Israel\’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday and the two discussed options for \”de-escalating\” the situation in Israel and Gaza, the White House said.
Israel\’s cabinet authorized the mobilization of up to 75,000 reservists late on Friday, preparing the ground for a possible Gaza invasion after Palestinians fired a rocket toward Jerusalem for the first time in decades.
Both Houses of the U.S. Congress unanimously passed resolutions expressing support for Israel\’s \”inherent right to act in self-defense.\”
Pleasure-loving, wheeler-dealer Tel Aviv withstood Saddam Hussein\’s Scud missiles 20 years ago and Palestinian suicide bomb attacks a decade later.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday called on Israel and Hamas to \”stop this dangerous escalation\” in the Gaza Strip to avoid further bloodshed in Israel and the Palestinian territories, Ban\’s spokesman said.
Three Israeli soldiers were lightly injured by a Palestinian rocket attack on the northern Negev.
Israel’s Home Front Command reportedly has instructed municipalities around Gaza to prepare for a fighting period of up to seven weeks.
The Jewish Federations of North America committed $5 million for an Israeli terrorism relief fund to help Israeli victims of the conflict with Hamas in Israel\’s south.
Arab and Jewish students at three Israeli universities faced off in campus demonstrations related to the latest outbreak of violence on the Gaza-Israel border.
Palestinian militants reportedly fired 21 rockets from Gaza into Israel during a unilateral ceasefire called by Israel to facilitate a visit to Gaza by Egypt’s prime minister.
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.