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)
HAMAS
EX LEADER NOW IN HELL FIRE FOREVER AND EVER ISMAIL HANIYEH KILLED IN
IRAN.SRY HANIYEH NO 70 BABY VIRGINS TO HAVE FOREVER. ONLY DEMONS IN HELL
PULLING YOU FROM YOUR HELL JAIL CELL OR PIT OF FIRE TO HAVE THEIR WAY
WITH A ISLAMIC PUPPET LIKE YOU.
NUCLEAR WEAPONS WILL BE USED.
JESUS
SHED HIS BLOOD FOR US THAT WE CAN BE SAVED FOREVER.AND DURING WW3
PEOPLES BLOOD WILL BE SHED AS A JUDGEMENT FOR HATING HIM AND ISRAEL.GOD
IS NOT MOCKED.
ZEPHANIAH 1:2-3
2 I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD.
3
I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven,
and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I
will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.
PSALMS 97:3
3 A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about.
EZEKIEL 5:15-17
15
So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an
astonishment unto the (ARAB/MUSLIM) nations that are round about
thee,(ISRAEL) when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in
fury and in furious rebukes. I the LORD have spoken it.
16 When I
shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their
destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase
the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:
17 So will I
send upon you famine and evil beasts,(WHEN RUSSIA/MUSLIMS GET DEFEATED
THIER BODIES GET EATEN BY BIRDS,ANIMALS IN ISRAEL MIGRATION SEASON) and
they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through
thee;(NUKES) and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the LORD have
spoken it.
REVELATION 14:18-20
18 And another angel came out
from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to
him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and
gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully
ripe.
19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and
gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of
the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden without the
city,(JERUSALEM) and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the
horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.(200
MILES) (THE SIZE OF ISRAEL)
ISAIAH 66:15-18
15 For, behold,
the LORD will come with fire,(NUKES) and with his chariots like a
whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of
fire.
16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.
17
They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens
behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination,
and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.
18 For I
know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather
all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.
ISAIAH 26:21
21
For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants
of the earth for their iniquity:(GOD/ISRAEL HATE AND BRAKING OF HIS
COMMANDMENTS) the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more
cover her slain.(WW3,1/2 earths population die - 3 BILLION).
ISAIAH 13:6-13 KJV
6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:(FROM FRIGHT)
8
And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them;
they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed
one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of
the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land
desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10 For
the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their
light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall
not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for
their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the
arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the
terrible.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13
Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of
her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his
fierce anger.
ISAIAH 24:17-23 KJV
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18
And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the
fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of
the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are
open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20
The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed
like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it;
and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass
in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that
are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they
shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and
shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be
visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed,
when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and
before his ancients gloriously.
2 TIMOTHY 3:1
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.
JOEL 2:3,30
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12
And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the
people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume
away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and
their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)
and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM
ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD
PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that
day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they
shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand
shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN
WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say
to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the
Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour
every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall
not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be
burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor
their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath;
but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for
he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1
For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC
BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be
stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of
hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
REVELATION 8:7
7
The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with
blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees
was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
REVELATION 9:18
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.(ATOMIC BOMBS)(RUSSIA CHINA DESTROYED BY ISRAELS ATOMIC BOMBS)
REVELATION 16:12-16
12
And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river
Euphrates;(WERE WW3 STARTS IN IRAQ OR SYRIA OR TURKEY) and the water
thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be
prepared.
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of
the mouth of the dragon,(SATAN) and out of the mouth of the beast,(WORLD
DICTATOR) and out of the mouth of the false prophet.(FALSE POPE)
14
For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth
unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to
the battle of that great day of God Almighty.(WERE 2 BILLION DIE FROM
NUKE WAR)
15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
17
And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a
great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is
done.
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)(50% OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE)
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.
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12
And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the
people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume
away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and
their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)
and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM
ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD
PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that
day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they
shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand
shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN
WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
EZEKIEL 32:18-29 (NOTICE ALL THE COUNTRIES LAND PROMISED ISRAEL BY GOD ARE IN THE JORDAN VALLEY BURIED)
18
“Son of man, wail for the multitudes of Egypt, and consign her and the
daughters of the mighty nations to the depths of the earth with those
who descend to the Pit:
19 Whom do you surpass in beauty? Go down and be placed with the uncircumcised! (IN HELL FIRES)
20 They will fall among those slain by the sword. The sword is appointed! Let them drag her away along with all her multitudes.
21
Mighty chiefs will speak from the midst of Sheol about Egypt and her
allies: ‘They have come down and lie with the uncircumcised, with those
slain by the sword.’
22 Assyria (SYRIA) is there with her whole company; her graves are all around her. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword.
23
Her graves are set in the depths of the Pit, and her company is all
around her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword—those who
once spread terror in the land of the living.
24 Elam (IRAN) is there
with all her multitudes around her grave. All of them are slain, fallen
by the sword—those who went down uncircumcised to the earth below, who
once spread their terror in the land of the living. They bear their
disgrace with those who descend to the Pit.
25 Among the slain they
prepare a resting place for Elam with all her hordes, with her graves
all around her. All of them are uncircumcised, slain by the sword,
although their terror was once spread in the land of the living. They
bear their disgrace with those who descend to the Pit. They are placed
among the slain.
26 Meshech and Tubal (RUSSIA) are there with all
their multitudes, with their graves all around them. All of them are
uncircumcised, slain by the sword, because they spread their terror in
the land of the living.
27 They do not lie down with the fallen
warriors of old, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose
swords were placed under their heads, whose shields rested on their
bones, although the terror of the mighty was once in the land of the
living.
28 But you too will be shattered and lie down among the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword.
29
Edom (JORDAN) is there, and all her kings and princes, who despite
their might are laid among those slain by the sword. They lie down with
the uncircumcised, with those who descend to the Pit.THIS IS RIGHT FROM
93:
SECOND ANGEL: MIDDLE EAST
Then I saw that the second angel
had a sickle in his hand, such as is used in harvesting.The second
angel said: "Harvest time has come in Israel and the countries all the
way to Iran."I saw those countries in a few split seconds."All of Turkey
and those [inaudible] countries that have refused me and refused my
message of love shall hate each other and kill one another."I saw the
angel raise the sickle and come down on all the Middle East countries. I
saw Iran, Persia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, all of Georgia - Iraq, Syria,
Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, all of Asia Minor - full of blood. I saw blood
all over these countries. And I saw fire; Nuclear weapons used in many
of those countries. Smoke rising from everywhere. Sudden destruction –
men destroying one another. I heard these words:"Israel, Oh Israel, the
great judgment has come." The angel said, "The chosen, the church, the
remnant, shall be purified. The Spirit of God shall prepare the children
of God."I saw fires rising to heaven.The angel said: "This is the final
judgment. My church shall be purified, protected and ready for the
final day. Men will die from thirst. Water shall be scarce all over the
Middle East. Rivers shall dry up, and men will fight for water in those
countries."The angel showed me that the United Nations shall be broken
in pieces because of the crisis in the Middle East. There shall be no
more United Nations. The angel with the sickle shall reap the harvest.
PSALMS 83:1-8 (GODS LAND PROMISED TO ISRAEL)
1 O God, do not remain silent;do not turn a deaf ear,do not stand aloof, O God.
2 See how your enemies growl, how your foes rear their heads.
3 With cunning they (ARAB,MUSLIMS) conspire against your people;they plot against those you cherish.(ISRAELIS)
4 “Come,” they say, “let us destroy them as a nation, so that Israel’s name is remembered no more.”
5 With one mind they plot together;(TREATIES) they form an alliance against you—
6
the tents of Edom (JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites, (EGYPTIAN ARABS SO
CALLED PALESTIANS) of Moab (JORDAN) and the Hagrites,(EGYPT)
7 Byblos,(HEZBOLLOH) Ammon (JORDAN) and Amalek,(SYRIAN ARABS IN THE SINAI) Philistia,(ARABS) with the people of Tyre (LEBANON).
8 Even Assyria (SYRIA) has joined them to reinforce Lot’s descendants.
A
HIGH LEVEL SECRET SERVICE WHISTLE BLOWER SAID GET RID OF ALL THE BIG
WIGS IN THE SECRET SERVICE OFFICES.THEIR CORRUPT TO THE CORE. AND HE
PREDICTS BEFORE NOVEMBERS ELECTIONS THEY WILL TRY TO ASSASSINATE TRUMP
ONE MORE TIME.
AND ANOTHER HYPOCRITICAL BLINKIN REMARK AFTER
HEZZBOLLAH KILLED THE 12 CHILDREN ON THE SOCCER FIELD. ISRAEL HAS THE
RIGHT TO DEFEND ITSELF HE SAYS. THEN IN THE VERY HYPOCRITICAL OTHER SIDE
OF HIS MOUTH BLINKIN SAYS IN THE SAME SENTENCE (MY PARAPHRASE-OH ISRAEL
BUT DON;T BE HARD ON THE SEX FOR MURDER PEDOPHILIA DEATH CULT ISLAM-YOU
WILL INCREASE A WIDER WAR.WE CAN'T HAVE THE BABY MUSLIMS OFFENDED OR
KILLED OFF OR THEY WILL CRAP IN THEIR LITTLE LIGHT PINK PAMPERS).
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh killed in Iran, Hamas says-By Reuters-July 30, 202411:33 PM EDT
CAIRO,
July 31 (Reuters) - Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Iran on
Wednesday, the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Iran's elite
Revolutionary Guards said in separate statements.The Islamist faction
mourned the death of Haniyeh, who it said was killed in "a treacherous
Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran".Hanieh attended Iran's new
president's swearing in ceremony on Tuesday."Early this morning, the
residence of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran was struck, resulting in his and
one of his body guards' martyrdom. The cause is under investigation and
will be announced soon," the Revolutionary Guards said.Reporting by
Parisa Hafezi in Dubai, Nidal al-Mughrabi, Enas Alashray and Ahmed Tolba
in Cairo; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Stephen Coates.
Trump
shooter posted antisemitic, anti-immigrant content online, FBI official
says-At US Senate hearing, intelligence official paints picture of loner
with no close friends who used social media to ‘espouse political
violence’By Allende Miglietta, David Morgan and Sarah N. Lynch 30 July
2024, 8:14 pm
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The man who tried to
assassinate Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump appears to
have posted violent antisemitic and anti-immigration content online as a
teenager, a senior FBI official told a US Senate hearing on Tuesday.FBI
Deputy Director Paul Abbate at the hearing revealed the existence of
the social media account, which dated to 2019-2020 — when Thomas Crooks,
who authorities have identified as the shooter, would have been 15 or
16 years old. It is some of the first evidence to become public about a
potential motive in the July 13 attack at a campaign rally in western
Pennsylvania.“Something just very recently uncovered that I want to
share is a social media account which is believed to be associated with
the shooter in about the 2019-2020 time frame,” Abbate told lawmakers,
adding that more than 700 comments were posted by the account.“Some of
these comments, if ultimately attributable to the shooter, appear to
reflect antisemitic and anti-immigration themes to espouse political
violence and are described as extreme in nature,” Abbate said.Crooks,
who was 20, shot at Trump with an AR-15-style rifle during the rally in
Butler, Pennsylvania, wounding the former president’s ear, killing one
rally attendee and wounding two others. Secret Service snipers killed
Crooks after he opened fire.Investigators have described Crooks as a
loner with no close friends and a social network limited mainly to
immediate family members.The first shooting of a US president or major
party candidate in more than four decades was a glaring security lapse
that led last week to former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle’s
resignation under bipartisan congressional pressure.Her immediate
successor, Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe, told lawmakers
that he visited the outdoor rally site in Butler and climbed onto the
roof of a nearby building from which Crooks fired.“What I saw made me
ashamed,” Rowe told a joint hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and
Judiciary Committees.“As a career law enforcement officer, and a 25-year
veteran with the Secret Service, I cannot defend why that roof was not
better secured.”Rowe sought to assure lawmakers that he has since taken
steps to prevent similar lapses from occurring amid concerns among both
Democrats and Republicans about further political violence as the
campaign intensifies ahead of the November 5 US election.Crooks flew a
drone near the rally site ahead of his assassination attempt, a flight
that officials failed to detect because a system designed to detect
drones was not working properly due to problems with cellular network
bandwidth, Rowe said.The Secret Service, a federal law enforcement
agency whose duties include protecting the president and certain other
top political figures, has added six people to its protection list since
July 13, including Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance and
his family, and independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy,
while reinforcing security details, Rowe said.“This attack was a
shocking reminder that the threat of political violence is alive and
well in our country. By all accounts, this was inexcusable security and
planning failure,” Democratic Senate Homeland Security Chairman Gary
Peters said, adding that his panel is working on reforms to strengthen
security protocols for the Secret Service.Senator Rand Paul, the
committee’s top Republican, said his staff had found communication gaps
between local police who first noticed Crooks and the Secret
Service.Rowe said that Secret Service counter snipers and members of the
Trump security detail had no knowledge that there was a man with a
firearm on the roof of a nearby building.
IDF: We aren't looking
to go to war, but we are ready for it-IDF kills top Hezbollah commander
in Beirut in response to deadly Majdal Shams attack-Fuad Shukr
considered by Israel to be terror group’s most senior military officer,
‘right-hand man’ to chief Hassan Nasrallah, was also wanted by US for
role in 1983 barracks bombing-By Emanuel Fabian-and Agencies 30 July
2024, 9:58 pmUpdated at 12:36 am
The Israel Defense Forces struck
a building in southern Beirut on Tuesday evening, killing the Hezbollah
terror group’s most senior military commander, who Israel said was
responsible for Saturday’s deadly rocket attack on Majdal Shams.Fuad
Shukr, Hezbollah’s most senior military commander and a right-hand man
to terror leader Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in the strike, which blew a
large hole into the side of an eight-story apartment building in
southern Beirut, the IDF said late Tuesday.The strike followed days of
intensive diplomacy aimed at curbing Israel’s response to a rocket
strike on a Golan Heights soccer field Saturday that killed 12 children,
amid fears that Israel’s retaliation could lead to tensions snowballing
into all-out war.Hezbollah did not immediately confirm Shukr’s death
and the Israeli military said it did not plan on issuing special
instruction for civilians to take shelter, as is sometimes done when the
country expects blowback from a regional neighbor, though it advised
Israelis to remain alert.The Israeli strike occurred in Dahieh, a suburb
south of Beirut and a stronghold of the Iran-backed Lebanese terror
group, at around 7:40 p.m. Residents reported hearing a loud blast
followed by a plume of smoke seen rising over the neighborhood.Lebanon’s
health ministry said three people were killed, including two children,
and 74 people were wounded in the strike.The Israeli military took
credit for the strike, saying Shukr had been killed in the attack.In a
statement, the IDF said that Shukr, also known as Hajj Mohsin, was
responsible for the Saturday Majdal Shams strike, as well as other
deadly attacks on Israel. Since Hamas’s October 7 onslaught in southern
Israel, Shukr has been managing Hezbollah’s near-daily attacks against
Israel, according to the military.Shukr sat on the Jihad Council,
Hezbollah’s top military body, and was the head of its strategic
division, the military said.He was named by the IDF several years ago as
a commander of Hezbollah’s precision missile project. He is also wanted
by the United States for his role in the 1983 bombing of a US Marines
barracks in Beirut, with a $5 million bounty placed on his head by
Washington.The IDF said he was also a senior military advisor to
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, serving as his “right-hand man.”The
IDF said he was “responsible for the majority of Hezbollah’s most
advanced weaponry, including precise-guided missiles, cruise missiles,
anti-ship missiles, long-range rockets, and UAVs” and for the terror
group’s “force build-up, planning, and execution of terror attacks
against the State of Israel.”He joined Hezbollah in the 1980s and has
held several senior positions. The IDF said that in the 1990s he
advanced numerous attacks against the IDF and allied South Lebanon Army,
and in 2000, was involved in the abduction of three Israeli soldiers in
an attack in the Mount Dov area.According to the US State Department’s
Rewards for Justice program, in addition to advising Nasrallah, Shukr
sits on the Jihad Council, Hezbollah’s top military body.Shukr played a
“central role” in the 1983 bombing of US Marine Corps barracks that left
241 US Marines dead, according to the State Department. The State
Department reported that during the Syrian civil war he “aided
[Hezbollah] fighters and pro-Syrian regime troops” as they battled
anti-Assad forces.Hezbollah did not immediately confirm Shukr’s death,
and some earlier media reports claimed that he had survived the
attack.Lebanon’s state-run National News Agenc said the Israeli strike
targeted the area around Hezbollah’s Shura Council in the Haret Hreik
neighborhood of Beirut’s Dahieh suburb.It reported that the strike was
carried out with a drone that launched three rockets.Shortly after the
strike, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant tweeted in English: “Hezbollah
crossed the red line.”It was the first Israeli attack on the Lebanese
capital since a January strike that killed Hamas’s deputy leader abroad
Saleh al-Arouri.The strike came after days of Israeli officials
threatening a harsh response to the Hezbollah rocket attack that killed
12 children playing on a soccer field and playground in Majdal Shams, a
Druze town in the Golan Heights.The IDF said shortly after midnight that
there were no immediate changes to the Home Front Command guidelines
for Israeli civilians, despite fears of a possible Hezbollah
counterattack.“We have very good air defense systems, but the defense is
not hermetic,” IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a press
conference, adding that the public should be vigilant and follow the
Home Front Command guidelines.He said the IDF is holding assessments on
the home front, and would update if there are any changes.“We are not
looking to go to war, but we are well prepared for it,” Hagari said.
“Hezbollah is dragging Lebanon and the entire Middle East into an
escalation.”The Israeli airstrike was precipitated by a flurry of
diplomatic activity with Western nations seeking to avoid a larger
escalation and urging both Israeli and Lebanese officials to practice
restraint. A number of airlines canceled flights to Beirut over the past
few days, and Lufthansa canceled several flights to Tel Aviv.Israel
gave the US a heads-up before launching the strike, an Israeli and a US
official told The Times of Israel.Shortly after the strike, US State
Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel told a briefing that “we’re
continuing to work toward a diplomatic resolution that would allow
Israeli and Lebanese civilians to return to their homes and live in
peace and security. We certainly want to avoid any kind of
escalation.”Patel reiterated that US support for Israel remained
“ironclad” and that “Israel has every right to defend itself” and
“certainly faces threats like no other country does in that region of
the world.”The Russian foreign ministry called the Israeli strike on
Beirut “a flagrant violation of international law,” according to the
Russian state-run TASS news agency.According to the Kan public
broadcaster, the security cabinet was not updated ahead of the strike in
Beirut. The outlet also reported that the US is expected to approve of
the strike, especially given the fact that Shukr was wanted for the
killing of 241 US servicemen. Channel 12 news reported that ministers
were ordered not to publicly comment on the strike.The heads of UNIFIL —
the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon — and UN Special
Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hannis-Plasschaert were speaking to both
Lebanon and Israel in an attempt to prevent the outbreak of war, UN
Secretary-General spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said.Earlier Tuesday,
Hezbollah fired a volley of 10 rockets toward the Upper Galilee, killing
an Israeli civilian in Kibbutz HaGoshrim. The victim was later named as
Nir Popko, 28, from the kibbutz.The IDF said that most of the rockets
fired by Hezbollah were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense
system. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it had
launched dozens of rockets at a nearby military base. The military said
it was shelling the launch site with artillery.Since October 8,
Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military
posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it
is doing so to support Gaza amid the war there.So far, the skirmishes
have resulted in 25 civilian deaths on the Israeli side — including in
Tuesday’s attack — as well as the deaths of 18 IDF soldiers and
reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any
injuries.Hezbollah has named 384 members who have been killed by Israel
during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in
Syria. In Lebanon, another 68 operatives from other terror groups, a
Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have been killed.
Experts
say all evidence shows Hezbollah behind Majdal Shams strike that killed
12-Weapons researcher says jagged shrapnel removed from wounded
children is consistent with Falaq rocket; soccer field fence blown in
direction indicating rocket came from the north-By AP 30 July 2024,
11:09 pm
Two days after a rocket slammed into a soccer field in
the Golan Heights, killing 12 children, many questions remain about the
attack on the Druze town of Majdal Shams.Israel and the US have accused
Hezbollah in Lebanon of targeting civilians, while the Iran-backed
terror group quickly issued a rare denial of any responsibility for the
attack.As Israel vowed retaliation, and then struck a Hezbollah target
in the southern Beirut suburbs on Tuesday evening, for what was the
highest civilian death toll in the country since Hamas’s October 7
assault, diplomats rushed to prevent an escalation that could spiral
into an all-out war after months of exchanges between Israel and
Hezbollah over the Lebanese-Israeli border.Weapons experts told The
Associated Press that evidence points to a rocket from Lebanon hitting
the field. But they raised the possibility that the hit on civilians was
an accident.Here’s what we know and what remains unclear about the
attack.The strike-The strike left a crater about two meters wide,
breaking through the carpet of artificial grass where the children were
playing. Around it were scattered burned-out bicycles and scooters, and
some electric bikes with their batteries melted. Walls of a nearby tent
and shelter were pockmarked from shrapnel.Video footage circulated on
social media on Tuesday, apparently taken by a child at an adjacent
playground, showed the moment the rocket struck the soccer field.The
Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said an
Iranian-made Falaq rocket with a 53-kilogram (117-pound) warhead
belonging to Hezbollah was used in the attack that landed in the town of
over 11,000 inhabitants.Israel released images of rocket fragments it
said the military found, with visible lettering that matched pictures of
Falaq rockets also provided by the military. The AP was unable to
verify that the fragments were found on-site. No ordinance debris was
visible when AP reporters visited the site on Monday.The Israeli
military was investigating why the Iron Dome air defense system did not
intercept the rocket.While the Iron Dome’s radar detected the launch, it
did not release an interceptor missile to knock down the rocket, an
Israeli military official told the AP, speaking on condition of
anonymity to discuss the matter.The military said the flight time may
have been too brief. The rocket was fired from just north of the
Lebanese town of Chebaa, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from Majdal
Shams, it said. Hezbollah has experimented with launching rockets from a
shorter distance.The Iron Dome alert set off sirens at 6:18 p.m. Majdal
Shams’ local council reported the rocket landed less than a minute
later, leaving no chance for the children to run to shelters.“At very
short distance, you don’t have enough time to operate the Iron Dome,”
said Yehoshua Kalisky, a senior researcher at the Institute for National
Security Studies, a Tel Aviv think tank. It’s nearly impossible to
intercept rockets fired from within 5 kilometers (3 miles) that take 2-3
seconds to reach their destination, he said.As a result, the
interception rate along the northern border is considerably lower than
in central Israel, where Iron Dome batteries have more time, he
said.Hezbollah’s denial-Hezbollah, a designated terror organization in
dozens of countries and the most powerful paramilitary and political
force in Lebanon, was quick to say it was not behind the attack, a rare
denial from a group that normally claims every attack launched.What
Hezbollah would gain from attacking a Druze community is unclear. Many
Druze in the Golan see themselves as citizens of Syria, where the
government in Damascus is a Hezbollah ally. A strike on them could hurt
the terror group’s standing — including with Druze in Lebanon — when
it’s trying to keep support in the war.An overt intentional strike on
civilians would also be a dramatic escalation in Hezbollah’s near-daily
exchange of fire with Israel. The group’s officials have claimed they
don’t aim to expand the war and will cease their attacks in the event of
a ceasefire in Gaza.In the thousands of rockets it has fired in support
of Hamas and the Palestinians in Gaza since October, Hezbollah has
insisted it targets military and intelligence installations.Still,
Hezbollah rockets have hit civilian areas countless times. As of
Tuesday, skirmishes have resulted in 25 civilian deaths on the Israeli
side, as well as the deaths of 18 IDF soldiers and reservists.Hezbollah
has named 384 members who have been killed by Israel during the same
period, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. In Lebanon, another 68
operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of
civilians have been killed.Just before news of Saturday’s deadly attack
emerged, Hezbollah claimed at least two strikes, using Katyusha rockets
and the larger Falaq-1, targeting an Israeli military base on Mount
Hermon, about 3 kilometers (2 miles) north of Majdal Shams.A small
faction allied with Hezbollah that also operates from southern Lebanon,
often from near Chebaa, also denied responsibility for the attack, and
Hezbollah-allied media posited that Israel was looking for an excuse to
widen the war amid the most serious push yet to reach a ceasefire and
hostage release deal in Gaza.Was it an error? From satellite images,
pictures and videos from the scene and analysis of previous launches,
experts said the evidence fits with a rocket attack.“The evidence that
we can see from the ground … is much more consistent with that of a
rocket artillery of the type and size of the Falaq,” said Richard Weir,
crisis and weapons researcher with Human Rights Watch.The warhead would
explode on impact with a deadly high explosive load, spraying
irregular-shaped fragments.Dr. Ran Steinberg, chief of Pediatric Surgery
at Rambam Hospital who took part in treating children wounded in the
blast, told the AP that irregular, jagged pieces of shrapnel were
removed from their bodies.Weir said the damage did not appear consistent
with the scenario of a hit by an air defense missile that
malfunctioned. Such missiles are designed to disperse regular-shaped
fragments in every direction, and there was no sign of such
fragmentation.The shape of the crater and the direction a fence was
blown down indicate that the rocket came from the north, said Chris
Cobb-Smith, a weapons analyst.But he said that without independent
verification of the munition’s remnants it is impossible to say whether
the hit was intentional.Weir said a Hezbollah rocket aimed at the
military position on Mount Hermon may have overshot its target, landing
in Majdal Shams. He said any number of mistakes could have taken place,
including a mechanical fault or human error in estimating the
distance.“These kinds of things happen even with the best-trained
forces,” he said. “So it is possible that, given that this is an
unguided piece of rocket, that this was a mistake.”The Druze
stance-After Israel blamed Hezbollah for the blast, many Druze leaders
in Lebanon, Syria and Israel spoke out against what they called an
attempt to drive a wedge within the close-knit community. Followers of
the Druze faith are divided between the three countries.Some 300 Majdal
Shams residents protested a visit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
on Monday, shouting that he was exploiting the bloodshed for political
gain.Only 20% of residents in Majdal Shams, part of the Golan Heights
annexed by Israel in 1981, have accepted Israeli citizenship. Many still
consider themselves citizens of Syria.“For sure, it was not targeting
Majdal Shams. There are many Israeli military bases around the town. I
expect this threat was heading their way,” said Nabeeh Abu Saleh, a
paramedic from the town who rushed to the scene of the attack on
Saturday.Nothing prepared Abu Saleh, who has 25 years of experience as a
paramedic, for what he saw. Some body parts were found 100 meters from
the explosion. One of his nephews was killed, another wounded.The
military said Iron Dome sirens have gone off in Majdal Shams 30 times
during the conflict. A few months ago, a rocket landed short of the
town, Abu Saleh said.“We buried our children. We don’t want
retaliation,” he said. “We have families in Lebanon, in Syria, and we
have brothers here in Israel.”Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.
Washington
Post admits front page on Majdal Shams attack lacked ‘adequate
context’Newspaper issues editor’s note acknowledging criticism of cover
juxtaposing image of mourning Druze family members with headline on
Israeli strikes on Lebanon-By ToI Staff 30 July 2024, 11:39 pm
The
Washington Post on Tuesday apologized for the front page it ran a day
earlier, which juxtaposed an image of family members mourning a child
killed in a Hezbollah rocket attack on the Golan Heights with a headline
reading “Israel hits targets in Lebanon.”The subheadline of the story
accompanying the image also did not mention the Hezbollah strike that
killed 12 children playing on a soccer field and playground in the Druze
town of Majdal Shams.In an editor’s note published in the print edition
on Tuesday, the newspaper admitted that the “headline and subheadline
that accompanied a July 29 Page One photo and article about Israeli
strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon did not provide adequate
context.”The note added that “[t]he headlines should have noted that the
Israeli strikes were a response to a rocket strike from Lebanon that
killed 12 teenagers and children in the Israeli-controlled Golan
Heights. The photo depicted mourning for one of those victims, as the
caption noted.”The original front page had sparked outrage from many
pro-Israel figures and groups online, with the American Jewish Committee
tweeting: “This isn’t journalism. It’s a dangerous distortion of
reality.”The official X account of the Israeli Embassy in the US wrote:
“Even with a photo from the funeral of an Israeli child killed by
Hezbollah, @washingtonpost chose to frame Israel as the aggressor in the
headline. Shameful journalism.”It is not the first time the newspaper
has faced criticism over its coverage of the ongoing Israeli war against
Hamas in Gaza.Earlier this month, it was slammed after it criticized
the parents of American-Israeli hostage Omer Neutra for not mentioning
“Israel’s assault on Gaza” as they addressed the Republican National
Convention and called for his release.The paper also described Neutra
who was captured by Hamas terrorists on October 7 as “missing.”“Omer
Neutra has been missing since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel,” the paper
posted on X with a link to their article about Neutra’s parents Ronen
and Orna addressing the RNC in Milwaukee on Wednesday, leading the crowd
in a chant of “bring them home.”“When his parents speak publicly, they
don’t talk about Israel’s assault on Gaza that has killed over 38,000
Palestinians, according to local officials. Experts have warned of
looming famine,” the post said.The post drew an immediate outcry, and
the news outlet later replaced that post, but the story maintained the
original language noting that the Neutras “don’t talk about the ferocity
of Israel’s counterattack, which has killed more than 38,000
Palestinians and left nearly 90,000 injured, according to the Gaza
Health Ministry.”The Washington Post, which is owned by Amazon founder
Jeff Bezos, was also accused earlier this year of employing an
antisemitic trope to criticize supporters of Israel.In May, New York
Deputy Mayor Fabian Levy said that he was “shocked” when the newspaper
asked him to comment on its report that Jewish billionaires had
influenced Mayor Eric Adams’s decision to send the NYPD to disperse an
anti-Israel encampment at Columbia University.“The insinuation that
Jewish donors secretly plotted to influence government operations is an
all too familiar antisemitic trope that The Washington Post should have
been ashamed to ask about, let alone actually publish,” wrote Levy.In
November, the newspaper added an extensive editor’s note to a story it
published about the challenges facing newborn babies in Gaza. The note
pointed out that the original story “mischaracterized some aspects of
Israeli rules for permits” for pregnant women to give birth in Israel,
and also “incorrectly said that all Palestinian mothers who received
authorization to leave Gaza for humanitarian reasons had to return to
Gaza to reapply.”The editor’s note also pointed out that the newspaper
“neglected to seek comment from Israeli officials for this article, an
omission that fell short of The Post’s standards for fairness.”
Iran’s
new president sworn in at parliament as heads of Hamas, Islamic Jihad
look on-Masoud Pezeshkian takes oath as parliament speaker Mohammad
Bagher Ghalibaf gives speech lambasting Israel’s ‘crimes’ in Gaza;
Hezbollah, Houthis also send delegates to ceremony-By AFP and ToI Staff
30 July 2024, 6:23 pm
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was
sworn in before parliament on Tuesday as the Islamic Republic’s ninth
president at a ceremony attended by foreign dignitaries, including
officials from terror groups Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and the
Houthis.Pezeshkian, considered by some to be a reformist, won a runoff
race against ultraconservative Saeed Jalili on July 5 to replace
president Ebrahim Raisi who died in a helicopter crash in May.Tuesday’s
ceremony came two days after Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei officially endorsed Pezeshkian and gave the 69-year-old heart
surgeon presidential powers.“I, as the president, in front of the Holy
Quran and the people of Iran, swear to almighty God to be the guardian
of the official religion and the Islamic Republic system and the
constitution of the country,” Pezeshkian said at the ceremony which was
broadcast live on state TV.Pezeshkian, who is expected to unveil his
government within two weeks, had secured more than 16 million votes
during the runoff, or about 54 percent of the roughly 30 million ballots
cast.Tuesday’s ceremony was attended by senior officials from several
countries including Armenia, Tajikistan, Egypt, Sudan, Iraq, Turkey,
Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Cuba and Brazil. European Union envoy Enrique
Mora was also present.Regional Iran-backed allies were also in
attendance, namely Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and the head of the
Islamic Jihad Ziyad al-Nakhalah. Lebanon’s Hezbollah was represented by
the terror group’s deputy secretary general Naim Qassem while Yemen’s
Houthi rebels sent spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam.Haniyeh and Nakhalah,
whose terror groups have been fighting Israel in the Gaza Strip since
Hamas’s October 7 onslaught against Israel, met earlier in the day with
Khamenei and Pezeshkian.“Supporting the cause of the oppressed
Palestinian nation will continue with strength, and no factor can
disrupt our will in this direction,” said Pezeshkian in a statement on
Monday.Tuesday’s swearing-in ceremony came amid concerns of an all-out
war between Israel and Hezbollah following a rocket attack from Lebanon
on Saturday on the Golan Heights, which killed 12 children playing on a
soccer field in the Druze town of Majdal Shams.During Tuesday’s
ceremony, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf gave a speech
lambasting what he called Israel’s “crimes” in Gaza. Some Iranians
present in parliament chanted: “Death to Israel, Death to America.On
Monday, Pezeshkian warned Israel against attacking Lebanon, saying such
an act would have “heavy consequences.” Since his election, Iran’s new
president has reaffirmed support for the so-called “axis of resistance,”
Tehran-aligned terror groups such as Hezbollah and the Houthis that
support Hamas against arch-foe Israel.Pezeshkian was the only candidate
representing Iran’s reformist camp allowed to stand in Iran’s
presidential election, for which all contenders were approved by the
conservative-dominated Guardian Council.During his campaign, the former
health minister had vowed to try and revive a 2015 nuclear deal with
world powers which collapsed in 2018 after the United States
unilaterally withdrew from agreement. The deal had given Iran sanctions
relief in return for curbs on its nuclear activity.Pezeshkian has
recently called for “constructive relations” with European countries,
even though he accused them of reneging on commitments to mitigate the
impact of renewed US sanctions.
Philippines says 'no incidents' as it resupplies reef; China warns of 'resolute' response-by AFP Staff Writers.
Manila
(AFP) July 27, 2024-The Philippines said it carried out a resupply and
rotation mission to troops on a South China Sea reef Saturday without
"untoward incidents", more than a month after a violent clash with
Chinese forces in the area.It said the mission to Second Thomas Shoal
was the first since Manila and Beijing reached a "provisional
arrangement" last week for the delivery of daily necessities and
rotation missions for Filipino troops based on a rusty warship grounded
atop the reef.The shoal has been a focus of clashes between Chinese and
Philippine ships in recent months, sparking concern it could draw in
Manila ally the United States in a conflict as Beijing steps up efforts
to push its claims to almost the entire South China Sea.A Filipino
sailor lost a thumb in the latest confrontation on June 17, when Chinese
coast guard members wielding knives, sticks and an axe foiled a
Philippine Navy resupply attempt."No untoward incidents were reported"
after a civilian vessel escorted by a Philippine Coast Guard boat
reprovisioned the BRP Sierra Madre and rotated troops there on Saturday,
a Philippine foreign department statement said.China Coast Guard
spokesman Gan Yu confirmed that the Philippines had carried out a
resupply mission "in accordance with the temporary arrangement reached
between China and the Philippines".The two sides disagreed on the
details of the mission, with a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson
saying "China had been notified of the resupply before it was carried
out"."After confirming on-site that the Philippine vessel carried only
humanitarian living necessities, the Chinese side let the Philippine
vessel through," the spokesperson added.Philippine foreign department
spokeswoman Teresita Daza told reporters Saturday that Manila gave no
prior notification to the Chinese side, and there was no on-site
inspection of the vessels."We were informed the Chinese coast guard
vessels were at a reasonable distance with no risk of collision," Daza
added.Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday called on the
Philippines to "honour its commitments" under the deal, according to a
readout of his meeting with Philippine foreign secretary Enrique Manalo
at an ASEAN gathering in Laos.Manalo said he hoped Beijing would keep
its side of the bargain."If the parties implement, and we hope China
implements the agreement, then we'll be able to resupply our military
personnel on the ship without any obstruction," he told reporters."I
think that would be an important step forward in diffusing tensions and
hopefully lead to other areas of cooperation on the South China Sea."A
handful of Filipino troops are stationed on the rusty Sierra Madre that
was deliberately grounded on the shoal in 1999 to assert Manila's claims
to the area.They require frequent resupplies for food, water and other
necessities as well as transport for personnel rotations.The shoal lies
about 200 kilometres (120 miles) from the western Philippine island of
Palawan and more than 1,000 kilometres from China's nearest major
landmass, Hainan island.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday
hit out at China's "escalatory and unlawful actions" in the South China
Sea, hours before he was due to hold talks with Wang in
Vientiane.Washington and ASEAN had to work together to "address
challenges," Blinken told ministers from the 10-member bloc, including
China's "escalatory and unlawful actions taken against the Philippines
in the South China Sea over the last few months."
China warns Philippines of 'resolute' response in South China Sea.
Vientiane
(AFP) July 27, 2024 - China will "respond resolutely" to any violation
by the Philippines of a recent deal to calm tensions between the two
countries in the South China Sea, its top diplomat told his Filipino
counterpart, Beijing said Saturday.Manila is locked in a longstanding
territorial row with Beijing over parts of the strategic waterway
through which trillions of dollars worth of trade passes annually.Last
week, the two sides agreed to a "provisional arrangement" for resupply
missions to Filipino troops stationed at Second Thomas Shoal, which has
been the focus of violent clashes in recent months.Wang Yi on Friday
called on the Philippines to "honour its commitments" under the deal
rather than "backtracking or creating complications", according to a
readout of his meeting with Philippine foreign secretary Enrique Manalo
at an ASEAN gathering in Laos."Otherwise, China will definitely respond
resolutely," he said.Speaking to reporters late Friday, Manalo said he
hoped Beijing would keep its side of the bargain."If the parties
implement, and we hope China implements the agreement, then we'll be
able to resupply our military personnel on the ship without any
obstruction," he said."I think that would be an important step forward
in diffusing tensions and hopefully lead to other areas of cooperation
on the South China Sea."The two diplomats met in Laos capital Vientiane,
host of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers
meeting that comes amid a time of high tensions over the South China
Sea.Beijing claims the waterway -- through which trillions of dollars of
trade passes annually -- almost in its entirety despite an
international court ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.The
clashes have fuelled fears of a conflict that could drag in the United
States due to its mutual defence treaty with Manila.US top diplomat
Antony Blinken arrived in Laos on Saturday for talks with ASEAN foreign
ministers and will also meet with Wang.Blinken has prioritised promoting
a "free and open" Asia-Pacific region -- a thinly veiled criticism of
China's regional economic, strategic and territorial ambitions.
Quad 'seriously concerned' about situation in South China Sea-By L�on BRUNEAU, Katie Forster.
Tokyo
(AFP) July 29, 2024-The foreign ministers of the United States, Japan,
Australia and India on Monday expressed "serious concern" over the
situation in the South China Sea in a veiled rebuke to Beijing.US
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his counterparts in the so-called
Quad grouping issued a joint statement calling for a "free and open"
Pacific after talks in Tokyo.The statement did not name China directly
but referenced a series of recent confrontations between Chinese and
Philippine vessels in the disputed South China Sea."We are seriously
concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas and
reiterate our strong opposition to any unilateral actions that seek to
change the status quo by force or coercion," the communique said."We
continue to express our serious concern about the militarization of
disputed features, and coercive and intimidating maneuvers in the South
China Sea," it added.The group also condemned North Korea's
"destabilizing" missile launches.Their words prompted ire from Beijing,
which accused the four nations of "creating tension, inciting
confrontation, and containing the development of other
countries".Blinken is on a tour of Asia-Pacific countries aimed at
reinforcing regional cooperation in the face of Beijing's growing
assertiveness and its deepening ties with Russia.The Quad talks in
Tokyo, the first since September, included Japanese Foreign Minister
Yoko Kamikawa, India's S. Jaishankar and Australia's top diplomat Penny
Wong.- 'Imaginary enemies' -Their statement was noticeably more muted
than a communique issued after talks on Sunday between Blinken, US
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and their Japanese counterparts.Without
India and Australia present, the two countries issued scathing verbal
attacks that, unlike the Quad statement, named and criticised not only
China but also Russia.Washington and Tokyo said China's "foreign policy
seeks to reshape the international order for its own benefit at the
expense of others".They also slammed Russia's "growing and provocative
strategic military cooperation" with China.Criticism of Moscow by the
Quad is awkward for India, which relies heavily on Russian arms supplies
and whose Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Vladimir Putin this
month.Beijing on Monday warned Japan and the US to "stop creating
imaginary enemies", saying their bilateral statement "maliciously
attacks China's foreign policy".- Maritime clashes -The Philippines --
Blinken and Austin's next stop -- is locked in a longstanding
territorial row with Beijing over parts of the South China Sea.Violent
clashes in the area have sparked concern that Manila's ally Washington
could be drawn into a conflict as Beijing steps up efforts to push its
claims to almost the entire waterway, through which trillions of
dollars' worth of trade passes annually."We are charting a course for a
more secure and open Indo-Pacific and Indian Ocean region by bolstering
maritime security and domain awareness," Blinken told reporters after
the talks on Monday.Kamikawa said the Quad was determined to "cooperate
for the coexistence and co-prosperity of the international
community".Bec Strating, professor of international relations at La
Trobe University, warned ahead of the talks that the Quad's varied
agendas meant their message did not always ring clear.On one hand, the
idea that the four countries are willing to work together on defence and
foreign policy issues presents them "as a 'partner-of-choice' in the
region, compared with China", she told AFP.But "global issues such as
the war in Ukraine have demonstrated that the Quad countries are not
necessarily as 'like-minded' as the rhetoric suggests", Strating said.
Germany says will not be 'intimidated' by Putin's nuclear threats.
Berlin,
July 29 (AFP) Jul 29, 2024-Germany said on Monday it was not deterred
by Russian President Vladimir Putin's threats to relaunch production of
intermediate-range nuclear weapons if the United States confirms its
intention to deploy missiles to Europe."We will not be intimidated by
such statements," foreign ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer told a
government press conference.In early July, Washington and Berlin
announced that the "episodic deployments" of long-range US missiles,
including Tomahawk cruise missiles, to Germany would begin in 2026.Putin
on Sunday threatened to relaunch production of intermediate-range
nuclear weapons if the plans go ahead."We will consider ourselves
liberated from the unilateral moratorium previously adopted on the
deployment of medium- and short-range strike capabilities," Putin said
during a naval parade in Saint Petersburg.Putin added that now in Russia
"the development of a number of such systems is in the final
stages"."We will take mirror measures in deploying them, taking into
account the actions of the US, its satellites in Europe and in other
regions of the world," the Russian president warned.Such missiles, which
can travel between 500 and 5,500 kilometres (300-3,400 miles), were the
subject of an arms control treaty signed by the United States and the
Soviet Union in 1987.But both Washington and Moscow withdrew from the
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 2019, each accusing the
other of violations."This type of missile... had already been developed
and deployed long ago" by Russia, Fischer said."What we are now planning
is a response to deter these weapons from being used against Germany or
other targets," he added.
China warns US, Japan to 'stop creating imaginary enemies'by AFP Staff Writers.
Beijing
(AFP) July 29, 2024-Beijing on Monday warned the United States and
Japan to "stop creating imaginary enemies" after the countries lashed
out against China's actions in the South China Sea in Tokyo talks."We
strongly urge the US and Japan to immediately stop interfering in
China's internal affairs and stop creating imaginary enemies," foreign
ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.Following talks in the Japanese capital
on Sunday, the US and the hosts slammed Beijing's "destabilizing
actions" in the South China Sea while also condemning Russia's growing
military cooperation with China and North Korea.US Secretary of State
Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and their Japanese
counterparts "reiterated their strong objections to the PRC's unlawful
maritime claims, militarization of reclaimed features, and threatening
and provocative activities in the South China Sea", a joint statement
said, using an acronym for China.China's "destabilizing actions in this
region include unsafe encounters at sea and in the air, efforts to
disrupt other countries' offshore resources exploitation, as well as the
dangerous use of Coast Guard and maritime militia vessels", the
communique added.They accused China of "intensifying attempts to
unilaterally change the status quo by force or coercion in the East
China Sea" and that Chinese "foreign policy seeks to reshape the
international order for its own benefit at the expense of
others".China's Lin on Monday said the joint statement "disregards
facts, mixes up right and wrong maliciously attacks China's foreign
policy".He added the communique "crudely meddles in China's internal
affairs, maliciously attacks and smears China on maritime issues, makes
thoughtless remarks on China's normal military development and defence
policy, exaggerates and kicks up a fuss about the China threat, and
maliciously hypes up regional tensions"."China deplores and firmly
opposes this," Lin said.Quad 'seriously concerned' about situation in
South China Sea-Tokyo (AFP) July 29, 2024 - The foreign ministers of the
United States, Japan, Australia and India on Monday expressed "serious
concern" over the situation in the South China Sea in a veiled rebuke to
Beijing.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his counterparts in
the so-called Quad grouping issued a joint statement calling for a "free
and open" Pacific after talks in Tokyo.The statement did not name China
directly but referenced a series of recent confrontations between
Chinese and Philippine vessels in the disputed South China Sea."We are
seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas
and reiterate our strong opposition to any unilateral actions that seek
to change the status quo by force or coercion," the communique said."We
continue to express our serious concern about the militarization of
disputed features, and coercive and intimidating maneuvers in the South
China Sea," it added.The group also condemned North Korea's
"destabilizing" missile launches.Their words prompted ire from Beijing,
which accused the four nations of "creating tension, inciting
confrontation, and containing the development of other
countries".Blinken is on a tour of Asia-Pacific countries aimed at
reinforcing regional cooperation in the face of Beijing's growing
assertiveness and its deepening ties with Russia.The Quad talks in
Tokyo, the first since September, included Japanese Foreign Minister
Yoko Kamikawa, India's S. Jaishankar and Australia's top diplomat Penny
Wong.- 'Imaginary enemies' -Their statement was noticeably more muted
than a communique issued after talks on Sunday between Blinken, US
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and their Japanese counterparts.Without
India and Australia present, the two countries issued scathing verbal
attacks that, unlike the Quad statement, named and criticised not only
China but also Russia.Washington and Tokyo said China's "foreign policy
seeks to reshape the international order for its own benefit at the
expense of others".They also slammed Russia's "growing and provocative
strategic military cooperation" with China.Criticism of Moscow by the
Quad is awkward for India, which relies heavily on Russian arms supplies
and whose Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Vladimir Putin this
month.Beijing on Monday warned Japan and the US to "stop creating
imaginary enemies", saying their bilateral statement "maliciously
attacks China's foreign policy".- Maritime clashes -The Philippines --
Blinken and Austin's next stop -- is locked in a longstanding
territorial row with Beijing over parts of the South China Sea.Violent
clashes in the area have sparked concern that Manila's ally Washington
could be drawn into a conflict as Beijing steps up efforts to push its
claims to almost the entire waterway, through which trillions of
dollars' worth of trade passes annually."We are charting a course for a
more secure and open Indo-Pacific and Indian Ocean region by bolstering
maritime security and domain awareness," Blinken told reporters after
the talks on Monday.Kamikawa said the Quad was determined to "cooperate
for the coexistence and co-prosperity of the international
community".Bec Strating, professor of international relations at La
Trobe University, warned ahead of the talks that the Quad's varied
agendas meant their message did not always ring clear.On one hand, the
idea that the four countries are willing to work together on defence and
foreign policy issues presents them "as a 'partner-of-choice' in the
region, compared with China", she told AFP.But "global issues such as
the war in Ukraine have demonstrated that the Quad countries are not
necessarily as 'like-minded' as the rhetoric suggests", Strating said.
STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES
LUKE 21:25-26
25
And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in
the moon,(MAN ON MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the stars;(ASTEROIDS ETC)
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) for the powers of
heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)
THE FIRST
JUDGEMENT OF THE EARTH STARTED WITH WATER-IT ONLY MAKES SENSE THE LAST
GENERATION WILL BE HAVING FLOODING (BUT WILL NOT KILL EVERY BODY WITH
WATER)(BUT 50% OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE (4 BILLION PEOPLE) FROM NUCLEAR
WAR)(THE BIBLE SAYS BY FIRE OR ATOMIC BOMBS THIS TIME)
GENESIS 7:6-12
6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
11
In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the
seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the
great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
GOD PROMISED BY A RAINBOW-THE EARTH WOULD NEVER BE DESTROYED TOTALLY WITH A FLOOD AGAIN.BUT FLOODIING IS A SIGN OF JUDGEMENT.
OZONE DEPLETION JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH DUE TO SIN
ISAIAH 30:26-27
26
Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and
the light of the sun shall be sevenfold,(7X OR 7-DEGREES HOTTER) as the
light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of
his people,(ISRAEL) and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold,
the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the
burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his
tongue as a devouring fire:
MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22
And except those days should be shortened,(DAY LIGHT HOURS SHORTENED)
there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake (ISRAELS SAKE)
those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)(THE ASTEROID
HITS EARTH HERE)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days
shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and
the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be
shaken:
REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9
And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God,
which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him
glory.
EZEKIEL 32:6-9
6 I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of thee.
7
And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the
stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon
shall not give her light.
8 All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD.
9
I will also vex the hearts of many people, when I shall bring thy
destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not
known.
REVELATION 16:3-7
3 And the second angel poured out his
vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every
living soul died in the sea.(enviromentalists won't like this result)
4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
5
And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord,
which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
6
For they(False World Church and Dictator and baby murderers by abortion)
have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them
blood to drink; for they are worthy.
2 Peter 3:6-7 Amplified Bible (AMP) (HOT SUN, NUKES ETC)
6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.
7
By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire,
being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
Kerala's
Wayanad landslides: Death toll rises to 151, search on for missing-By
Chris Thomas and Jose Devasia-July 30, 202411:20 PM EDT
CHOORALMALA,
India, July 31 (Reuters) - Rescue workers began looking for people
trapped under debris early on Wednesday, a day after landslides caused
havoc in the Wayanad district of India's Kerala state, with at least 151
people dead and many still missing.Heavy rain in one of India's most
attractive tourist destinations collapsed hillsides and triggered
torrents of mud, water and tumbling boulders in the worst disaster in
the state since deadly floods in 2018.Most of the 350 families living in
the area surrounded by tea and cardamom estates were caught unaware by
the landslides early on Tuesday morning.At least 151 people died and 187
were still missing, the state chief minister's spokesman, P.M. Manoj,
told Reuters by phone.Television visuals showed many houses destroyed
and trees uprooted, as rescuers were pulled by ropes across muddy
streams of water.The government was considering making a portable,
pre-fabricated Bailey bridge to connect the affected area, after the
main bridge to the nearest town of Chooralmala was destroyed, K. Rajan,
the state revenue minister told Asianet TV.After a day of extremely
heavy rainfall that hampered rescue operations, the weather department
expects some respite on Wednesday, although the area is likely to
receive rain through the day.Reporting by Chris Thomas and Jose Devasia,
writing by Tanvi Mehta; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan
Grenada estimates damages from Hurricane Beryl at up to a third of economy-By Reuters-July 30, 20249:11 PM EDT
July
30 (Reuters) - Grenadian Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said on Tuesday
that early estimates suggest that losses from deadly Hurricane Beryl,
which hit the Caribbean earlier this month, likely total as much as a
third of economic output.The small Caribbean island nation had a gross
domestic product (GDP) of about $1.3 billion last year, according to
World Bank data. In 2004, Hurricane Ivan caused Grenada to suffer losses
that doubled its GDP.Mitchell cautioned that the estimate was still
preliminary, and that besides devastating homes and farms, Beryl had
wrought destruction on electricity grids, mangrove forests, water
infrastructure and the fishing sector.Reporting by Sarah Morland;
Editing by David Alire Garcia
No comments:
Post a Comment