After a summer so far of relative peace, tensions are once again ratcheting up between Israel and its radical Islamic enemies.

In regard to the fragile state of affairs in and around Israel, the International Crisis Group (icg), a respected mediation organization with access to regional decision makers, reported this week that it is “exceptionally quiet and uniquely dangerous” (emphasis mine throughout). For the moment, the icg says, Israel and its enemies are in a stand-off, with all parties refraining from pulling the trigger out of fear that an “all-out war … would spare neither civilians nor civilian infrastructure ….” The thing about stand-offs, however, is that they do not last forever.

Unless one side caves, someone always pulls the trigger.

For now, it appears that neither Israel (at least under the leadership of Benjamin Netanyahu) nor its opposition—be it the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria or Iran—are prepared to compromise to the point of satisfying fully the demands of the other. Hence the ongoing standoff, with each side bunkering down and preparing for a military end-game. For Israel, this means determining the point at which not confronting Hamas and Hezbollah (and perhaps even Iran) becomes more dangerous than remaining idle.

Over the last week, three separate and significant incidents occurred that will likely help Israel with this decision. At the very least, each incident is a stark reminder that Israel, despite the occasional rumors of peace, is gravitating toward war.

The first incident occurred last Friday morning when Hamas, after a prolonged hiatus, resumed launching missiles at Israel from Gaza. A Russian-made Grad rocket struck the heart of Ashkelon, and although it caused no casualties it damaged numerous buildings and property. Israel responded Friday evening by launching a series of air strikes against Hamas bases in Gaza. In addition to killing a senior Hamas commander and a bomb-maker, the Israel Defense Forces (idf) strikes destroyed a Hamas-owned weapons manufacturing site, a training facility, and a handful of illegal tunnels beneath the border with Egypt through which weapons were continually smuggled. On Saturday, Hamas responded by landing a Qassam rocket on a two-story building in the Israeli town of Sderot.

According to the Jerusalem Post, Hamas renewed its missile attacks on Israel in an effort to thwart this week’s U.S.-led attempt to restart peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Others say Hamas is in the early stages of renewing its military conflict with Israel. Hamas resumed its attacks, debkafile reported, to “show off its new strength and inform Israel that henceforth it faces an enhanced Palestinian challenge from Gaza.”

Whatever Hamas’s motives, its resumption of missile attacks—and Israel’s preparedness to respond with force—is a harbinger of future conflict.

The second incident occurred Monday in south Israel, where five rockets fell near Eilat, a popular destination for tourists and vacationing Israelis. The rockets, two of which fell in the Red Sea, one in a field near Eilat and two in Jordan, were believed to have been launched from somewhere in the Sinai Peninsula. Hamas denied responsibility for the attacks, but Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu confirmed yesterday that the rocket attacks (including an attack in the same area in April) were carried out by a “cell of Hamas’s military wing in Gaza.”

Although it caused no casualties and no major damage, Monday’s attack was a stark reminder of the grim ambitions (as well as the reach) of Israel’s radical Islamic enemies. More specifically, it was a reminder—a timely one too, in light of the current uncertainty about Egypt’s political future—of the tactical importance of the Sinai Peninsula to Israel’s national security.

The third incident occurred Tuesday, when Israeli soldiers engaged in a brief but intense skirmish along Israel’s border with Lebanon. According to media reports, idf soldiers were on a routine patrol inside the border when they were ambushed by soldiers in the Lebanese Armed Forces (laf). The subsequent gunfire killed three laf troops, one Israeli soldier and one journalist. The clash was the first incident of such magnitude between Israel and Lebanon since Israel’s 34-day war with Hezbollah in summer 2006.

After the widely publicized outburst, rumors circulated that it was in fact Hezbollah terrorists who ambushed and attacked the idf. These rumors are likely untrue. However, as many experts concluded, the conditions surrounding the attack suggest “that the move was preplanned and perhaps driven by Hezbollah interests” (Stratfor, August 3). This is hardly surprising considering the high level of influence the Iran-sponsored terrorist group has within both Lebanese politics and the Lebanese Armed Forces.

Responding to the clash, Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah declared in a speech Tuesday that his organization will “not stand silent,” and that if Israel attacks Lebanese forces again, Hezbollah will enter the fray. Speaking to the laf, Nasrallah stated that the “smartest thing is to behave how we behaved [in 2006],” and reassured the Lebanese military that “[Hezbollah] is prepared, we are with you, and we will help if needed.”

In the West, many are watching these incidents and wondering if Israel may be on the brink of war, either with Hamas, Hezbollah or Iran, or perhaps all three. The “potential triggers for a new round of hostilities have multiplied,” wrote Time’s Tony Karon this week, “as has the danger of them going off in sequences as a result of the ties between some of the key players.” In the Global Post Monday, Theodore May posed the question, “Are Israel and Hamas headed for another war?”

In places where the possibility of conflict looms constantly, it can be easy for outside observers to overlook headlines declaring imminent war. When it comes to Israel in particular, people can be complacent about news of missiles slamming into Israeli cities, or Israel’s military bombing Hamas strongholds, or accounts of the idf engaging in gunfights with Lebanon. It is easy to view the ongoing tension and conflict as “normal,” and therefore not especially newsworthy.

We must avoid this trap and remain vigilant watchers of events in Israel, specifically in Jerusalem. While the recent missile attacks by Hamas and the minor skirmish between the idf and laf may not be unusual in Israel, each incident is a sure sign that a major conflict is brewing between Israel and its radical Islamic enemies, all of which are sponsored by Iran. When it arrives, this conflict will have dramatic and far-reaching ramifications, not merely for Israel and the Middle East, but for the entire world!

Believe it or not, specific prophecies in the Bible—prophecies that you can learn about in our free booklet The King of the South—reveal that conflict in Israel, and specifically in East Jerusalem, marks the beginning of a chain of events that culminates in the return of Jesus Christ.

Pay no attention to the chatter about peace and the bouts of calm. The inescapable reality—which we were reminded of this week—is that Israel is gravitating toward war.