This morning there was a barrage of rockets fired from Gaza into the Tel Aviv – Be’er Sheva areas and regions in between.

JPOST: The IDF killed over 20 terrorists and struck more than 200 targets from the air in the past 24 hours in Gaza. The targets included mosques, which were being used by Hamas for military activities. One such mosque was used as a command center while another had been in use as an observation post to monitor IDF troop movements. That mosque was in close proximity to a children’s playground. Troops destroyed three terror tunnels and discovered another containing large quantities of AK-47 assault rifles and grenades. A tank force operating in Gaza discovered a weapons cache inside a mosque, also on Tuesday overnight. The arsenal included a “Kornet” anti-tank missile launcher, which was loaded and ready for use. Troops also found explosives and maps.

Humanitarian Cease Fire: (There have been five. Hamas has broken all of them)

Israel has agreed to a four-hour humanitarian ceasefire requested by the UN starting at 3pm and ending at 7pm Wednesday (8 to 12 EST on US). The truce will only cover some areas of the Strip, where IDF ground forces are not deployed.At least 64 Palestinians killed and more than 100 wounded since midnight in IDF tank fire bombardments and IAF strikes.

The major thrust of the IDF, at this point, is the destruction of the terrorist tunnel system Hamas is using to infiltrate into Israel territory from Gaza. According to a recent Satellite image from the US, there are 60 of these tunnels. Israel has taken 36 so far, destroying 16 with more scheduled. IDF soldiers are going building to building in Gaza searching for entrances and have found many in private homes, mosques, schools and so on.

The elaborate tunnel system in Gaza includes three varieties: The most publically recognized tunnels are the ones between Egypt and Gaza used for smuggling. Second, the terrorist tunnels running under the border fence with Israel, and thirdly, the central tunnels within Gaza used mainly for organizing the movement of terrorists from one location to another and more recently for the firing of rockets into Israel.

According to a recent report written by Elior Levy, “The tunnels are divided into four districts: The northern Strip, Gaza city, the central Strip and the southern Strip. There is one person in charge of each district in coordination with the other districts, and only one person in charge of each tunnel. In order to maintain the secrecy, his name and the tunnel’s route are kept confidential. The diggers and the person in charge of the district are the only ones familiar with the details.”

The greatest threat to Israeli citizens is no longer the rockets falling on their cities but instead, the possibility of terrorists coming up from the ground within yards of schools, kindergartens, homes and crowded areas in the small Israeli towns surrounding Gaza. Recently a plot was discovered through the interrogation of captured Hamas terrorists; on the two day Israeli celebration of Rosh Hashanah, hundreds of Hamas terrorists were to ascend from the tunnels to kidnap Israeli women and children, to be held in the tunnel system in Gaza and used as bargaining collateral. If Israel had not initiated a ground invasion into Gaza there is no telling what disaster and death would have occurred it the Hamas tunnel plan succeeded. It is obvious; Israel has no choice but to destroy every single tunnel leaving not one operational, for the safety of Israeli citizens

Now also many nations have gathered against you, who say, “Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion.” But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord, Nor do they understand His counsel; for He will gather them like sheaves to the threshing floor.”

Micah 4