Middle East Braces For Apocalyptic Conflict Between Israel And Hamas As Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman Declares “War Is Inevitable”

War is coming, and once it begins everything is going to change


By Michael Snyder | Economic Collapse Wednesday, October 17, 2018

It appears that a major war between Israel and Hamas is imminent.

For the past six months, Hamas has been staging violent protests along the Israeli border in an attempt to end the Israeli-Egyptian blockade. Those protests have escalated in recent weeks as Egyptian efforts to broker a long-term ceasefire have faltered. During these violent protests, large numbers of incendiary devices have been launched into Israel, and this has resulted in thousands of acres of land being burned on the Israeli side of the border. On Friday, approximately 14,000 Palestinians gathered along the border fence, and it was being reported that they were “throwing rocks, firebombs and grenades” at Israeli soldiers on the other side of the barrier. Needless to say, after six months of such violence Israeli patience is wearing very thin.

And now some members of the Israeli cabinet are openly advocating for war with Hamas. According to the Jerusalem Post, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman believes that a “harsh IDF military strike against Hamas” is the only way to end the violence…

A harsh IDF military strike against Hamas is the only way to halt the continued Palestinian attacks against Israel, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said on Tuesday morning as he met in the south with some of his top military staff.

“Now is the time for decisions. My position is very clear: We must deal a heavy blow against Hamas. This is the only way to return the situation to its previous state and to reduce the level of violence to nearly zero,” Liberman said.

Ultimately the decision whether to strike Hamas or not will be made by the entire cabinet, but in Liberman’s mind it has gotten to the point where “war is inevitable”…

Liberman told the Hebrew language Ynet website that “We have reached the moment – we must strike Hamas with the hardest blow. We have made every effort and exhausted every possibility… War is inevitable.”

That is a very powerful statement to make, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stopped just short of essentially saying the same thing on Sunday…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday threatened “very painful blows” against Gaza’s Hamas rulers if they don’t halt protests along the perimeter fence that have led to clashes with Israeli troops.

Netanyahu said Israel is very close to waging a “different kind of activity” against the Islamic militants. He said “if it has any sense, Hamas will cease its fire and violent outbursts — now.”

And here is how another news outlet reported on Netanyahu’s comments…

Speaking at the beginning of the weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday, Netanyahu said that “Hamas has yet to get the message that if it fails to stop its aggression it will be halted through other means and it will be painful, very painful.”

Netanyahu’s comments came after mass protests on Friday, during which several Palestinians breached the border fence and attacked an IDF position. Five Palestinians were killed in the incident and two more were killed during the violent protest along the border fence.

So is there any chance that Hamas will stop the protests?

Absolutely not.

And it will probably just take one of two more extremely violent border protests such as the one that we witnessed on Friday to push Israel into action.

Of course the reality is that both sides are already exchanging fire. On both Monday and Tuesday, the Israeli air force struck targets in Gaza…

Earlier Tuesday, Israeli aircraft fired at a Palestinian terror cell as it launched firebomb balloons from the northern Gaza Strip into Israel. No casualties were reported.

The airstrike followed a similar incident on Monday, in which the IAF targeted a Hamas position in southern Gaza after Palestinian terrorists tried to plant explosives along the security fence on the border. One of the explosives exploded on the Gaza side of the fence. No injuries were reported, but the fence sustained some damage.

But what Liberman and Netanyahu are talking about would go far beyond such limited action.

What they are talking about would essentially be an invasion of Gaza with the intention of ending Hamas rule in the area.

Let’s talk about what such a scenario would mean for the Middle East as a whole. Hamas would fight back with everything that they have got, and it would be an extremely bloody conflict. Seeing an opportunity, Hezbollah would likely start striking Israel from the north, and the Israelis could suddenly find themselves fighting a war on two fronts. And since Hezbollah is heavily funded and supplied by Iran, it is easy to imagine Iran getting involved in the conflict as well.

And once missiles start flying back and forth between Israel and Iran, all hell could break loose.

If a major regional war erupts in the Middle East, the Trump administration will not hesitate to intervene. U.S. forces would be used to protect Israel, and such a move would inevitably unleash chaos and protests all over the globe.

We are just a hop, skip and jump away form World War 3, and most Americans don’t have a clue.

Once again, the eyes of the entire would will soon be glued on a tiny sliver of extremely important land in the Middle East, and we are going to watch a drama play out that will have enormous implications for the entire planet.

War is coming, and once it begins everything is going to change.

Nation Will Rise Against Nation: Israeli Tanks Mass Along The Border As War Between Israel And Hamas Appears To Be Imminent


Another extremely bloody border protest on Friday has pushed Israel and Hamas to the brink of war. The Egyptians had been urging Hamas to tone down the border protests, but that did not happen. Instead, Hamas is pledging to continue the border protests for as long as it takes to end the Israeli blockade. So Israel has a choice to make. Either it can end the blockade, accept the endless violence that is currently taking place along the border, or invade Gaza. The Israelis have already stated very clearly that the blockade will not end, because everyone understands that weapons and fighters will pour into Gaza if that happens. So it looks like the choice will come down to living with the border violence or invading Gaza, and living with the border violence does not appear to be an acceptable choice either. On Friday, 10,000 Hamas protesters showed up at the border fence, and 130 of them got shot during the violence that erupted…

Israeli soldiers shot and wounded 130 Palestinians during protests near the Gaza Strip border on Friday, the enclave’s Health Ministry said.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said about 10,000 demonstrators massed at the border and that some threw burning tires, grenades and explosive devices at the troops across the fence.

Friday’s chaos followed more violence earlier in the week. On Wednesday, a rocket that was fired from Gaza obliterated a home in southern Israel, and another rocket landed not too far from Tel Aviv. The Jewish people have been greatly outraged by these attacks, and their patience has worn very thin.

In response to those attacks, the IDF hit targets in Gaza with airstrikes.

In an article just a few days ago, I noted that Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman is now saying that he believes that war between Israel and Hamas is “inevitable”. And on Thursday, Israel made a major move in that direction by massing tanks along the Gaza border…

On Thursday Israel had ramped up armored forces along the Gaza border, a day after a rocket fired from the enclave destroyed a home in southern Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, vowed “very strong action” if attacks continued.

In fact, it is being reported that this massing of tanks along the border represents “the largest mustering of forces since the 2014 war”…

Reuters has reported some 60 Israeli tanks and armored personnel carriers now stationed at a deployment area along the border as of Thursday, which is the largest reported mustering of forces since the 2014 war between Israel and Hamas.

This would be a war that would not benefit anyone, but it is very difficult to see how it will be avoided at this point.

Hamas could avoid war by simply ending the protests, but they have pledged not to do that.

Israel can keep hammering Gaza with airstrikes, but that definitely will not stop the violence. The only thing that could permanently stop the violence is a full-blown invasion of Gaza with the intention of completely eliminating Hamas.

But that would be an exceedingly bloody mission, and it could potentially spark a much broader Middle East war.

The mainstream media in the United States has been mostly silent about this looming conflict, but the truth is that this is an extremely serious situation. Just check out what Nickolay Mladenov told the UN Security Council on Thursday…

Special UN envoy for the Middle East, Nickolay Mladenov, told the UN Security Council on Thursday that “we remain on the brink of another potentially devastating conflict, a conflict that nobody claims to want, but a conflict that needs much more than just words to prevent”.

If someone was constantly sending rockets, grenades and incendiary devices across the U.S. border, the American people would be screaming and yelling for the military to do something, and rightly so.

Israel is not going to put up with all of this violence for much longer, but there is one huge problem. If Israel invades Gaza at this point, they will be considered to be the “aggressor” by most of the rest of the world. And in order to eliminate Hamas entirely, Israel would have to be ruthless, and images from the very bloody war would be endlessly broadcast throughout the Islamic world. This could greatly galvanize Israel’s other enemies, and it could very easily spark a broader conflict.

Israel is surrounded by nations that would love to see it wiped off the map, and if the right opportunity arose they would gladly join forces in an all-out attempt to defeat Israel once and for all.

But if that scenario were to unfold while Donald Trump was in the White House, the Trump administration would most certainly intervene militarily on the side of Israel, and that could potentially be the start of World War 3.

It isn’t true at this point, but U.S. relations with Israel will soon once again become one of the most divisive issues in U.S. politics. And a major war in the Middle East would go a long way toward destabilizing the entire globe.

We truly do live in apocalyptic times, and many are anticipating that global events will greatly accelerate during the months ahead.

Throughout much of human history, Israel has been at the center of attention, and now it is happening again.

Watch Israel very carefully, because the things that are happening over there right now are going to have very serious implications for all of us.

Brink Of War: Troops And Tanks Head To The Gaza Border After Hundreds Of Missiles Rain Down On Israel

If things go badly, Israel could very easily find itself fighting Hamas in the south and Hezbollah in the north simultaneously

By Michael Snyder | End Of The American Dream Tuesday, November 13, 2018


Missiles continue to rain down on Israel at this hour, and even the New York Times is admitting that the region is on the “brink of war”.

On Monday, more than 300 rockets and mortar shells were fired from Gaza into Israel, and the Israeli military struck back extremely hard in response. Many observers had been hoping that the barrage coming out of Gaza would slow down on Tuesday, but so far that has not happened. The Times of Israel is reporting that missile alarms were shrieking all over southern Israel as dawn broke on Tuesday, and at least 70 rockets and mortar shells have been fired at Jewish cities since midnight. If the barrage does not stop, there will be war. As you will see below, large numbers of IDF troops and tanks have been spotted heading to the Gaza border.

Fortunately, many of the rockets that have been fired at Israel have been intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system, but quite a few were able to get through.

One rocket that penetrated the missile defenses destroyed an Israeli bus…

With air-raid sirens wailing from the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea, and after a Palestinian anti-tank missile blew up an Israeli bus, seriously wounding a 19-year-old soldier, Israel retaliated with airstrikes and tank fire that grew steadily more destructive as the night wore on.

Israel hit scores of military posts and weapons caches across Gaza, but also leveled a Hamas television station, radio station and office building, and the group’s military intelligence headquarters. It was the heaviest fighting between Israel and Gaza since their war in 2014.

Many in the Islamic world are attempting to claim that Israel’s response was too harsh.

The destruction of the television station was particularly infuriating for Hamas leadership. The massive fireball that erupted when it was bombed made headlines all over the world…

Hours after an Israeli bus was struck by Hamas mortar fire from Gaza, resulting in injuries, which was accompanied by a sustained exchange of fire involving 100 rockets and Iron Dome defense response fire, Israeli jets have bombed the studios of Hamas’s television station in the Gaza Strip.

According to Reuters the huge airstrike was preceded by “warning” phone calls non-exploding missile “taps” from the Israeli military for locals to evacuate the the building housing Al-Aqsa Television — the official broadcast station operated by Hamas. News of casualties was not immediately forthcoming, but the strike produced a massive fireball captured through local video and eyewitness reports.

A state of war essentially already exists between Israel and Hamas, but it looks like there is a very real possibility that Israel could shortly conduct a full scale ground invasion of Gaza.

According to the Times of Israel, “large numbers of tanks and other military vehicles” are being transported to the border on heavy trucks…

On Monday evening, large numbers of tanks and other military vehicles were seen being moved down to the Gaza border on the backs of large trucks. Earlier in the day, before the barrages began, the army also ordered extra infantry battalions to the region.

Hamas could prevent this invasion by ending the barrage, but it doesn’t look like that is going to happen.

Instead, Hamas leadership says that what has happened so far “is just the beginning”…

“The resistance factions’ joint command center is holding a serious conversation about expanding its range of fire. Ashkelon is just the beginning. Approximately one million Zionists will be within the range of our missiles if the Zionist enemy’s decision is to continue its aggression,” said Abu Obeida, a spokesperson for Hamas’s military wing.

If Israel invades Gaza, it will be an extremely bloody conflict.

And it could also spark a much wider regional crisis.

Most people don’t realize this, but Israel and Hezbollah are also on the brink of war. In fact, Israel just gave the Lebanese government a “final warning”regarding Hezbollah factories…

Meanwhile, Israel reportedly sent a “final warning” to the Lebanese government that it will destroy Hezbollah factories that it says will be used to upgrade its missiles unless action is taken to shut them down. The Israeli government claims Iran recently supplied Hezbollah with precision-guidance munitions that will enable the terrorist group’s missiles to strike within 10 meters (33 feet) of their intended target.

The missiles are being upgraded in small factories, similar to those being used by Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza, that are scattered throughout Lebanon, but are difficult to target with air strikes or missiles because of their proximity to civilians.

If Israel bombs those factories, Hezbollah will literally unleash hell.

According to one recent report, Hezbollah now has at least 120,000 rockets and missiles. That is more “than all European NATO members combined”…

“Changes in the strategic environment in the 12 years since the last Israeli-Hezbollah conflict will translate into unparalleled death and destruction,” the report said, noting that Hezbollah’s recent fighting experience in Syria, its support from Iran and its massive weapons arsenal pose a “quantum leap” in the terror group’s ability to inflict devastation on Israel.

“Today, Hezbollah possesses more firepower than 95 percent of the world’s conventional militaries, and more rockets and missiles than all European NATO members combined,” the report stated.

Various estimates put Hezbollah’s overall rocket and missile stockpiles at between 120,000 to 140,000—up from roughly 10,000 in the last conflict in 2006.

If things go badly, Israel could very easily find itself fighting Hamas in the south and Hezbollah in the north simultaneously.

And needless to say, if that happens we are just a hop, skip and jump away from World War 3.

Because of the times that we live in, it is imperative that we watch Israel very closely. It is one of the smallest nations on the entire planet, but once again it is at the center of attention.

If a major conflict erupts, the entire world will be shocked by the bloodshed, and it could set in motion a series of events that will have very serious implications for all of us.