VFI News More than 2,000 Dead and About 2,400 Injured in Morocco After a 6.8 Magnitude Quake

More than 2,000 Dead and About 2,400 Injured in Morocco After a 6.8 Magnitude Quake | VFI News

Rescuers searched on Sunday, September 10, for survivors of Morocco's deadliest earthquake in more than six decades, with at least 2,122 people killed and 2,421 injured by the disaster that has laid waste to villages in the mountains outside Marrakech.

Many people spent a second night in the open after the 6.8 magnitude quake hit late on Friday. Relief workers face the challenge of reaching the most badly affected villages in the High Atlas, a rugged mountain range where settlements are often remote and where many houses crumbled.

Large chunks of a cliff had broken off and fallen onto the road near the small town of Moulay Brahim, partly blocking a winding road connecting Marrakech to the Atlas Mountains.

The village of Tansghart in the Ansi area, on the side of a valley where the road from Marrakech rises up into the High Atlas, was the worst hit of several visited by journalists on Saturday. The World Health Organization said more than 300,000 people have been affected by the disaster.

Morocco has declared three days of mourning and King Mohammed VI called for prayers for the dead to be held at mosques across the country on Sunday. (JPost / VFI News)

“God, we pray for the swift recovery of all the injured citizens, as well as for the families that lost their loved ones in this devastating tragedy. Their pain is immeasurable and we would like to offer our heartfelt condolences to them. Let us all pray that there will be no more losses nor disasters in Morocco and that the thousands of afflicted citizens will be given everything they need to restore their lives.”

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Two people were wounded, including one seriously, in a terror stabbing attack on a promenade near Jerusalem’s Old City on Wednesday afternoon, September 6, police and medics said.

According to police, the alleged terrorist, a 17-year-old Palestinian from East Jerusalem, carried out the attack with a cleaver just outside the Jaffa Gate entrance to the Old City. Graphic footage showed the terrorist stabbing people with the cleaver on the promenade.

The assailant, who attempted to flee the scene after tossing the knife, was arrested by officers following a brief chase, police said.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service said a 56-year-old Israeli man was seriously hurt after being stabbed in the upper body and a 17-year-old tourist was slightly hurt after sustaining a superficial stab wound to his abdomen. Another woman in her 50s was treated by medics for acute anxiety.

MDA said it took the seriously wounded man to Hadassah Hospital Mount Scopus in the capital in stable condition. (TOI / VFI News)

“God, we pray that the man who was seriously injured in the terror attack will recover fully and quickly. We ask that You give us the means to fight off terrorism in our country so that no more Israeli citizens suffer physically and psychologically by such abhorrent acts.”

Mossad Director David Barnea, during a conference at Richman University in Herzliya on Sunday, September 10, revealed that Iran intended to sell Russia short and long-range missiles, but the deal was shut down.

"They intend to sell additional arms, which will be shut down as well. Our fear is that in return, the Russians will transfer advanced weaponry to the Iranians that would certainly threaten our wellbeing and even our existence."

"Tehran continues trying to get the status of an enlightened country. They hide behind a story … We see a significant rise in attempts to harm Jews and Israelis around the world. In the past year, we foiled, together with our partners, 27 terror attacks worldwide," he added.

Barnea declared that "until now, we only hit the commanders, the time has come that we take a different toll on Iran. Harm to an Israeli or a Jew, in any way, would lead to action deep in Iran and even in the heart of Tehran, from the executive level to the decision-makers. "

During his speech, Barnea presented a video that reveals Iran's deep involvement in global terror and shows terrorists admitting that they were sent by official intelligence and security organizations to harm Israelis and Jews.

According to Barnea, these reveal Iran's fingerprints on terror operations and demonstrate that Iran cannot deny its responsibility for terrorism even as it hides behind missions that aren't Iranian. (INN / VFI News)

“God, we ask that You prevent Iran from harming any Israelis or Jews and that You will protect our people from terrorism, no matter where they reside. We are grateful that Israel is prepared and ready to protect its citizens, should Iran decide to escalate its aggression against us.”

Israel legalized three Judea and Samaria outposts on Wednesday, September 6, after the head of the IDF’s Central Command, Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fox signed off on orders designating for the first time their municipal boundaries.

The process turns the outposts into recognized settlements — by the State of Israel, not the international community, which by and large views all settlements as illegal — with formal and legal municipal boundaries, albeit ones with illegally built homes and other structures, since they were constructed years ago without an approved masterplan or construction permits.

The three outposts, Avigayil, Asahel, and Beit Hoglah, are on a list of nine such outposts approved for legalization by the government in February, as part of promises made to the far-right Religious Zionism party in coalition agreements. That process could still take several months.

According to the Peace Now settlement watchdog, Avigayil has some 48 housing units on 85 dunams (21 acres) of land, two dunams of which are considered private Palestinian land. Its new municipal boundaries greatly expand the outpost over a total of 202 dunams.

Asahel, also in the Mount Hebron Regional Council area, has 71 housing units and is built on 61 dunams of state land. Its new boundary jurisdiction will extend to a massive 880 dunams, making it 14 times bigger than its current size. The size of Beit Hoglah’s new boundary jurisdiction was not immediately available. (TOI / VFI News)

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.” - 1 Chronicles 16:34

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Israel's Ministry of Defense procurement delegation in the US has submitted a formal Letter of Request (LOR) to the US F-35 Program Office (JPO) for the procurement of 25 F-35 stealth fighter aircraft from the US government.

When the procurement of the third F-35 squadron is complete, Israel will have 75 stealth jets. The deal will cost an estimated $3 billion from US military aid to Israel, with the first three aircraft to be delivered in 2027 and thereafter at the rate of three F-35s each year.

As part of the original agreement between the Israeli and US governments, the aircraft manufacturer Lockheed Martin and the engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney agreed that Israeli manufacturers would be involved in producing parts for the planes.

This collaboration will be especially beneficial for Israeli defense electronics company Elbit Systems, which manufactures displays and helmets for the F-35 planes. The helmet produced by Elbit is considered a global technological leader providing pilots with advanced capabilities. (eGL / VFI News)

“But you will cross the Jordan and settle in the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and He will give you rest from all your enemies around you so that you will live in safety.” - Deuteronomy 12:10

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has announced that Israel will start withholding money from the funds it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority to pay for the latter’s outstanding debt to the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC).

“No more... For many years, the Finance Ministry failed massively, and because of that Israeli citizens paid millions of shekels each month to fund the electricity consumption of the PA,” Smotrich said on Tuesday, September 5.

“From now on, I will deduct from the funds for the PA each month the entirety of its electricity consumption, and later on we will also deduct money to offset its past debts.”

Under the Oslo Accords, Israel is responsible for collecting customs duties and other tax revenues on behalf of Ramallah, due to the PA’s lack of statehood status. It then transfers the funds to the PA every month, providing funds that amount to nearly 65 percent of the Palestinian annual budget.

The PA’s debt to the IEC currently stands at NIS 2 billion ($525 million), according to Israeli media. In a response to the deductions announced by Smotrich for the electricity debt, PA Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said that the debt had been incurred by the Jerusalem District Electricity Company, a private company. (TOI / VFI News)

Foreign investment in Israel dove by 60 percent in the first quarter of this year, according to a report published by the Finance Ministry on Wednesday, September 6.

Israel lured about $2.6 billion in foreign investment in the first three months of the year, reflecting a 60% decline compared to the average quarterly figures recorded in 2020 and 2022, according to the data, which did not compare this year to 2021 as it was a record year and viewed as an outliner.

Citing data from the Central Bureau of Statistics, the report notes that foreign direct investment in the first quarter of 2023 fell 34% to $4.76 billion, versus the quarterly averages recorded in 2020 and 2022.

In addition, the average size of exit transactions — mergers and acquisitions or initial public offerings of shares — in the first quarter plunged 80% to $56 million from about $307 million in 2020 and 2022.

The Finance Ministry attributed part of the sharp drop to the decline in the valuations of many technology companies in the United States. (TOI / VFI News)

A new excavation project in Jerusalem has unearthed steps unseen in over 2,000 years at a place where the New Testament records Yeshua as having healed a blind man.

The Israel Antiquities Authority, the Israel National Parks Authority, and the City of David Foundation early this year announced that the Pool of Siloam, a biblical site cherished by Christians and Jews, will be open to the public for the first time in 2,000 years in the near future.

In recent weeks, archeologists achieved significant progress in the excavation, unearthing some eight steps descending into the Pool which had not been seen in 2,000 years — around the time when Yeshua walked the earth.

According to estimates, the Pool of Siloam passed through many stages of construction and reached the size of 1.25 acres. According to a passage in the Gospel of John, Yeshua restored the sight of a man born blind at the Pool of Siloam.

"The ongoing excavations within the City of David — the historic site of Biblical Jerusalem — particularly of the Pool of Siloam and the Pilgrimage Road, serve as one of the greatest affirmations of that heritage and the millennia-old bond Jews and Christians have with Jerusalem," Ze’ev Orenstein, director of International Affairs - City of David Foundation, told American media. (FN / VFI News)

“As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.’” - John 9:1-3

The suggestions, opinions, and scripture references made by VFI News writers and editors are based on the best information received.

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