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One of the oldest copper fishhooks in the world was discovered during excavations in Ashkelon, southern Israel, the Israel Antiquity Authority (IAA) announced on Wednesday.The 6,000-year-old discovery was made in 2018 when the IAA carried out excavations prior to the construction of the Agamim neighborhood in Ashkelon. However, the find is only being presented to the public now; it will be exhibited for the first time at the 48th Archeological Congress on April 3, the IAA press release said."This unique find is 6.5 cm (2.5 inches) long and 4 cm (1.5 inches) wide, its large dimensions making it suitable for...

The Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Monday that archaeologists have discovered a 2,000-year-old Roman basilica established by King Herod. Unearthed in Ashkelon National Park, the basilica, found with a nearby odeon (ancient theater), is the largest structure of its kind in Israel... The basilica he erected stood at the heart of Ashkelon—then a major seaport with a thriving trade economy—and functioned as a hub for all aspects of public life. In the Roman Era, it was common for citizens to conduct business and legal affairs, to socialize, and to attend religious ceremonies and performances there. The massive public building contained...

Senior Islamic Jihad commander killed in IDF airstrike Military identifies militant as head of terrorist organization's rocket unit Samih al-Mamluk; two other senior members also killed in attack; group vows retaliation against Israel The IDF and Shin Bet domestic security agency announced on Tuesday that a senior commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorist group in the Gaza Strip has been assassinated in a joint operation.

The researchers found a Philistine cemetery in Israel – home to 145 human remains dating back to between the 11th and the 8th centuries BC. The discovery, made in 2013 and finally revealed in 2016, may yield answers to an enduring mystery surrounding the origins of the Philistines. It came at the end of a 30-year excavation by the Leon Levy Expedition. The Philistines were an ancient people who lived from the 12th century BC until 604 BC. They are known for their biblical conflict with the Israelites.

Between 1997 and 2016, researchers at an excavation near Ashkelon in Israel examined the remains of more than one hundred humans, remains that dated from the 12th to 6th centuries before Christ. The researchers hoped to find human DNA in order to answer an old question: Who were the Philistines? Where did they come from? As it turns out, the Philistines were exactly who the Bible says they were, and they came from where the Bible says they did. Amos 9 speaks of God bringing up the Philistines from Caphtor, just as he brought Israel out of Egypt. Deuteronomy 2...

JERUSALEM — Goliath the Greek? Human remains from an ancient cemetery in southern Israel have yielded precious bits of DNA that a new study says help prove the European origin of the Philistines — the enigmatic nemeses of the biblical Israelites. The Philistines mostly resided in five cities along the southern coast of what is today Israel and the Gaza Strip during the early Iron Age, around 3,000 years ago. In the Bible, David fought the Philistine giant Goliath in a duel, and Samson slew a thousand of their warriors with the jawbone of an ass. Many archaeologists have proposed...

The Israeli Foreign Ministry tweeted a map of the areas most affected by Palestinian Arab rockets, explaining that “one million Israeli civilians are forced into shelters”. After the Israeli army eliminated the commander of the Islamic Jihad Abu al Atta in a building in the Shejaeya district of Gaza, terrorists from Gaza responded with the launch of over 250 missiles, reaching even Tel Aviv, Nathan A. Sales, coordinator of the US State Department for terrorism, revealed the total amount of money Iran is spending to finance anti-Israel terrorism: Iran provides 700 million dollars a year to Hezbollah and an additional...

Lt. Col. (res.) Avi Farhan, who was evicted from Yamit and Gush Katif, on Thursday called on the government to provide the appropriate Zionist response to terrorism and to reestablish the communities of Dugit, Elei Sinai and Nisanit on the northern tip of Gaza. The three communities were evicted in 2005 as part of the “Disengagement” from Gaza. In a conversation with Arutz Sheva, Farhan pointed out that Gazan Arabs do not live on the ruins of these three communities. "There are only ruins there, and they serve as a nest for terrorism. These communities should be rebuilt just as...

The Philistines left behind plenty of pottery. But part of the mystery surrounding the ancient people was that very little biological trace of them had been found -- until 2013. That's when archaeologists excavating the site of the biblical city of Ashkelon found what they say is the first Philistine cemetery ever discovered. They say they have uncovered the remains of more than 200 people there. The discovery was finally unveiled Sunday at the close of a 30-year excavation by the Leon Levy Expedition, a team of archaeologists from Harvard University, Boston College, Wheaton College in Illinois and Troy University...

The man who stabbed and lightly wounded an Israeli soldier Sunday morning in the southern coastal city of Ashkelon has been identified as a Sudanese national. The attacker was shot and seriously injured after fleeing the scene of the stabbing; he later died of his wounds at the hospital. Police initially believed the stabbing near the city's central bus station was part of an ongoing wave of Arab terror attacks across Israel. Now, however, the motive for the stabbing is unclear. The Sudanese national, said to be in his 20s, arrived at Ben Gurion Boulevard in Ashkelon shortly before 8:30...

You would think that 12 miles inland from the Mediterranean Sea is the last place to find a dolphin clutching a fish between its jaws. Hewn from marble, the 2,000-or-so-year-old statuette surfaced during archaeological excavations near Kibbutz Magen, bordering the Gaza Strip, in March of this year. The discovery of the dolphin statue amid the ruins of a late Byzantine and early Islamic site in the northern Negev was only announced this week by Israel's Antiquities Authority. Alexander Fraiberg, head archaeologist with the IAA team, said he believes the sculpture dates to the Roman era, but was incorporated into a...

(LiveActionNews) — A common narrative in our society is that, by opposing abortion and infanticide, Christians are conducting a “war on women.” However, in a fascinating study entitled “The Rise of Christianity,” published by Princeton University Press, sociologist Rodney Stark argues that the phenomenal growth of “the obscure, marginal Jesus movement” was due in large part to women. Stark argues that early Christianity was “especially attractive to women” because “within the Christian subculture women enjoyed far higher status than did women in the Greco-Roman world at large.”Furthermore, Stark argues that the Christian opposition to abortion and infanticide was one of...

In an exclusive Arutz Sheva interview on Thursday, Hof Ashkelon Regional Council chairman Yair Farjoun said that his region, which has been battered by rockets from the terror enclave of Gaza, cannot continue under the current status quo. "Out of 160 rockets, 60 fell in our territory - that's a serious blitz," Farjoun commented about the renewed rocket barrage, which began with a breach of the ceasefire on Tuesday around 4 p.m. The chairman continued "it's incredible to see how people live here by sheer miracles; beside a direct hit on a synagogue, rockets have landed just 200 meters (650...

Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted five rockets fired at the city of Ashkelon from the Gaza Strip on Thursday, and the military responded with a series of air strikes on the Hamas-controlled territory. No group has taken responsibility for firing the rockets, which were shot down by Iron Dome's small radar-guided missiles over Ashkelon, a coastal city of some 125,000 people about 12 km (seven miles) north of Gaza.

The Iron Dome rocket defense system intercepted five rockets fired by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza at Ashkelon early Thursday morning. An additional rocket may have landed in an open, uninhabited area. There were no injuries in the Palestinian attack.

A classroom in a special education school in Ashdod has served as a makeshift synagogue on Sabbaths for 40 years running. Throughout those years, not one Sabbath prayer was missed. Until this last Sabbath. And that was what saved the congregants from a Gaza missile that struck the synagogue's courtyard Saturday. Netanel Mor Yosef, a member of the congregation, explained to Arutz Sheva: "The synagogue is active, but only on the Sabbath, for the past 40 years. Not a single Sabbath prayer session was ever missed until this week. Then synagogue's gabbai (treasurer-manager) underwent an operation during the week and...

The rocket attacks from Gaza continued overnight Saturday, giving local residents a restless night. Two rockets were fired towards Be’er Sheva just after 3:00 a.m. (Israel time). The rockets exploded in open areas and there were no reports of physical injuries or damage. At about 5:00 a.m. Israel time, a Grad missile exploded north of the city of Ashkelon. There were no physical injuries or damage. Meanwhile, IAF aircraft targeted six terror activity sites in Gaza overnight. Three rocket launching sites and one terror tunnel were targeted in northern Gaza, and two terror activity sites were targeted in southern Gaza....

A man in his 50s was killed Saturday night as more rockets fell in southern Israel, with missiles hitting Ashkelon. Two people were injured in Ashkelon, as Grad rockets struck several parts of the city. One of the rockets hit in or near a house, and a very loud explosion was heard – indicating the possibility, a Magen David Adom spokesperson said, that a gas canister had been hit. One person was taken to Barzilai Hospital in the city in serious condition, where he later died of his wounds. A second person was injured lightly to moderately when another rocket...

Gaza terrorist squads fired three Grad medium-range missiles and three mortar shells into Israeli territory Sunday evening. The rockets and shells exploded in open areas within the Eshkol and Hof Ashkelon local authorities. No one was hurt and no damage was caused. Security sources said that the Iron Dome systems successfully intercepted one rocket. Three missiles salvos were fired at Be'er Sheva and two at Ashkelon Sunday morning. One Grad missile hit a gymnasium in a high school. No one was hurt but the structure was damaged. Another Grad missile was intercepted.

After two days of relative quiet on the Gaza front, Gaza terrorists fired a short range missile into Israel Thursday. It exploded south of Ashkelon, but caused no casualties or damage. Israeli security forces are looking for the remains of the rocket. The Iron Dome system, which is supposed to protect against missile strikes, is currently only stationed near Be'er Sheva. It did not go into action. IAF jets attacked a terrorist cell in Gaza Wednesday, in response to the rocket fire Tuesday. An Islamic Jihad terrorist was killed. Arab sources said the man was killed east of Rafiah.