(Galilee, Israel) — Once again, this has been a week filled with difficulties and some victories. I have found myself reliving October 7 over and over each and every day as I hear the reports of victims, eyewitnesses, and those members of the media who were given opportunities to relive the aftermath. I watched as a 24-year-old girl went back to where she hid for her life at the music festival while she watched one friend after another executed with a bullet to the forehead. I saw one British reporter, emotionally overwhelmed at the video evidence he was shown, marveling that anyone could say these atrocities never took place. I heard Israel’s first lady, Michal Herzog, tell of evidence of young women who were raped so violently that their pelvic bones were broken.
God, heal this nation. Our spirit is strong, but inside we are broken.
The ferreting out of the Hamas infrastructure has continued through the past week. Al-Shifa hospital has been a primary target because the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) must go to where the enemy is. The terrorists were the ones who chose to base their operations in tunnels below essential humanitarian targets. Any innocent lives who may be caught up in the battles are the result of the evil combatants who drew the war to the hospital. They are not the fault of the Israeli forces who warned all civilians ahead of time that they were coming, so as to minimize any collateral damage. Not only has the fight been forced to al-Shifa, but the Indonesian hospital in Gaza has been fully evacuated in preparation for destruction. Once again, it is not because the IDF is trying to destroy the Gazans’ medical infrastructure. It is because Hamas converted its primary use from a place of healing to human shield.
The hard work of the IDF continued with amazing success . . . until now.
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A ceasefire in Gaza has gone into effect. Brokered by Qatar, with much input and influence from the U.S., this timeout in the war is ostensibly designed for the freeing of 50 kidnapped Israeli hostages and the release of 150 Gazan prisoners. Over four days, it is expected that 10-12 hostages will be returned home per day. As part of the deal, Israel will allow around 300 aid trucks per day to enter Gaza from Egypt. Fuel will also be transferred across the border. In addition, from 10:00 AM through 4:00 PM each day, Israel has agreed to stop surveillance flights over Gaza.
I believe this has been a very difficult decision for Prime Minister Netanyahu and his administration. The whole reason the kidnappings took place to begin with was so that innocent Israelis could be used as bargaining chips when Hamas inevitably faced military difficulties. It was a plan that is now about to perfectly come into fruition. Northern Gaza is being razed to the ground. Hamas leadership is either cornered or dead. What to do? Pull out your ace card.
In the Palestinian terrorist mind, they know that Israelis value life and want to see their fellow citizens safe. They’ll do almost anything to see it happen. They’ll even stop fighting when they are on the verge of decimating Hamas. Not only that, but they will go intelligence-dark for six hours a day so that the terrorists can rescue their trapped leadership and secretly shift all the puzzle pieces around so they are ready to fight again.
For two weeks, the Israeli leadership has said, “No, we won’t agree to a ceasefire.” But, as I just said, Israelis value life. In the past, there was a time we traded 1,027 Palestinian prisoners for a single Israeli soldier. There were consequences then, and there will be consequences now. For the sake of those innocent hostages, Netanyahu and the IDF are willing to face those consequences. The Prime Minister has made it clear that when the cease-fire ends, the military will resume prosecuting this war with the same level of vigor as before. He has also informed Israel’s citizens that he has instructed the Mossad to eliminate the leaders of Hamas wherever they are.
In the north, the semi-quiet battle in Lebanon continues. Hezbollah sends rockets and suicide UAVs, some of which sneak through the Iron Dome defenses and cause minimal damage. The Israeli Air Force has been striking in and around Damascus, as well as other places throughout the country such as near Tyre. Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah, still seems hesitant to go all in with a war against Israel, which is a very wise decision on his part.
In Iraq, the U.S. remains on alert as Iranian proxies regularly attack American bases in the area, particularly those around oil fields. On Tuesday, 10 U.S. soldiers were wounded as the result of a missile attack on the Ain Al Assad base in Iraq. In retaliation the next morning, the U.S. attacked the Al Hashd Al Shaabi organization, an Iranian proxy militia, killing six of the terrorists’ missile unit.
Not all the world news is negative. Argentina just voted in a libertarian, populist president, Javier Millei. When the far-left socialist leaders of some other South American nations lament his win by saying that it is a victory for “fascism and neo-conservatism,” you know that he likely is a guy worth celebrating. There is hope that his capitalist approach will help alleviate Argentina’s struggling economy.
Also, in a vote on Wednesday in the Netherlands, the right-leaning parties made significant gains. With his platform of shutting down the border and leaving the EU, it appears that Geert Wilders will now find himself in the prime minister’s seat. Wilders is a staunch supporter of Israel who not only wants to move the Netherlands embassy to Jerusalem, but also advocates closing the Dutch diplomatic post in Ramallah.
I have been given a tremendous opportunity to speak to a number of U.S. congressional members this coming week about the situation in Israel. I am flying today to Washington, D.C., where I have been invited to several venues to speak to senators, congressmen, and other political influencers. Please pray for safety and impact. Pray that the meetings take place, as congressional members are often called away for various reasons at the last minute. Pray that the Lord gives me wisdom in thought and clarity in my words as I seek to give them insight into what my people are facing in Israel. Most importantly, please pray for protection for my family while I am gone. My country is still at war, and if I didn’t feel that this was clearly a door that God has opened I would not be leaving the side of my wife and children.
