After an intense crossfire French police have confirmed that the men responsible for Wednesday’s Charlie Hebdo attack and Friday’s hostage situations are dead.
Cherif Kouachi, 32, and Said Kouachi, 34, were killed by police in a shootout hours after taking at least one hostage in a local printing business located in a town 30 minutes northeast of Paris, France. The hostage has been freed, but there have been no official reports to the hostage’s condition at this time.
Police also stormed a kosher grocery store located in Paris where Amedi Coulibaly, 32, was killed in a brutal shootout with police. Coulibaly was an associate of the Kouachi brothers. Although Coulibaly was a known associate of the terrorist brothers, there have been no official reports that the attacks were coordinated.
Hostages at the supermarket were freed, but reports have confirmed that four of the hostages were dead. There are no details at this time regarding how they were killed.
Paris, France is under siege again as police confront two dangerous hostage situations. One involving the two suspects from Wednesday’s Charlie Hebdo attack and another at a kosher grocery store.
Police converged on the Charlie Hebdo suspects in a town northeast of Paris Friday morning. The New York Times reports that they barricaded themselves inside a printing business with at least one hostage.
Hours later, another hostage situation broke out at a kosher market located in Porte de Vincennes in eastern Paris. The police have identified this suspect as Amedy Coulibaly who is suspected of murdering a female police officer on Thursday.
Police report that Coulibaly is an associate of the Charlie Hebdo terrorist suspects.
Twelve people are confirmed dead and several more are injured after three gunmen stormed the Paris office of a French satirical magazine known as Charlie Hebdo.
Witnesses reported seeing the masked gunmen enter the main entrance and open fire. Afterward, the gunmen took to the streets, killing police officers, and finally getting away in a black car.
French officials have labeled the attack as “an act of terrorism” and are raising the terror threat level. Security has been increased for media organizations, large stores, and places of worship.
“We will find the people who did this,” French President Francois Hollande stated. “France is today shocked by this terrorist attack.”
President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron have shown their support for France by offering to provide assistance in catching the terrorists.
According to law enforcement, two police officers and four of the publication’s cartoonists are among the dead.
What an amazing year this has been! Just watching the world’s events unfold in the news is almost beyond the mind’s ability to comprehend. Do we really grasp that we are racing towards the complete fulfillment of ancient prophecies at break-neck speed? Biblical prophecies written in amazing detail and shrouded in mystery for a time are now being revealed. What was once cloudy is now clear – what was once a mystery is now revealed – what once felt so far off is now at the door. READ MORE →
Our recent trip to Israel and New York City with Rabbi Jonathan Cahn to visit the Harbinger sites was truly one of the highlights of my life and a high point in the life of this ministry. Rabbi Cahn presented some amazing teaching in the Holy Land as well as undeniable facts about the history of our nation, how it was birthed, and now, sadly, its inevitable decline. READ MORE →
Most of us can relate to that warm fuzzy feeling we have about being at home for the holidays. Home is where we are surrounded by those that we love and those who love us. It’s where you’re accepted unconditionally, and celebrated just for being you. It’s a place where the sheer joy of existing is tangible and hangs in the air like the pine scent of a freshly cut Christmas tree. Home is a delightful place, and the atmosphere of home feels like it just reaches around you and gives you a big hug.
Wherever the holiday gathering takes place, there is wonderful smells of delicious foods you only indulge in once a year, prepared lovingly for the expressed delight of those who will savor every morsel. Twinkling lights and red ribbons, pine wreaths and mistletoe, Christmas trees and bright centerpieces adorned with candles – all of these and more add to the magic of being home for the holidays. READ MORE →
I can look back over my life of nearly 75 years now and count on one hand the number of Godly women that have impacted my life so dramatically as Grandma Maxine Smith. I loved her dearly, and she loved me. It seems that God always sent me exactly who I needed when I needed them and Grandma Maxine came into my life at a time when God was restoring the things I never dreamt would be restored – the love and affection of a Grandma, for instance. You see, all my Grandmas had gone to heaven and God must have known how much I still needed one, so He sent me Grandma Maxine to fill a huge hole in my heart and fill it she did, right along with Grandma Irwin, my natural Grandma who had gone to be with Jesus many years before, and with Vestal Goodman, another of my adopted Grandmas. Vestal held us all together when we were being torn apart in our great time of testing back in the ‘80’s. She was a great woman of God, and she loved us unconditionally. READ MORE →
First of all, I’m thankful for the call God put on my life even before I was born. The Holy Spirit has been at work in my heart all my life and He called me to be a born again member of God’s own family. God continues to work in my life and will make sure I get to heaven safely because I trust in Him. It was God Who gave me the Dream, Vision and Purpose of my life’s work, and it is He Who enables me to keep doing it as long as He gives me strength!
Even though the going gets rough in life at times, we are tested and purified by fire:
1 Peter 1:7 ESV So that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. READ MORE →
You’ve probably heard me say that when I am in Israel, I never want to leave. It’s hard to explain that feeling, but I know others who love Jesus and come to Israel feel that way too. I love Israel because Jesus loves Israel, and I love Jesus! When Jesus is in you, you can’t help but feel as He feels!
I always feel at home in Israel. When you come over the top of the mountains and see the city of Jerusalem before you, it’s magnificent and unforgettable, more so than any other city of the world. But, as Jesus looked out over the city, he wept because of what would happen to Jerusalem and its people in the future. Luke 19:41 READ MORE →
