By:  ICEJ News

Ambassador Gold Testifies About the Golan Heights

IDF units deployed on Israel’s northern and southern borders were on maximum alert Thursday morning following heavy exchanges of fire overnight with Assad regime forces in Syria as well as Hamas and other terror militias in the Gaza Strip. Two BM-21 “Grad” rockets, believed to be fired at Assad regime forces in southern Syria by the Islamic State (IS) terror militia fell in the Sea of Galilee late Wednesday, leading Israeli jets to launch retaliatory strikes. “The Israel Air Force struck the rocket launcher from which the two rockets were fired and by artillery toward the area from which the rockets were fired,” the IDF said.  “The IDF will act against any attempt to harm the sovereignty of the State of Israel and the security of its residents.”

The incident came as IS claimed credit for a series of attacks which killed at least 220 people and wounded many more in suicide attacks on regime-held areas across southern Syria on Wednesday.

Here is a video of Ambassador Dore Gold testifying before a US Congressional Committee on the situation regarding the Golan Heights adjacent to southern Syria.

See Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWJdSR1wse8&t=5s

Meanwhile, Minister of Public Security and Strategic Affairs Gilad Erdan told Kan radio on Thursday morning that “We are being dragged into a wider operation with Hamas. We are approaching with great strides— because of Hamas—  a situation in which the IDF will have to embark on a wide-scale operation. It is clear that after four years of quiet since Operation Protective Edge residents are back in an unacceptable situation; there are rocket sirens at night and children in shelters. If Hamas does not understand [this] from [Israel’s] waves of attack, we will have to return to a broad military operation that will exact a price, at least as much as Operation Protective Edge if not more than that.”

The statement followed a violent evening on the border including the firing of at least nine rockets into Israel by Gaza-based terror groups, the wounding of an IDF officer by a Hamas sniper and retaliatory airstrikes by Israel which reportedly killed three Hamas members and wounded an unverified number of others.