Israel and Hezbollah keep fighting–Israel destroyed Lebanon’s ‘Dome of the Rock’

Graves of Hezbollah members in Lebanon
(http://www.farsnews.com/photo/13950709000746/%da%af%d9%84%d8%b2%d8%a7%d8%b1-%d8%b4%d9%87%d8%af%d8%a7%db%8c-%d8%ad%d8%b2%d8%a8%e2%80%8c%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%84%d9%87-%d8%af%d8%b1-%d8%a8%db%8c%d8%b1%d9%88%d8%aa)

COGwriter

Israel and Hezbollah keep fighting. NBC reported the following:

October 10, 2024

The Israeli military continued dismantling Hezbollah leadership, killing two military commanders in airstrikes. Strikes also hit Syria this morning, as Israel expands its campaign across the Middle East.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said its response to Iran’s missile attack would be “lethal, precise and, above all, surprising” after President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The U.N. force in Lebanon accused Israel of repeatedly hitting its positions and injuring two peacekeepers in the country’s south. More than 2,000 people have been killed and more than 1.2 million displaced in Lebanon. …

The Israeli military said Thursday that nearly 40 rockets were launched from Lebanon towards Israel. The Israeli Defense Forces said that some of the rockets were intercepted, while others fell in the area.

The IDF said it continued targeting Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, with a number of close-quarters encounters and aerial strikes occurring in the past the day. The Israeli military said it struck more than 110 targets in Lebanon. …

Iran’s Foreign Minister says his country’s diplomatic channels with the U.S. remain open through other countries, according to Al Jazeera.

Abbas Araghchi also told Al Jazeera that Iran is prepared for an Israeli response to the missile attack that Tehran launched last week. “We will assess how the attack unfolds, and based on that, we will carefully determine the nature of our response.” …

The Israeli military launched aerial strikes on western Syria early Thursday, the Syrian defense ministry said. The ministry added that the strikes hit a military site in Hama and a car assembly plant in Hassia.

Syrian state television also reported that the strikes hit vehicles loaded with medical and relief supplies and ignited a large fire in the area. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/live-blog/israel-killed-hezbollah-commanders-lebanon-gaza-iran-syria-netanyahu-rcna174798

Israel365News reported the following:

IDF just destroyed the fake Lebanese Dome of the Rock

October 10, 2024

The IDF announced on Tuesday that it took operational control of a Hezbollah combat compound in Maroun El Ras, in southern Lebanon, a site noted for its “Iranian Gardens” containing a replica of the gold Dome of the Rock. Used as a Hezbollah outpost, the compound contained significant amounts of weapons. When the IDF moved on, the pseudo-Dome of the Rock, used as a mosque, was no longer standing. …

Hezbollah terrorists had used the site as living quarters.

Inside the building, IDF forces uncovered a staging area and a significant stockpile of weapons, including guns, anti-tank missiles, camouflage nets, and military vests. Additional launchers were hidden in the kitchen. … tweets show side-by-side photos showing the Dome of the Rock replica before and after its destruction.

ارتش اسرائیل امروز وارد بوستان ایران شد!
“حدیقة إیران” سال 1386 با هزینه بودجه دولتی ایران در روستای مارون الارس ساخته شد و سال های متوالی با امکانات تفریحی توسعه یافت.
در این پارک علائمی نظیر مجسمه قاسم سلیمانی، تندیس خامنه ای، ماکت مسجد الاقصی وجود داشت که توسط IDF تخریب شد pic.twitter.com/yONWziaUuE

— سرباز میهن (@IRANIANguardian) October 8, 2024

It should be remembered that the current war began with the Palestinian Hamas invasion of southern Israel, which they named ‘Al Aqsa Flood.” Many IDF soldiers reported seeing images of the Dome of the Rock prominently displayed in many homes in Gaza.

While Al Aqsa is the focus of Islamist violence against Israel, they universally misidentify it as the golden dome, which is referred to in Arabic as Qubbat aṣ-Ṣaḵra. Located at the Temple Mount’s center on the Jewish Temples’ Holy of Holies site, it is not a mosque but a shrine that Islamic law forbids facing while praying. https://israel365news.com/396963/idf-just-destroyed-the-fake-lebanese-dome-of-the-rock/

The destruction of the Lebanese ‘Dome of the Rock’ may further infuriate many Muslims.

Why so?

Notice something that Israel365 News reported earlier this year:

Hamas Spokesman: Oct 7 attack launched to stop the red heifers

January 17, 2024

The Hamas spokesman gave a rare speech on the 100 day anniversary of the war against Israel. In his speech, he cited the arrival of the red heifers in Israel as one of the motives for the massacre of Jews on October 7.

Abu Obeida, the military spokesman for the Izz ad-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas terrorist organization, made a televised appearance on the 100th day of the Israeli war on Gaza. …

The Palestine Chronicle translated his speech. In the third paragraph, Abu Obeidah listed the motives for the Hamas attack on Israel:

“We look back 100 days to remember the educated, the complicit, and the incapacitated among the world powers governed by the law of the jungle, reminding them of an aggression that reached its peak against our path (Al-Quds) and Al-Aqsa, with the start of its actual temporal and spatial division, and the ‘bringing of red cows’ as an application of a detestable religious myth designed for aggression against the feelings of an entire nation in the heart of its Arab identity, and the path of its prophet (the Night Journey) and Ascension to heaven.”

In his speech, he referred to the October 7 attack as “ the Al Aqsa flood”. …

Arab-language media covered Abu Abeidah’s speech extensively, focusing on the red heifer while noting that five red female calves were brought to Israel in September 2022. After the announcement of the arrival of the cows, Hamas reacted almost immediately, warning that the potential Jewish ritual posed a threat to Al Aqsa. https://www.israel365news.com/382489/hamas-spokesman-oct-7-attack-launched-to-stop-the-red-heifers/

Yes, many Muslims are concerned about Jewish plans for a red heifer and what is known as the Temple Mount–the place with the Dome of the Rock.

Notice information from the Temple Institute related to its belief that the Dome of the Rock will be removed:

Geo-politically, the Temple Mount has to be cleared of the Dome of the Rock and the mosques which are presently located upon it before the physical rebuilding of the Holy Temple can begin. Many scenarios can be imagined which would accomplish this, the most promising, and not necessarily the most far-fetched, would entail Moslem recognition of the Mount as the intended location for the rebuilt Temple. With the acquiescence of the Moslem world the Moslem structures currently on the Mount would be disassembled and reassembled elsewhere. https://templeinstitute.org/frequently-asked-questions/ accessed 03/17/24

By saying that the area must be cleared of the mosques and the Dome of the Rock that are presently on the area called the Temple Mount, the Temple Institute has taken a position that infuriates Muslims.

That said, let me add that a man at the Temple Institute told me personally that the Jews do NOT need a temple in order to resume regular animal sacrifices. They basically were only awaiting Israeli government approval. Since I spoke with him, the built an altar which they have dedicated for sacrifices, named a high priest, and claim to have red heifer candidates.

Consider that after the first Jerusalem temple was destroyed and left in ruins, the Bible itself specifically shows that sacrifices were made in the time of Ezra BEFORE the second temple was ready:

6 From the first day of the seventh month began they to offer burnt offerings unto the LORD. But the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid. (Ezra 3:6)

One may argue that since it takes the participation of Jewish religious leaders in order for Jewish animal sacrifices to be resumed in the 21st century, that the above scripture is a moot point.

And it might be if there were no Jewish religious leaders that thought that they could not sacrifice without a temple. But not only is the Temple Institute supportive of that, so is the Re-constituted Sanhedrin who also confirmed this with me personally.

That said, although the Jews do not have to clear the Temple Mount of the Dome of the Rock for animal sacrifices, the fact that the Temple Institute website pushes that clearing does not set well with the Muslims.

While the Lebanese ‘Dome of the Rock’ was basically a replica, its destruction may further motivate Iran, Syria, and others to take strong action against Israel.

What we know for sure is that the objectives of the Temple Institute and many Muslims are in serious conflict–and that with Israeli military actions, Iran and others do plan to take steps (cf. Isaiah 22:6-9).

Update 10/13/24: We just uploaded the following related video:

14:42

Israel destroys ‘Dome of the Rock’ of Lebanon

Israel has been bombing parts of Lebanon and Syria, while considering an attack against Iran. In Lebanon, Israel destroyed a replica of the Dome of the Rock which is associated with the “Iranian Gardens” in Lebanon. Why might this further infuriate the Muslims? Has Hamas claimed that one of the reason it launched its October 7, 2023 attack against Israel was because it was concerned that after the arrival of five red heifers, that the Jews hoped to clear the Temple Mount of the Dome of the Rock? Does the Jewish Temple Institute really want to clear the Temple Mount region of all mosques and the Dome of the Rock in order to build a third temple in Jerusalem? Have representatives of the Sanhedrin and Temple Institute told Dr. Thiel that regular animal sacrifices can begin without a third temple consistent with what is recorded in Ezra 3:6? Does the Bible, in the 22nd chapter of Isaiah prophesy that the nation of Israel and the ‘City of David’ will face damage from what looks to be an Iranian-Syrian-Lebanese confederation? Will Israel’s famed ‘Iron-Dome’ prevent great damage from coming? Is the Middle East an area to “Watch” like Jesus said in Mark 13:37? Dr. Thiel and Steve Dupuie discuss these matters.