There is major news out of the Middle East today that there has apparently been a major escalation in Syria and Northern Israel.  The situation is still very fluid, but here is what we know:

1. A sophisticated Iranian UAV entered Northern Israel and was shot down by an Israeli Apache helicopter.  Footage of the helicopter attack has already reached YouTube:

2. In response to the incursion, an Israeli F-16 destroyed the drone’s control station.

3. On the return flight, the F-16 was shot down by Syrian air defenses and crashed in Northern Israel, east of Haifa.  Both pilots ejected, but were injured, one of them critically.  This marks the first time an Israeli F-16 has been shot down, and the first time any manned Israeli aircraft was shot down in the Syrian conflict.

4. Israel responded to the downing of their warplane with the largest airstrikes in Syria since 1982—over 35 years ago.  Numerous air defenses and military facilities have been targeted, including eight facilities in or in the vicinity of Damascus.

5. Hezbollah is calling the downing of the F-16 a strategic game-changer  and Russia, in no uncertain terms, is telling Israel to back off and restrain itself.

In my most recent post I mentioned the United Nations’ December 2017 damage assessment of the Damascus metropolitan area and I want to share that again, because the assessment is startling—showing a significant increase in Damascus’ destruction in just a year and a half:

The area shown above is directly adjacent to the old city and downtown areas of Damascus, and demonstrates, in my humble opinion that the tragic fulfillment of Isaiah 17:1 is nigh at hand.  At some point in the near future, Damascus proper will be destroyed in just one night:

A prophecy against Damascus: ‘See, Damascus will no longer be a city but will become a heap of ruins… At evening, behold, terror! Before the morning, they are no more. This is the portion of those who plunder us, and the lot of those who rob us.’