Day 52 Israel-Hamas War

Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness

    because of my enemies—

    make your way straight before me.

 

Not a word from their mouth can be trusted;

    their heart is filled with malice.

Their throat is an open grave;

    with their tongues they tell lies.

Declare them guilty, O God!

    Let their intrigues be their downfall.

Banish them for their many sins,

    for they have rebelled against you.

 

But let all who take refuge in you be glad;

    let them ever sing for joy.

Spread your protection over them,

    that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous;

    you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

Psalm 5: 8-12

It is a cold, wet day today here in Israel, perfect for writing blogs! My cat angrily and very vocally decided it was not an outdoor day (he blames me for the rain), and is now tucked up in my bed. Oh for the life of a spoiled cat! I would love to join him, but there is work to do. 

THE HOSTAGE RELEASE

Today is the 52nd day of the war and the 4th day of the so-called 'ceasefire'.  We are all suffering deep emotional turmoil. On one hand we are happy to see some of the hostages being returned, but even that is mixed with sorrow as we know that some are injured and ill, and others are coming back only to learn that their parents or other loved ones were cruelly murdered and their homes destroyed. Some have left mothers or fathers behind in cruel captivity still. We know too that even those hostages who have been returned have endured deep trauma and their road to recovery will be long and hard. 

On the other hand our fears increase with every passing day for those still being held hostage by Hamas . The smallest babies, including one aged only 10 months, and their mothers have not yet been released. There are at least another 170 men, women and children still being held captive in the cold, damp tunnels under the Strip, and we have heard that food is running out and they are not receiving any medical care. Every day their conditions worsen.  I cannot even begin to imagine the pain their waiting, ever waiting, loved ones are going through. With every group of released hostages, the fears for the remaining ones increase. 

As I write we are anxiously waiting for the 4th group of hostages to arrive in Israel. Reports are that 9 children and 2 mothers are now in the hands of the Red Cross. As has happened on other days, Hamas failed to carry out the agreements by not including all the mothers of the children being released, and this has caused long delays while negotiations are held.  It is now 8PM which means today's release was 4 hours late. Can you imagine how agonizing that is for both the hostages and the families waiting for them?  

Reports are coming in that there are negotiations taking place to extend the ceasefire allowing for the release of more hostages.  There are still around 170 hostages in Gaza, men, women and children. At least 10 children will remain after today's release. Now too we are learning that at least 50 of the hostages are not actually in the hands of Hamas but scattered throughout the Strip being held by Islamic Jihadists and even by individual crime families. Their exact whereabouts are unknown. We do not know if they are alive or dead. We are negotiating with the Devil, and he is playing psychological games with us. He cannot be trusted. He is the father of lies and of unimaginably heartless cruelty.

Today information is slowly being released about how the released hostages were treated in captivity.  They were not treated well. They all lost about 7 kg weight because they received very little food, only rice and pita bread once a day. The elderly, the sick (including a woman suffering from cancer) and the injured received no medicine. One of the hostages, a woman 85 years old, released in the first round is fighting for her life in hospital. She arrived in Israel with a heart rate of 44 and a temperature of 28 degrees F. A young woman who had been shot in the leg had had her leg operated on in Gaza but sepsis had set in and had not been treated. She has undergone surgery since arrival in Israel and is expected to recover.  The hostages were held in dirty tunnels with little, if any, access to hygiene facilities.  This all raises grave concerns for the welfare and fate of the many hostages remaining. 

 An Israeli-Russian dual national was released yesterday by the intervention of Russian President, Putin. He had at one point escaped when the building he was being held in was bombed by Israeli forces and collapsed. For 4 days he tried to find his way back to Israel, but Palestinian citizens caught him and handed him back to Hamas.  There are several other Israeli-Russian dual nationals amongst the hostages. I do not know why they were not also released. (I should explain that most immigrants to Israel retain their original nationality alongside their Israeli citizenship, therefore many of the hostages have dual nationality).

WHERE TO FROM HERE?

For every day of the ceasefire that passes, the harder it will be for Israel to 'restart' the war, not because of military reasons but because of the steady and increasing international pressure being exerted upon Israel.  Israel however has no real choice. With or without international support we MUST destroy Hamas once and for all. The alternative is unthinkable. Hamas has already boasted that the massacre of October 7th will be repeated over and over. They must be stopped, not only for Israel's sake but also for the sake of the Palestinian people, whom they have brutally oppressed for 16 years, and for the sake of all the world. Their ultimate goal is not only the total destruction of Israel but the destruction of the Western world and world domination.  They are a cancer that must be cut out. 

THE THIRD FRONT - JUDAH AND SAMARIA (THE WEST BANK)

The ceasefire is holding and we have had a welcome respite from the continual volleys of incoming rockets and missiles, coming from the Gaza Strip and also from Lebanon.  There have however been many violent 'incidents' in the West Bank (Samaria and Judah), resulting in the 'neutralization' and arrest of many terrorists there, some of whom were attacking our forces and others who were preparing to carry out terror attacks against Israelis. 

THE FOURTH FRONT - YEMEN

Also of concern is the more-or-less daily firing of cruise missiles and armed suicide drones from the Houthis in Yemen aimed at southern Israel, especially the city of Eilat. Thankfully all these missiles and drones have been shot down either by US, Saudi or Israeli defense systems before they entered Israeli airspace. The cruise missiles, should they manage to get through, carry massive warheads capable of  destroying whole city blocks. It is in Eilat where many of the evacuees, around 50,000, from the towns around the Gaza strip have taken refuge. There are also approximately 50,000 permanent residents living in Eilat. 

Three ships with links to Israel have been taken hostage or attacked by the Houthis of Yemen, another fanatical Muslim terror organization supported by Iran. Although partly owned by Israeli interests these ships are not registered in Israel, have no Israelis amongst the crew and are neither travelling to nor from Israel.  A day or two ago the Houthis also fired missiles at an US Aircraft carrier though they missed and no damage was done. These ongoing incidents threaten shipping in the Arabian Sea and through the Suez Canal.  This could precipitate a widening of the arena of war, even potentially a world war. The Suez Canal carries 12% of the world's trade.

     THE 5TH FRONT - THE WAR OF WORDS

Multitudes, multitudes

    in the valley of decision!

For the day of the Lord is near

    in the valley of decision.

Joel 3: 14

       The world's media and social networks are being flooded with lies, misinformation and fake news. I plead with all my readers to filter the information they receive and double check everything before passing it on. Hamas and its supporters are master propagandists and have no scruples whatsoever about twisting truth, making false claims, fake videos and uttering downright lies. Israel on the other hand, is at a big disadvantage because we try to stick to the truth and we protect our citizens, especially those already suffering deep trauma,  by not publishing the worst of Hamas' atrocities. For example, Israel has not made public the footage from captured Hamas terrorists' own body cams, showing women being 'gang' raped until their pelvises are broken, babies being beheaded or a pregnant woman being ripped open while still alive and her fetus being shot to death. This video footage has been shown only to Knesset members and some diplomats and media persons. Many of those who saw it vomited and some had to have medical treatment afterwards. You don't forget those images - ever. 

If you are a Christian believer you have a responsibility in these days to pray for Israel and speak out on her behalf. Silence is assent. 

Are you sitting on the fence? 

14 

 Not sure whether you should support Israel or the 'poor, oppressed Palestinians'? Do you want to 'be fair', and 'see both sides'? 

 I want to warn you that very soon this position will become untenable. You are going to have to choose sides. This goes against our Western mentality, even our 'Judeo-Christian'  sense of 'fair play' and our tendency to support the 'underdog'. It is hard for us to take sides.  But, I ask you, does God take sides? And the short answer is a resounding 'yes'. 

This is a war between good and evil. At its essence it is a spiritual war, between the God of Israel, Yahweh, and the false god of Islam, Allah. On whose side do you stand?

I want to make it very clear that this war is not between Israel and the Palestinian or Gazan people, it is a war between Israel and the fanatical, fundamentalist Islamic ideology espoused by the terror organizations of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis all of whom are funded, equipped, trained and controlled by  Iranian regime. It is a war between spiritual realms. It is a war between good and evil, between savagery and civilization, and between truth and lies. 

 The whole of human history has been a battle between the realms of good and evil, and God raised up and chose the little nation of Israel to play the key role. When God called Abram out of Ur and told him to go to the land of Canaan, He said,  

“I will make you into a great nation,

    and I will bless you;

I will make your name great,

    and you will be a blessing.

3 

I will bless those who bless you,

    and whoever curses you I will curse;

and all peoples on earth

    will be blessed through you.”

Genesis 12: 2-3

Many times throughout history, Israel sinned against God, and God used various nations to punish her, but God will always repay those nations for what they have done to Israel. Israel is the 'apple of God's eye', not because she is perfect or better than the other nations, but rather because she is chosen and bears His Name.  Whoever dares to touch Israel calls upon himself a curse and will be judged.

 For this is what the Lord Almighty says: “After the Glorious One has sent me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye—  I will surely raise my hand against them so that their slaves will plunder them. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me. 

Zechariah 2: 8-9

In the times of the end, the nations will all be judged on the basis of how they have treated Israel. 

“In those days and at that time,

    when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,

2 

I will gather all nations

    and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.

There I will put them on trial

    for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel,

because they scattered my people among the nations

    and divided up my land...

Joel 3:  1-2

God will judge every nation according to how it has treated Israel. The prophecy goes on to specifically mention 'Tyre and Sidon' (Lebanon) and the 'regions of Philistia' (the Gaza Strip) :

“Now what have you against me, Tyre and Sidon and all you regions of Philistia? Are you repaying me for something I have done? If you are paying me back, I will swiftly and speedily return on your own heads what you have done... 

But the Lord will be a refuge for his people,

    a stronghold for the people of Israel....

“Then you will know that I, the Lord your God,

    dwell in Zion, my holy hill.

Jerusalem will be holy;

    never again will foreigners invade her.

 

“In that day the mountains will drip new wine,

    and the hills will flow with milk;

    all the ravines of Judah will run with water.

A fountain will flow out of the Lord’s house

    and will water the valley of acacias.

1 

But Egypt will be desolate,

    Edom a desert waste,

because of violence done to the people of Judah,

    in whose land they shed innocent blood.

20 

Judah will be inhabited forever

    and Jerusalem through all generations.

21 

Shall I leave their innocent blood unavenged?

    No, I will not.”

The Lord dwells in Zion!

Joel 3

In a Fox News interview, shortly after the October 7 massacre, a friend of mine, Tal Hartuv, herself a victim of a brutal terror attack, put it this way, " We are talking about a war where there are two sides, and the sides are this: it's savagery or civilization, it's a war against (sic: between) evil and good, it's dark against light, it's cruelty against kindness, and it's death against life... I am now absolutely convinced... that (the media) by giving a platform in the name of balance and hearing both sides, that is irresponsible, and it could be the death blow to Western civilization, and I mean that with all seriousness". To see the whole interview go to

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzGwHfqTsKNFxHfGZbhzZQqTSgSL?projector=1

If you do not speak out in your churches, communities, and nations, you become complicit in the evil. If you don't understand what is happening, study your Bible and then filter the news through it. If you do not pray against this tide of darkness, you may very soon be overcome by it. This is a time of reckoning. Do you stand with God or against Him? With God's chosen people or against them? There is no middle ground. We must all choose our sides.