My niece is turning 18 on January 19. I have never forgotten the fact that while this very cute baby was being born, Iraq was bombing Israel. During her birth date the Gulf War was raging in the deserts of Iraq. Operation Dessert Storm was expected to neutralize the enemy and subdue it. But Iraq was stubborn:

January 1991
“Iraq launches missile strikes”

"If Iraq was to be forced to obey UN resolutions, the Iraqi government made it no secret that it would respond by attacking Israel, who was allowed to ignore them without any action from the UN. Before the war started, Tariq Aziz, Iraqi Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, was asked, “if war starts...will you attack Israel?” His response was, “Yes, absolutely, yes.”[29] The Iraqis hoped that attacking Israel would draw them into the war. It was expected that this would then lead to the withdrawal of the U.S.' Arab allies, who would be reluctant to fight alongside the Jewish State. Israel did not join the coalition, and all Arab states stayed in the coalition. The Scud missiles generally caused fairly light damage, although their potency was felt on February 25 when 28 U.S. soldiers were killed when a Scud destroyed their barracks in Dhahran. The Scuds targeting Israel were ineffective due to the fact that increasing the range of the Scud resulted in the dramatic reduction in accuracy and payload. Nevertheless, the total of 39 missiles that landed on Israel caused extensive property damage and two direct deaths, and caused the United States to deploy two Patriot missile battalions in Israel, and the Netherlands to send one Patriot Squadron in an attempt to deflect the attacks. Allied air forces were also extensively exercised in "Scud hunts" in the Iraqi desert, trying to locate the camouflaged trucks before they fired their missiles at Israel or Saudi Arabia. Three Scud missiles, along with an Allied Patriot that malfunctioned, hit Ramat Gan in Israel on January 22, 1991, injuring 96 people, and indirectly causing the deaths of three elderly people who died of heart attacks. The Israeli policy for the previous forty years had been retaliation, but at the urging of the U.S. and theatre commanders, they decided that discretion was the better part of valour in this instance. After initial hits by Scud missiles, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir hesitantly refused any retaliating measures against Saddam Hussein, due to increasing pressure from the United States to remain out of the conflict.[30] The U.S. was concerned that any Israeli action would escalate the conflict simply by its occurring, and an air strike by the IAF would have required overflying hostile Jordan or Syria, which could have provoked them to enter the war in Iraq or to attack Israel. Source WIKIPEDIA

Tuesday, January 06, 2009 Israel Today Staff

"Livni: Era of Israeli restraint is over"

“Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Monday said that the assault on Gaza's terrorist infrastructure should signal to Hamas and the world that the era of Israeli restraint has come to an end.

“Israel's offensive in response to years of Hamas rocket fire is intended to "change the equation" in the region, Livni told reporters after meeting with visiting European foreign ministers in Jerusalem.

“Livni indicated that from this point forward, Israel will respond with great force to any aggression against its citizens.

“The Europeans were in Israel to push for an immediate 48-hour ceasefire in Gaza. Livni and the rest of the Israeli leadership rejected the proposal, insisting that the only way forward is for Hamas to first stop firing rockets and to be relieved of its ability to threaten Israel. Source: www.israeltoday.co

I do not know how to pray for either Israel or Gaza, except to call on God to be merciful. But I continue to pray that God will continue to give this land and the surrounding areas Peace, and not let the children and the young people experience any world war. Just at the news today, Red Cross volunteers saw at least four children at the boarders of Gaza. These kids are standing or sitting beside the corpses of their parents or brothers or sisters. I can only imagine their pain, the horror in their faces, the tears in their eyes, their lost innocence. In another instance, a camera man did not think that the air strikes will affect their house, but, one attack from the Israeli war planes went through their roof and killed both his brothers instantly.

I watch Israel news vehemently, even if often times, I don’t understand what’s happening. I keep asking, "When will this end?" In the Bible, there is the "Parable of the fig tree". Some commentaries say that in many instances, the occurrence of the “fig” metaphor refers to Israel. So some commentaries interpret Lk 21:28-32. and Mt 24:32-34 as referring to the end times.

Constantly, we are being told in the Bible to watch the signs of the times. As my niece turns eighteen on January 19, my watching becomes more urgent and deliberate. The world is aging and my niece is young. Hopefully, God will allow her generation to enjoy a full life in a still relatively “peaceful” world.