Archaeologists in the City of David National Park in Jerusalem have discovered massive fortifications that would have protected the city in ancient times. 

“This is a dramatic discovery that opens up a renewed discussion about the terms from the biblical literature that refer to the topography of Jerusalem, such as the Ophel and the Millo,” according to Prof. Yuval Gadot, director of the excavation on behalf of Tel Aviv University. 

Dr. Yiftach Shalev, director of the excavation on behalf of the Antiquities Authority, added that “We are confident that it was used at the time of the First Temple and the Kingdom of Judah … so it creates a clear buffer between the residential city to the south and the upper city to the north.” 

Israeli archaeologists invest significant time and resources to exploring the ancient city, which helps provide evidence for ancient stories and claims about Jerusalem that many have otherwise attributed to myth. 

WRECKAGE OF SCHOONER THAT SANK IN 1893 FOUND IN LAKE MICHIGAN

This particular discovery of a moat and walls helps researchers understand the structure of the ancient city: The City of David is attributed as the core of the original and ancient city of Jerusalem where King David traveled to united Israel as one capital city, according to the national park’s website. 

The discovery also helps redefine the shape of the city and will prompt researchers to reevaluate descriptions of the city and its limits within biblical accounts, the researchers said. 

DIVERS DISCOVER 19TH CENTURY SHIPWRECK CONTAINING HISTORICAL ARTIFACTS IN BALTIC SEA

Dr. Yiftach Shalev from the Antiquities Authority conducts a walkthrough of the site.  (Israel Nature and Parks Authority)

The date of the excavated moat remains unknown, but Shalev argued that often such “significant construction plants and quarrying in Jerusalem are usually dated to the Middle Bronze Age – about 3,800 years ago,” which would align broadly with Jewish histories that talk of David traveling to Jerusalem 3,000 years ago. 

“If the moat was dug during this period, then it was intended to protect the city from the north – the only weak point of the City of David slope,” Shalev said.

RARE DINOSAUR SKELETONS FOUND AFTER CATASTROPHIC FLOODING

A look into the moat that would have run outside the ancient city of Jerusalem in the time of King David. (Israel Nature and Parks Authority)

The researchers argue that the fortification was created by massive quarrying of the rock used to create the moat, with perpendicular cliffs “that could not be climbed” found on both sides of the moat – which puzzled the excavators until they realized they were looking at a fortification line. 

Ancient Jerusalem sat on a narrow and steep spur, and many of the construction tasks for the city looked at helping reshape the topography of the surrounding area – all activities that the Bible references, such as in the first book of Kings where it discusses King Solomon’s task of building up the “Millo,” or supporting terraces, and “close the breach of the city.”

The results of the excavation will be presented at the City of David’s “Jerusalem Studies Experience” Conference, taking place in early August. 

Israel says Hezbollah has crossed ‘red line’, blaming the Lebanese group for Saturday’s deadly attack; Hezbollah denies the accusations.

The Israeli military says it carried out a series of strikes across Lebanon after blaming Hezbollah for Saturday’s deadly attack in the occupied Golan Heights, as its foreign ministry said the Lebanese group had crossed a “red line”, raising fears of regional escalation.

The Israeli military said on Sunday its jets bombed weapons depots and infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah in Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, in Shabriha and Burj el-Shemali near the southern city of Tyre, and the villages of Kafr Lila or Kfar Kila, Rab el-Thalathine, Khiam and Tayr Harfa.

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday blamed Hezbollah for the rocket attack on a football ground that killed 12 people.

“Saturday’s massacre constitutes the crossing of all red lines by Hezbollah. This is not an army fighting another army, rather it is a terrorist organisation deliberately shooting at civilians,” the ministry said in a statement.

Hezbollah has “categorically denied” responsibility for the attack. There have been unconfirmed claims that a failed Israeli interceptor missile may have caused the incident.

Iran, Hezbollah’s regional ally, warned Israel against any “new adventure concerning Lebanon” using the Majdal Shams incident as an “excuse”.

“After 10 months of mass killing in the Gaza Strip and mass murder of Palestinian children and women, the apartheid Israeli regime is trying to distract public opinion and global attention from its wide-ranging crimes in Palestine using a fabricated scenario,” Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Nasser Kanaani said in a statement on Sunday, adding that Israel will be responsible for any moves that will further destabilise the region.

‘Tipping point’

Reporting from Beirut in Lebanon, Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr said the latest Israeli attacks were a message to Hezbollah, not the response it has promised.

“What we witnessed overnight was really normal activity, something that we have seen in the past 10 months since Hezbollah opened up a front in southern Lebanon to help the people of Gaza,” she said.

According to Khodr, the Israeli response and whether it would hit military or civilian targets could signal a “tipping point” that will determine the trajectory of the border conflict that started on October 8.

The Israeli security cabinet is expected to have a meeting later on Sunday to decide on a response to the rocket attack in Majdal Shams.

Israeli commanders meet Druze leaders

In a video message from the site of the attack on Sunday morning, Israeli military chief Herzi Halevi reiterated the claim that an Iranian-made Falaq rocket – which has been employed by Hezbollah since the start of border fighting last October – carrying 53kg (116 pounds) warhead hit the football field.

“This is a Hezbollah rocket. And whoever fires such a rocket into an urban area wants to kill civilians, wants to kill children,” he said.

Halevi added that the Israeli military is “increasing our readiness for the next stage of fighting in the north” as it keeps attacking the Gaza Strip to deadly effect.

He and other commanders met Druze leaders and community members in the area.

The United Nations, the United States and the European Union condemned the attack. The UN and the EU urged all parties to exercise “restraint” to prevent an all-out war, with the 27-member bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell calling for an “independent international investigation”.

More than 350 people, including 100 civilians have been killed in repeated Israeli attacks on Lebanon since the start of the war on Gaza, according to the UN. Israeli officials say more than 30 people, including 10 civilians, have been killed in attacks originating from Lebanon.

Sunisa Lee, the defending Olympic all-around gold medalist and uneven bars bronze medalist, may attempt a new skill at the 2024 Paris Games.

The new element in her uneven bars routine is a release move in which a gymnast does a front flip and a full twist in the layout position. Lee is seeking to be the first woman ever to complete this move in international competition.

If she is able to do it at the Games, the skill — commonly known as a full-twisting Jaeger — would be christened “The Lee,” the first skill to be named after her in the sport’s Code of Points. A handful of skills tend to be named each year, but only a very small number of gymnasts will ever earn the distinction of a namesake.

“The Lee” would be one of the most difficult elements in women’s uneven bars. Let’s take a closer look at how she performs the move.

Each skill in the uneven bars event has a letter value indicating difficulty, starting with A and going through G, though Lee’s new skill has the potential to become an H.

Jaegers, named for Bernd Jäger, refer to a family of moves that consist of a 360-degree swing with a straight body on the high bar and a release into a front flip before catching the high bar again. They can be straddled (D), piked (D) or laid out (F).

The layout Jaeger is called a Cappuccitti (named for Stephanie Cappuccitti) and is rarely attempted in competition because of the difficulty of catching the bar. Lee’s move further increases the difficulty by adding a full twist.

What makes Lee’s move particularly striking is that she is not creating a variation on a different release skill called a Tkatchev, the route followed by most uneven bars innovators in recent years.

In the original version — named for the Soviet gymnast Aleksandr Tkatchev — the gymnast swings around the high bar with a straight body, releases it near the apex of the swing, flies backward over the bar with legs straddled, and rotates the upper body forward to catch the bar again.

The swing can be performed with five body positions, the flight can be performed with three body positions, and it is also possible to do a half-twist in the air. This means there are at least 30 permutations of the same root skill.

Six new Tkatchev variants have been named in the last four years alone.

While there are still some up for grabs, Lee chose to go a different route. It has been 18 years since anyone innovated on the Jaeger base. The Chinese gymnast Li Ya was the last, introducing a Jaeger with a half twist in 2006.

In January, Lee posted videos on Instagram showing her doing the new skill during a training session. It was a sign that she was getting back in form after facing serious health issues for much of last year.

Lee was diagnosed with an incurable kidney disease, which caused severe swelling in her face, hands and legs, making it impossible to compete.

On her return to elite competition, she attempted the new skill at the Winter Cup in February but missed the element during her bars routine and fell.

Because of how difficult and risky the skill is, it is not certain whether Lee will attempt it with a medal on the line. But the Olympics in Paris will offer a chance to have the move named after her and to leave an indelible mark on the sport.