An estimated 10,000 Palestinian residents of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip participated in riots and violent confrontations with Israeli troops guarding the border fence on Wednesday afternoon to mark “Nakba (Catastrophe) Day” as the Palestinians refer to the anniversary of Israel’s birth on 15 May, 1948. Several incendiary balloons were also sent over the border into Israel, sparking large fires which destroyed crops, trees and buildings inside Israel. Large demonstrations were also held in PA administered cities in the West Bank and in Israeli-Arab villages and among Arab students in some universities.

Hossein Salami , commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) released a statement Wednesday declaring that his country is preparing for a “full confrontation” with its “enemies” even as many voices in the non-IRGC controlled media have been sounding notes of caution, harkening back to the difficult situation in Iran during the war with Iraq in the 1980s. For his part, U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted on Wednesday evening that “I’m sure that Iran will want to talk soon,” without giving any explanation as to what led to this assessment.

Residents of Jerusalem and several other cities in Israel’s central and southern districts reported feeling the ground beneath their feet moving on Wednesday evening as the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre reported detecting an earthquake measuring 4.6 on the Richter scale and centered dozens of kilometers off the coast. Residents of Cyprus, Egypt and Jordan also reported feeling the tremor.

A demonstration under the banner of “Nakbe (Catastrophe) Day” featuring Arab-Israeli students and elected Members of Knesset was held on 15 May near the entrance gate to Tel Aviv University, with similar demonstrations held at other Israeli Universities. Jewish students held a counter-demonstration, with one counter-demonstrator telling journalists “The fact that Israeli universities provide a platform for those who mourn the failed attempt to annihilate the Jews shows the backwards state of Israeli academia.”

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) issued a statement Wednesday evening announcing that they have pinpointed the spot on the lunar surface where the Beresheet spacecraft, sent to the moon by private Israeli company SpaceIL, crashed on 11 April. The statement was accompanied by photographs of the site, provided by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) telescope.

It’s time to dispel the lies and get to the truth. As thousands of Gazans riot on Israel’s border fence and threaten the lives of Israeli civilians, we want to lay out the basics facts and explain what’s really going on. If you care about the truth you’ll take a few minutes to watch this video.

The firing of hundreds of rockets from Gaza into Israel—a fraction of what Hezbollah possesses in Lebanon and what Iran has tried to introduce into Syria—underscores the multifaceted security challenge facing Israel today. To discuss Israel’s strategy to address its complex security environment, The Washington Institutehosted former IDF chief of staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot to deliver the annual Zeev Schiff Memorial Lecture on Middle East Security.

As we look at the prophecies God is fulfilling, we have confidence in His Faithfulness. He alone is faithful and true. He alone is the covenant-keeping God. He alone is able to fulfill His promises in His word about Jerusalem, Israel and each of us as His children.