One wonders, when will Israel start looking for new friends? Underneath a deadly rainfall of continuing rocket attacks, the nation is simultaneously reeling from a severe diplomatic and strategic wound—this one delivered by its greatest ally.

Yesterday, it was reported that Palestinian militants had launched an estimated 150 rockets in the previous six days from locations inside Gaza. Ending a six-month period of limited operations, the Israeli Air Force responded by striking a number of targets inside the Gaza Strip, but it has been unable to slow the barrage. Israeli military leaders say that the only way to stop the attacks is to invade the Strip using ground forces.

Considering the predicament Israel finds itself in, with rockets still falling from a territory it ceded in a “land for peace” deal, one would think it’s most important ally would be doing something.

It is.

In a “with friends like these …” moment, the U.S. State Department assured the Palestinian Authority (pa) earlier this month that Israel will stay out of the Gaza Strip. The World Tribune quoted a pa source as saying, “We’ve received assurances from the highest levels in the U.S. government that Israel would not launch a large-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip.”

The pa claims that the State Department sent a message directly to the pa stating that Israel had been told not to conduct the operations necessary to end the attacks.

Even before Israel could double-check the definition of “ally” in the English dictionary, it found itself in the midst of a week-long storm of Kassam rocket explosions, many of them targeting the town of Sderot. Residents of the town have expressed outrage at their government’s weak response, even prior to the most recent violence. In the latest round, students taking their matriculation exam in English inside fortified classrooms scrambled as alarms went off, with parents calling the schools in the aftermath—fearing the worst. According to Israel Radio, the Defense Ministry has evacuated some residents from the town.

Although the administration of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has not confirmed that it is under pressure from Washington, Sunday’s Security Cabinet meeting resulted in a no-decision on action to halt the missile attacks; meanwhile, three more rockets fell on Israeli soil.

In addition to these woes, the International Herald Tribune reported that Israel’s air strikes inside Gaza have not only failed to stop the rockets from falling, but have also apparently brought Palestinian infighting to a halt. Fatah and Hamas factions are experiencing a newfound solidarity in the face of Israel’s surgical strikes.

As the American foreign policy umbrella continues to shrink and its friends find less and less shelter from the rain, expect Israel to look for new friends. To find out more about what will happen when the Jews look to Germany and the European Union for deliverance, read Jerusalem in Prophecy.