“No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn.  This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is from Me, says the LORD.”  (Isaiah 54:17)

For the first time in decades, all of Israel’s cities can be attacked by enemy forces, warned Israel’s chief of military intelligence Major General Aviv Kochavi last week.

An Israeli father and daughter visit Mount Bental in the Golan Heights, which borders Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.

“About 170,000 rockets and missiles are pointed at Israel, and they are deadlier than ever,” the Intelligence Chief said.  “Many of these weapons can be fired deep into Israel’s territory.”

Kochavi told a conference at The Institute for National Security Studies that Israel is facing rising security challenges that include regional instability, organized terrorism, and Global Jihad.

“Every day, the enemy continues to advance,” he said.  “For the first time in many years, Israel is almost completely surrounded by threats.  These are not potential threats, but threats posed by an active enemy.”

Israel Defense Forces Intelligence Chief Aviv Kochavi

One of those enemies is Hezbollah, a terrorist organization in Lebanon along Israel’s northern border.

He estimated Hezbollah now possesses 100,000 rockets and missiles, which places it in the category of a “semi-military” organization.

“Hezbollah is no longer a terrorist organization in the most basic sense of the term,” he stressed, pointing to their advanced weaponry that includes anti-tank missiles and mortars.  “An organization that has more than 100,000 rockets resembles a military more than a terrorist organization.”

Kochavi said that the line between terrorist groups and military organizations is “becoming increasingly blurred.”  That includes Hamas, the terror organization ruling the Gaza Strip.  (Arutz 7)

The rockets of that Gaza-based terrorist group threaten millions of Israeli civilians.

Hezbollah members during a parade.

But the enemy does not necessarily maintain easily identifiable military bases.  They operate in urban areas, placing women and children at risk.

“The enemy is hiding in cities and villages, wearing civilian clothing while equipped with advanced weaponry,” he said.  In addition, “Tens of kilometers of underground tunnels exist in Gaza and Southern Lebanon.”

Turning to another type of battlefield, Kochavi said that Israel is facing the growing phenomenon of cyberwarfare.

“Last year, there were dozens of [cyber] attacks carried out on Israel’s security systems and hundreds of attacks on state institutions,” he said, adding, “The field of cyberwarfare has only just begun.”  (Arutz 7)

Comparing cyberwarfare to the creation of gunpowder and the use of warplanes in the early years of the 20th century, Kochavi said this threat will continue to grow.  For now, however, the present-day missile threat is a greater danger than even Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons.  (Times of Israel)

The IDF deflects threats to Israel’s security.

Because Israel is doing everything in her power to counteract every threat, including creating the Iron Dome air defense system, some in the West tend to minimize the threat to Israel.

For instance, during a live online discussion hosted by the Globe and Mail, Canadian reporter Patrick Martin, Mideast Bureau Chief of Canada’s Globe and Mail, recently downplayed “rockets fired from Gaza” by Palestinians.

Martin said that the Palestinians were simply “protesting Israeli policy or just causing a nuisance.”

Israeli Osher Twito, 9, copes with the loss of his leg after a Palestinian Quassam rocket exploded next to him in the city of Sderot.

Imagine if jihadists were firing rockets into your community to protest your government’s policies.  You would not think it was just a nuisance.

Israeli civilians are injured and die in these attacks.  Their property is damaged or destroyed.  Their children are scarred physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Terrorism is not just a nuisance in Israel, and it is on the rise again.

A report published last week by Israel’s internal security agency, the Shin Bet, revealed a significant increase in terrorist attacks on Jews in Judea and Samaria during 2013 over the prior year.  Overall, 1,271 terrorist attacks were reported in 2013, up from just 578 in 2012.

“My God is My rock, in whom I take refuge, My shield and the horn of My salvation.  He is My stronghold, My refuge and My savior—from violent people You save me.”  (2 Samuel 22:3)

The bloody shoe of an Israeli child after a Gaza rocket is fired into Israel.