Shalom from Israel! It has been a very loud week here in northern Israel. There has not been a single day lately that I have not seen the inside of a bomb shelter at least once. But God has miraculously protected us, along with most of Israel. I can say โmost,โ but not โall.โ On Tuesday, there was a direct hit by a Hezbollah rocket on a warehouse in Nahariya. Two men in their fifties were killed, and another two were wounded. Despite that tragedy, we saw God working to save others. In the Haifa suburb of Nesher, disaster was just barely averted as kindergarten teachers managed to rush their students into a bomb shelter seconds before a Hezbollah drone slammed into the school. Thank you, Lord, for protecting all those young lives!
Friday marked day 400 that the hostages have been held in captivity. Itโs becoming a dangerous time, because the larger the number grows the easier it is to lose touch with its significance. Think of what you were doing in October 2023. Now imagine that every day since then, you have been held prisoner. Every morning you wake up to the same darkness of the tunnels. Your body has sores from every surface around you being hard. Each day you are confronted with the same stench of body odor and excrement. You find it hard to move around because your muscles have begun to atrophy from lack of use. That is how your day begins. You get a little bit of food, just enough to sustain life, but you are a skeleton compared to how you used to be. You sit there as the hours pass, wondering if today is the day that youโll see the flashlights of your salvation or youโll feel the sharp blade of your death. When your body is finally too exhausted to stay awake anymore, you sleep knowing that tomorrow will likely be exactly like today.
That is the experience of the hostages day after day after day after day. The monotony may be broken up at times by being moved from one location to another. Or, there may be regular bouts of abuse they experience of every conceivable kind. Any way you look at it, it is a nightmare. Four hundred days of it! Itโs ridiculous! Itโs inconceivable! I feel nauseous just thinking about it. Lord, bring our hostages home! Provide them with Your divine rescue! And, until You do, give them the strength to endure the compounding days of their tortuous captivity.
Psalm 69:1โ3, 14-18 KJV – “Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God… Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters. Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me. Hear me, O Lord; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies. And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily. Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it: deliver me because of mine enemies.”
The Four Objectives in Gaza
The cries for Israel to pull out of Gaza get louder and louder around the world. Thankfully, the incoming White House administration understands that if the job is not completed then it wonโt be long before it is proved to have been for naught. Israel has four objectives that must be accomplished before it can consider shutting down the war in Gaza. First, they must eliminate Hamasโs military power. Second, they must destroy Hamasโs political rule over the region. Third, they must bring the hostages back home โ both the living and the dead. Finally, they must provide an environment so that southern Israelis feel safe enough to return to their homes where they can live in peace. Only when those four goals are achieved can Israel consider slowing down the battle.
The Battle for Jabalia
Approximately thirty percent of Gaza is under direct Israeli control. Much of the Israel Defense Forceโs (IDF) focus currently is on the city of Jabalia. Located in the north of Gaza, this area is now the greatest stronghold of Hamas. The IDF has surrounded Jabalia from all sides and is looking to wipe out the terroristโs grip on the area. So far they have killed a thousand terrorists there and have captured a thousand more. Ultimately, what the IDF is seeking to do is related to the fourth objective in the paragraph above โ return the southern Israelis to their homes. Once northern Gaza is cleared of all terrorists, then there will be a buffer of safety that will allow peace in the region.
Progress and Pain in Lebanon
Daily, the IDF is hitting Hezbollah sites in Lebanon. The devastation in cities like Beirut, Tyre, and Baalbek has been great, but there is still so much work to do. Hezbollah has had years to build up their arsenal of weapons. Thus far, a stash ten times bigger than what was found in Gaza has been discovered in Lebanon ready to be used in an invasion of Israel. If Hezbollah had been given the opportunity to drive south across the border in conjunction with Hamas โ or even instead of Hamas โ the results would have been devastating. Now, the IDF is ensuring that the terrorist group will never have that opportunity.
Caches are constantly being destroyed. Nearly 1000 cement trucks have been brough to southern Lebanese villages to seal up the tunnels and underground infrastructure of Hezbollah. But it hasnโt all been victories for the IDF. Just yesterday,ย six Israeli soldiers were killedย in two incidents in southern Lebanon. The oldest age reported thus far among the fallen was just 22.
Successful Operations in Syria
The IDF destroyed a third-floor apartment in the southern suburbs of Damascus on Sunday. Inside that apartment was Ali Musa Daqduq, the head of Hezbollah forces in Syria, and some leaders of an Iraqi militia. They were all eliminated. Also taken out by the IDF near the city of al-Qusayr on Sunday was Salim Jamil Ayyash. In 2020, Ayyash was sentenced in absentia for organizing the suicide bombing that killed Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in 2005. Finally, rumor has it that Israel attacked an innocent convoy of humanitarian aid in Homs province. Donโt believe it. The trucks were carrying weapons along a route known for smuggling into Lebanon.
Drones Intercepted Targeting Israel Nuclear Reactor
A drone entered Israeli territory from the east and was shot down over the Dead Sea. A second drone also coming from the east was taken out before it crossed into Israelโs territory. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility, saying the UAVs were on their way to the nuclear reactor in Dimona. The number of drones coming from Iraq have steadily increased and are becoming a greater source of concern. These proxy militias sponsored by Iran that are firing them are just another issue Israel will have to deal with when it is done with Hezbollah.
New European Pogroms
At various points in the last couple decades, leaders from European nations began to change their ideas on immigration. Instead of blocking the mass of migrants pouring into their countries, they decided the more civilized way of treating them would be to do so with open arms. After all, what could possibly go wrong? So the Muslim immigrants came, and they came, and they came. Now these same countries are looking at their skyrocketing crime rates and the fear many of their citizens have of simply walking the streets and they say, โOh, maybe thatโs what could go wrong.โ But itโs too late now. Instead of an overt invasion like the Umayyads carried out in Spain centuries ago, this was a soft invasion. The results, however, are the same. Europe has been Islamicized.
Does that matter? Maybe we should ask the Jews who were in Amsterdam Friday night. Following a football game, fans of the Israeli team, Maccabi Tel Aviv, made their way back to their hotels. But a mass of Muslims were waiting for them. When the Israelis exited their public transportation, they were attacked. Many were beaten, some were stabbed. It was horrific, lasting about five hours. The Dutch police were nearby, but they didnโt help. Many shopkeepers closed their doors to the fleeing Jews. Thankfully, there were some who opened their doors, hiding the Jews in their homes in a scene reminiscent of World War II.
As the weekend progressed, the violence spread as Jews were hunted down also in Sweden and Belgium. Ironically, November is Islamaphobia month. It seems, though, that we need to ask whether they should fear us or we should fear them. And, yes, I certainly recognize that it is not all Muslims who act this way. But there are enough to make me renew my call to Jews everywhere that it is time to come home. Europe is not safe anymore. America is not safe. Asia is not safe. It is time to make aliyah and come home to the land given to you by your Creator.
Sixty-Seven Days Until Trumpโs Inauguration
It is still over two months until Donald Trump begins his second non-consecutive term as president, and already he is making liberal heads explode. His cabinet picks are smart, well thought out, and, in many cases, out of the box. So far, he has tapped:
- Secretary of Defense โย Pete Hegseth,ย Fox News host, army combat vet, two-time bronze star recipient
- Attorney General โย Matt Gaetz, congressman and strong conservative
- Secretary of Homeland Security โย Kristi Noem, governor, former congresswoman, patriot
- Secretary of State โย Marco Rubio, senator, former Trump presidential opponent
- Head of NSA โย Mike Waltz, congressman, 28-year veteran of the army and reserves, Green Beret, four-time bronze star recipient
- Director of National Intelligence โย Tulsi Gabbard, former Democrat congresswoman and vice chair of the Democrat National Committee
- Ambassador to Israel โย Mike Huckabee, former governor, great friend of Israel, and pastor
- UN Ambassador โย Elise Stefanik, congresswoman, a great friend of Israel
- Heads of the new Department of Government Efficiency โย Elon Musk, multi-billionaire, andย Vivek Ramaswamy, former political rival
There are numerous others who have also been chosen, many of whom do not fit the traditional, stodgy, Washington beltline mold. This is truly an eclectic bunch that will bring a new perspective to the nationโs capital. One thing we can all be sure of is that these next four years are not going to be boring. Most of us in Israel are cheering because we know that Trump is a huuuge fan of Israel, and his appointment of Mike Huckabee as the U.S. ambassador to our nation is proof of that.
We are praying that God protects President Trump and that He gives him wisdom to bring peace to the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Along that vein, Prime Minister Netanyahu only has two years left until the next elections here in Israel and there is no telling what will happen at that time. That means that these next two years with Trump and Netanyahu working together are crucial. They must make the most of this short period, changing absolutely everything that needs changing.
