re going to have an
increased number quite quickly,” he said.He noted that more than a
million people were uprooted in Lebanon during the previous
Israel-Hezbollah war, 75-80% of whom were not in shelters. “This time
again, the majority will not be in shelters probably,” he said.Times of
Israel staff contributed to this report.
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And
there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in the
moon,(MAN ON THE MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the
stars;(ASTEROIDS-PROPHECY SIGNS) and upon the earth distress of nations,
with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE
WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for
fear,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things
which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION-HEAVENLY OBJECTS) for the
powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)
6 dead
in apparent tornadoes in Michigan and Oklahoma-More than 7 million
people were at the highest risk of severe weather Friday in areas
including Kansas City, Missouri; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Omaha,
Nebraska.Updated March 7, 2026, 12:29 AM EST / Source: The Associated
Press
Six people are dead following unconfirmed tornadoes in
Michigan and Oklahoma on Friday, authorities said.Powerful storms have
ripped across Michigan, tearing the roof off a home improvement store,
sending parts of a storage building flying and knocking down trees as
tornado warnings were issued across the southern part of the state.The
Branch County Sheriff’s Office said there were 12 reported injuries and
three deaths after a tornado appeared to have hit the Union Lake area
which is about 125 miles west of Detroit.In Cass County, about 170 miles
west of Detroit, Sheriff Clint Roach confirmed one storm-related
fatality and said several people were injured, according to a statement
from county spokesperson Ambrosia Neldon.And in Oklahoma, Okmulgee
County Sheriff Eddy Rice said a suspected tornado claimed the lives of
two people from the same family. Details were unavailable.'It's lifting
houses'In St. Joseph County, Michigan, next to the Indiana border, the
sheriff’s office told residents to “seek shelter immediately” following
reports of an unconfirmed tornado, a severe thunderstorm watch and
possible winds more than 60 mph.“Citizens should anticipate power
outages, closed roadways and/or neighborhoods and cellular/internet
interruptions,” the office said on Facebook.At her home near Union City,
Lisa Piper can be heard repeatedly yelling out, “Oh my God,” as she
films from her back deck a ferocious rotating column of air that appears
to be a tornado tear through an section of buildings across the lake
from her. As its size grows, pulling large pieces of debris into the
air, she says, “It’s lifting houses.”“Oh my heart is pounding,” she says
in the video. “Oh, I hope they’re OK.”The state activated its Emergency
Operations Center as officials responded to serious wind damage and
reports of injuries in multiple southwest Michigan counties.In
Edwardsburg, Michigan, area, near the Indiana border, officials reported
downed trees and several homes that had been heavily damaged, and
warned residents to avoid the area.Powerful storms were forming Friday
afternoon in Michigan and all the way to North Texas. There were no
immediate confirmed reports of a tornado on the ground, but many videos
posted online showed violent, rotating columns of air in Michigan.Deadly
storms in Oklahoma-A free Iran is their shared dream. But the diaspora
remains torn on the best path forward.A 47-year-old woman and her
13-year-old daughter from Fairview were found dead in a vehicle near an
intersection of a highway and a county road at about 10 p.m. Thursday,
authorities said. The crash “appears to be tornado related,” Sarah
Stewart, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, said in a
statement.“Severe weather struck Major County last night and tragically
claimed the lives of a mother and daughter,” Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt
said in a statement Friday. “I am praying for the family as they grieve
this tragic loss, as well as all those impacted by the storms.”In an
eerie scene captured on video Thursday, a first responder drove straight
at a storm near the western Oklahoma town, where flashes of lightning
illuminated a giant funnel that appeared to reach the ground. That
storm, among the first outbreaks of severe weather on the verge of the
spring storm season, was filmed by a camera mounted on the deputy’s
car.The National Weather Service in Norman, Oklahoma, planned to send
out a damage survey crew Friday to see whether Thursday night’s storms
were confirmed tornadoes, meteorologist Ryan Bunker said. “As of right
now, we’re still investigating that.”Severe weather risk-More than 7
million Americans were at the highest risk of severe weather Friday in
an area that includes the metropolitan areas of Kansas City, Missouri;
Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Omaha, Nebraska, according to the national Storm
Prediction Center. Nearly 25 million people were at a slightly lesser
risk in a zone that includes Dallas, Oklahoma City, and Milwaukee,
Wisconsin.Severe, scattered thunderstorms are expected Friday evening
from areas of the Plains states to the Ozarks and Midwest, the National
Weather Service said.“The greatest potential for a few strong tornadoes
and very large hail should exist across eastern portions of
Oklahoma/Kansas/Nebraska into western Arkansas/Missouri and southern
Iowa,” it said.The general setup for the strong storms is a clash
between warm air streaming north from the Gulf Coast and cooler Canadian
air behind cold fronts, according to meteorologists with the private
forecasting service AccuWeather.“This is probably our first real event
this season where people are really starting to pay attention getting
into the spring storm season,” said Melissa Mayes, deputy director of
the Washington County Emergency Management Agency in Bartlesville,
Oklahoma, north of Tulsa.The spring storms in the forecast come near the
start of what many call tornado season, which generally begins at
different times in different parts of the U.S. Experts recommend a few
simple safety steps to take before tornadoes hit, including having a
weather radio and a plan for where to take shelter.Winter weather
persists in Northeast-Meanwhile, parts of the Northeast were under
winter weather advisories as rain, snow and slush made for a messy
morning commute from Pennsylvania to Maine on Friday. Several vehicle
slide-offs were also reported on the Maine Turnpike as drivers contended
with sleet and snow.Some schools canceled or delayed classes in states
including New Hampshire and Maine.The weather began to ease at
midmorning in some areas, but Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and
Connecticut remained under weather advisories. In Ohio, flood warnings
were issued in the southern part of the state.In parts of the southern
U.S., the weather pattern is also expected to usher in extremely warm
temperatures for this time of year by the weekend.“Temperatures will be
20-30 degrees above average, with 80s reaching as far north as parts of
the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic,” federal forecasters wrote in their
long-range forecast discussion. “Daily records could become widespread.”
Netanyahu
said to hold rare call with UAE President MBZ-Saudi Arabia said talking
with Iran; Gulf states complain at lack of notice before war-Reported
outreach on defusing conflict comes as Tehran keeps up attacks on
neighbors; officials from several Gulf states protest they weren’t
warned earlier about initial US-Israeli strikes-By Agencies and ToI
Staff Today, 1:23 am-MAR 7,26
Saudi Arabia has intensified direct
engagement with Iran to help contain a war in the Middle East,
Bloomberg News reported Friday, citing several European officials, as
the Iranian campaign against the Gulf Arab states has continued to wreak
severe economic consequences.Saudi officials in recent days have used
their diplomatic backchannel to Iran with increased urgency to ease
tensions and keep the conflict from worsening, the report said.It added
that several regional and European nations are backing the Saudi
efforts, the officials quoted in the report said.According to the
report, the Saudi-Iranian talks have so far involved both security and
diplomatic officials, though the sources said that they were unsure if
more senior officials were involved.So far, Iran has not shown an
inclination to negotiate an end to the conflict with the US and Israel,
the report noted.Saudi Arabia has intensified direct engagement with
Iran to help contain a war in the Middle East, Bloomberg News reported
Friday, citing several European officials, as the Iranian campaign
against the Gulf Arab states has continued to wreak severe economic
consequences.Saudi officials in recent days have used their diplomatic
backchannel to Iran with increased urgency to ease tensions and keep the
conflict from worsening, the report said.It added that several regional
and European nations are backing the Saudi efforts, the officials
quoted in the report said.According to the report, the Saudi-Iranian
talks have so far involved both security and diplomatic officials,
though the sources said that they were unsure if more senior officials
were involved.So far, Iran has not shown an inclination to negotiate an
end to the conflict with the US and Israel, the report noted.Saudi
Arabia’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for
comment on the report, Bloomberg added.While Iran has targeted Israel
and the US military with its retaliatory missile and drone strikes, it
has also launched hundreds of ballistic missiles and thousands of drones
at the Arab states in the Gulf, targeting energy infrastructure and
civilian sites as well as US bases in the region, in an apparent bid to
press Arab leaders to lobby for an end to the war.Against the backdrop
of Iran’s campaign against the Gulf states, Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu held a rare phone call this week with UAE President Mohammed
bin Zayed, the Kan public broadcaster reported Friday.Iran’s missile and
drone fire on the Gulf continued Friday, with the Saudi defense
ministry saying its forces intercepted several projectiles, both
ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as three drones, east of its
capital Riyadh.Iranian strikes also targeted Iraq on Friday, with an
Iraqi security official saying that four drones struck Basra airport and
two oil facilities in the south of the country.“One drone crashed into
the cargo terminal at Basra airport,” the official said, adding that two
others hit a US company in the Burjesia oil complex, and a fourth
struck the Rumaila oil field, where energy giant-BP operates.Only nine
tankers said to pass Hormuz this week-In addition to targeting Gulf
energy and civilian infrastructure with missiles and drones, Iran has
all but completely shut the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial chokepoint
through which some 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas transits.Only
nine oil tankers, cargo and container ships, some of which at times
concealed their position, have been recorded crossing the key maritime
passage since Monday, according to MarineTraffic data analyzed by
AFP.Only vessels that emitted at least one signal on either side of the
Strait of Hormuz were counted by AFP, excluding any others that may have
travelled with their signals entirely concealed for a long period of
time.Attacks since Sunday have multiplied against ships navigating
Hormuz, raising concerns about a lasting impact on the global economy as
the US-Israeli war on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory attacks across the
Gulf region have upended the world’s energy sector.Iran’s armed forces
spokesman Abolfazl Shekarchi told Iranian state broadcaster IRIB, “We
emphasize the security of the Strait of Hormuz and control it, but we
will not close it.”Despite the conflict, “some tankers are still
traveling east and west through the strait, with a number of voyages
occurring under AIS (automatic identification system) blackouts,” said
Matt Wright, an analyst at Kpler, which publishes MarineTraffic, on
Wednesday.Most carriers have suspended their operations and the passage
remains perilous, as several ships have been targeted by Iranian drones
and missiles since the conflict erupted last week.Gulf officials
‘frustrated’ with US over lack of notice ahead of war-As the Gulf has
come under relentless attack, officials from several US-allied countries
in the region have complained they were not given adequate time to
prepare for the torrent of Iranian drones and missiles bombarding their
countries in retaliation for strikes launched by the US and
Israel.Officials from two Gulf countries said their governments were
disappointed in the way the US has handled the war, particularly the
initial attack on Iran on February 28. They said their countries were
not given advance notice of the attack and complained the US had ignored
their warnings that the war would have devastating consequences for the
entire region.One of the officials said that Gulf countries were
frustrated and even angry that the US military has not defended them
enough. He said there is a belief in the region that the operation has
focused on defending Israel and American troops, while leaving Gulf
countries to protect themselves, and said that his country’s stock of
interceptors was “rapidly depleting.”The governments of Bahrain, Kuwait,
Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates did not respond
to requests for comment.White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in
response: “Iran’s retaliatory ballistic missile attacks have decreased
by 90% because Operation Epic Fury is crushing their ability to shoot
these weapons or produce more. [US President Donald] Trump is in close
contact with all of our regional partners, and the terrorist Iranian
regime’s attacks on its neighbors prove how imperative it was that
President Trump eliminate this threat to our country and our allies.”The
Pentagon did not respond.Official reactions by the Gulf Arab countries
have been muted, but public figures with close ties to their governments
have been openly critical of the US, suggesting that Netanyahu dragged
Trump into a needless war.“This is Netanyahu’s war,” Prince Turki
al-Faisal, the former Saudi intelligence chief, told CNN on Wednesday.
“He somehow convinced the [US] president to support his views.”Pentagon
officials conceded this week in closed-door briefings with lawmakers
that they are struggling to stop waves of drones launched by Iran,
leaving some US targets in the Gulf region, including troops,
vulnerable.The Gulf countries have emerged as valuable targets for Iran,
well within the range of Iran’s short-range missiles and filled with
targets, including American troops, high-profile business and tourist
locations and energy facilities, disrupting the world’s flow of
oil.Since the start of the war, Iran has fired at least 380 missiles and
over 1,480 drones targeting the five Arab Gulf countries, according to
an AP tally based on official statements. At least 13 people have been
killed in those countries, according to local officials.In addition, six
US soldiers were killed in Kuwait on Sunday when an Iranian drone
strike hit an operations center in a civilian port, more than 10 miles
from the main Army base. The husband of one of the slain soldiers, who
was part of a supply and logistics unit based in Iowa, said the
operations center was a shipping container-style building and had no
defenses.In briefings for members of Congress on Tuesday, US Defense
Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff, told lawmakers that the US will not be able to intercept many
of the incoming UAVs, especially the Shaheds, according to three people
familiar with the briefings.Bader Mousa Al-Saif, a Kuwait-based analyst
with Chatham House, said the US appeared to have underestimated the risk
to its Gulf Arab allies, believing American troops and Israel would be
the primary targets of Iranian retaliation.“I don’t think they saw that
there would be as much exposure to the Gulf,” he said, saying the lack
of a plan to protect the Gulf countries “speaks to US
short-sightedness.”The frustration in some of the Gulf nations is driven
in part by the relative success that Israel has had knocking down
drones and missiles compared to some of their neighbors, according to a
person familiar with the sensitive diplomatic matter who was not
authorized to comment publicly.Their air defense systems are hardly as
robust as Israel’s, but according to the person, US officials have been
somewhat perplexed that the Gulf countries are still not showing an
appetite for delivering a counteroffensive by launching missiles at
Iranian targets.Elliott Abrams, who served as a special representative
for Iran and Venezuela at the end of Trump’s first term, said that US
national security officials and their Gulf allies were aware that Iran
had the capability to carry out significant strikes.“And the neighbors
knew it and were afraid of it. But it was never clear that Iran would
actually do it, because they have a lot to lose,” Abrams said. “These
attacks will leave long-term enmity, and if they keep up, the Gulf Arabs
may start attacking Iran.”Michael Ratney, a former US ambassador to
Saudi Arabia, said that while the Gulf countries have an interest in
seeing Iran weakened, they also have key concerns about the ongoing war —
including the economic damage and instability it is causing and its
open-ended nature.Ratney, who is now a senior adviser in the Middle East
program of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said:
“What comes next? The countries of the Gulf will have to bear the brunt
of whatever that is.”
