Netanyahu Rushed Off Stage During Campaign Event as Rocket Intercepted in Southern Israel.........
26 December 2019
'Whoever fired rockets now, better pack his belongings,' Netanyahu threatens as he returns to finish address at southern Israeli port city of Ashkelon
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was rushed off the stage at an election campaign event in the southern Israeli port city of Ashkelon after rocket sirens blared throughout several communities on Wednesday evening.
One rocket fired from Gaza was intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defence system, the Israeli army confirmed.
During his speech at the Ashkelon event, the premier – who is facing a tense race for the Likud party leadership beginning Thursday – referred to the Israeli military's assassination of senior Islamic Jihad commander Baha Abu al-Ata in the Strip last month. Al-Ata's killing triggered a short-lived but tense round of fire between Israel and the Gaza group.
"He who fired [rockets] last time isn't with us anymore," Netanyahu said. "And he who fired now, better start packing his belongings," the prime minister continued, seemingly implying that whoever is behind the rocket fire this time will be targeted and retaliated against in a similar way.
"This isn't an attack on me or on Ashkelon, it's not that. These are recurring attacks on our communities, and they think that we won't hurt them or that we'll break down," he added.
Iran to conduct naval drills with China and Russia........
26 December 2019
Iran’s armed forces will hold a joint, four-day naval exercise with Russia and China in the northern part of the Indian Ocean, a spokesman said Wednesday.
The drill, which is to start on Saturday, will be the first such trilateral exercise as Tehran seeks to boost military cooperation with Beijing and Moscow amid unprecedented economic sanctions from Washington.
Visits to Iran by Russian and Chinese naval representatives have also stepped up in recent years.
Iranian military spokesman Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi said the joint manoeuvres, which are aimed at promoting regional security, will extend as far as the Gulf of Oman.
The drill is seen as a response to recent U.S. manoeuvres with its regional ally Saudi Arabia, in which China also participated.
In the wake of recent escalating tensions in the Persian Gulf, including attacks on oil vessels and a missile-and-drone assault on the Saudi oil industry, the U.S. has sent a number of American troops to the region and additional missile defence systems to Saudi Arabia.
IDF preparing for confrontation with Iran - Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi..........
26 December 2019
Lieutenant-General Kochavi acknowledges in public for the first time that Israel has struck Iranian targets in Iraq........
The IDF is preparing for a limited confrontation with the Islamic Republic as Israel continues to act against Iranian entrenchment, IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant.-General Aviv Kochavi [pictured above] warned on Wednesday.
“There is a possibility that we will face a limited confrontation with Iran and we are preparing for it,” Kochavi said at a conference in honour of former IDF chief of staff Lieutenant-General Amnon Lipkin-Shahak at the IDC Interdisciplinary Centre in Herzilya.
“We will continue to act and responsibly,” Israel’s top military officer said, adding it would have been better had Israel not been the only one engaged in the effort to stop Iran.
The IDF, he said, is carrying out operations both publicly and below-the-radar to prevent the enemy from obtaining precision missiles, even if those operations bring about a confrontation.
“We will not allow Iran to entrench itself in Syria, or in Iraq,” Kochavi said, publicly acknowledging for the first time the Israel Air Force has attacked against Iranian targets in Iraq.
“Iraq is undergoing a civil war, when the Quds Force is operating there on a daily basis, when the country itself has turned into an ungoverned area. Advanced weapons are being smuggled by the Quds Force in Iraq on a monthly basis and we can’t allow that,” he said.
According to Kochavi, there’s been a change in threats, with all fronts active in trying to carry out terror or rocket attacks against Israel.
New Iranian operation at Arak heavy water nuclear reactor .........
26 December 2019
Iran has started up the Arak heavy water reactor’s second circuit, Tehran announced on Monday, claiming it does not violate the 2015 nuclear accord.
It does however bring Iran’s nuclear program that much closer to weapons-grade levels.
This action was taken as pressure on Europe to compensate Iran for US sanctions. Britain is said to be helping Iran redesign the reactor to limit the amount of plutonium it produces.
On Sunday, Iran’s national security chief Ali Shamkhani warned that Iran will further strip down its obligations under the nuclear deal “unless Europe implements its commitments.”
Nine earthquakes in less than 24 hours hit California on Christmas eve, early morning ........
26 December 2019
A series of earthquakes on Christmas Eve and before dawn Christmas morning hit around California, and a much bigger 6.3 quake shook off Vancouver.
At least nine earthquakes in 24 hours reaching up to 3.2 magnitude shook California from the Los Angeles area north to Chico, the U.S. Geological Survey reports.
The other quakes in the swarm ranged from 2.5 to 3.0 magnitude and stretched the length of the state, according to the USGS.
The largest was near Idyllwild, in the San Jacinto mountains east of Los Angeles, at 8:24 p.m. on Christmas Eve. The quake was 9.6 miles deep and was felt as far away as the Rancho Cucamonga and Redondo Beach, the USGS said.
A much larger 6.3 magnitude quake hit Christmas eve in the Pacific Ocean off Port Hardy, Canada, west of Vancouver, according to the USGS.
People reported feeling the quake in Vancouver, more than 300 miles away. It struck at 10:36 p.m. Tuesday at a depth of 6.2 miles, the USGS said.
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