Back To Square One: Hamas, Hezbollah, And Iran Rebuild For The Next War

Back To Square One: Hamas, Hezbollah, And Iran Rebuild For The Next War

 PNW STAFF

History has a cruel way of repeating itself when its lessons are ignored. Barely months after the world exhaled in relief at the prospect of de-escalation in the Middle East, the region appears to be drifting back toward the very dangers leaders claimed they had contained. 

Hamas is rearming and refusing to surrender its weapons. Hezbollah, under growing internal pressure inside Lebanon, continues to resist disarmament. And Iran, the gravitational force behind both groups, is steadily rebuilding its ballistic missile stockpiles.

Now comes the political signal that suggests the current moment may be only an intermission, not an ending: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is widely expected to approach President Trump later this month with a renewed, comprehensive plan to confront all three actors. If that happens, it will mark a recognition of an uncomfortable truth--piecemeal solutions have failed, and the region is, once again, back to square one.

Hamas: Defeat Without Surrender

Hamas's refusal to disarm is not surprising; it is foundational to the group's identity. Armed resistance is not merely a tactic--it is the ideology. Even after catastrophic losses in Gaza, Hamas has demonstrated a familiar pattern seen across insurgent movements for decades: absorb punishment, retreat underground, regroup, and rearm.

This is the strategic flaw of inconclusive warfare. Without a decisive end to a group's military capability and its governing legitimacy, defeat becomes temporary. Hamas understands time is its ally. Each pause allows it to recruit, reconstitute command structures, and restock weapons through smuggling networks that have proven resilient for years. In that sense, the war may have severely damaged Hamas--but it did not end it.

Hezbollah: Armed State Within a State

Hezbollah presents an even more dangerous dilemma. Unlike Hamas, Hezbollah is deeply embedded within a sovereign country. It operates as both a political party and a heavily armed militia, fielding an arsenal that rivals many national armies.

Pressure within Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah has intensified as the country collapses economically and politically. Yet Hezbollah has refused every call to lay down its weapons, insisting that its arms are necessary to "defend Lebanon"--even as many Lebanese quietly acknowledge that those same weapons make Lebanon a permanent battlefield-in-waiting.

This stalemate is unsustainable. History shows that militias that outgun the state eventually become the state--or destroy it. Hezbollah's continued rearmament is not just a threat to Israel; it is a slow suffocation of Lebanon itself.

Iran: The Strategic Engine

Behind both groups stands Iran, rebuilding what sanctions, sabotage, and strikes have delayed but never eliminated. Tehran's ballistic missile program is the backbone of its regional power projection. While diplomacy has bought time, it has not changed Iran's strategic ambition: to encircle Israel, deter Western intervention, and dominate the Middle East through proxies rather than direct war--until it no longer has to.

Iran has learned its own lessons from history. Delay negotiations, compartmentalize crises, and rebuild quietly while the world focuses elsewhere. The result is the same cycle repeating, only with higher stakes and deadlier weapons.

The Lesson We Refuse to Learn

The central lesson of history is brutally simple: if your enemy survives intact, they will try again. From post-World War I Europe to modern insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan, incomplete victories invite future wars. Ceasefires without disarmament. Negotiations without enforcement. Warnings without consequences.

AI Deepfakes Are Driving the Internet Toward Biometric Control

AI Deepfakes Are Driving the Internet Toward Biometric Control

PNW STAFF

You've probably seen them in your social media feed by now. Someone smiling beside a movie star, an athlete, or a long-dead celebrity--arms around shoulders, lighting perfect, expressions natural. At first glance, it looks like a once-in-a-lifetime photo. 

Only later do you realize it's entirely fake. Generated. Synthetic. A year ago, you might have noticed the telltale signs: strange hands, warped faces, off timing. Today, those tells are gone. If you didn't know the celebrity had aged--or died--you would swear the photo was taken in that very moment.

That's the quiet danger of where we are now. Deepfakes didn't arrive with a bang. They slipped in smiling, convincing, and eerily ordinary. And the question is no longer whether people can be fooled. It's how long before one of these fabrications is so real, and spreads so fast through the darker instincts of outrage and fear, that it collapses a stock market--or worse, ignites a war.

We are entering a phase of the internet where reality itself is contestable.

Deepfakes have moved from novelty to norm, quietly dismantling the most basic assumption of the digital age: that the person on your screen is real. Generative AI has made synthetic faces, voices, and entire identities cheap, scalable, and disposable. 

Fraud has been industrialized. CEOs are impersonated in video calls ordering wire transfers. Job interviews are hijacked by fake applicants who pass every test. Voice clones of family members beg for ransom money. Political figures are made to say things they never said, at precisely the moment such statements would do maximum damage.

The problem is no longer visual trickery. It is identity collapse.

Most online systems still rely on static signals: passwords, IDs, selfies, knowledge-based questions. But those signals can now be convincingly faked. And once a fake identity is successfully enrolled--once it passes the gate--it doesn't just bypass security. It becomes the protected entity. Every downstream control ends up shielding the attacker.

Security firms have been warning about this for years, but the tone has shifted. This is no longer framed as a gradual risk to be managed. It's a countdown. Many now openly say it will take just one major incident--one deepfake that crashes markets, triggers mass panic, or escalates a geopolitical crisis--before governments and platforms move decisively.

And when they do, the solution will not be subtle.

The word you will hear over and over again is authentication.

Not usernames. Not passwords. Not "are you a robot" checkboxes. Proof that you are a real human being, tied to a persistent identity, verified continuously. Biometrics--face scans, voice prints, behavioral signatures, and possibly even biological markers--are rapidly becoming the only signals AI cannot easily fake at scale. And even those will likely be paired with liveness checks, hardware attestation, and ongoing monitoring to ensure the person who logged in is still the same person moments later.

In other words: the anonymous internet cannot survive deepfakes.

Industry leaders are already preparing for a world where posting, transacting, or even speaking online requires proof of personhood. Platforms that once prized frictionless access are quietly building identity layers. Financial institutions are tightening verification to the point where participation without biometric enrollment will be impossible. Governments are watching closely, not because they love regulation, but because unverified digital reality is becoming a national security threat.

This is where the conversation turns uncomfortable.

Because while biometric enforcement promises security, it also accelerates the normalization of constant surveillance. Continuous identity validation means continuous observation. Deepfakes "break human judgment," and when human judgment fails, institutions respond by replacing trust with control. Recognition gives way to verification. Freedom gives way to permission.

This convergence--deception at scale paired with demands for stricter identity systems--should sound familiar.

Scripture warns of an age defined by powerful delusion. "For this reason God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false" (2 Thessalonians 2:9-11). In a world where seeing is no longer believing, the danger is not only that lies will spread, but that the systems built to counter those lies will reshape how humanity functions.

To be clear: something must be done. A digital environment where no image, voice, or message can be trusted is not sustainable. Commerce, diplomacy, and civil order all depend on shared reality. Biometric identity may be the only practical response left on the table.

But the speed at which this transition happens matters. Who controls these systems matters. Whether they remain narrowly focused on security--or expand into social scoring, content control, and behavioral enforcement--matters immensely.

We are standing at a hinge moment.

Deepfakes didn't just break photography or video. They broke the social contract of the internet. And once that contract is gone, it will not be restored by goodwill or better media literacy. It will be replaced by infrastructure--hard, permanent systems that decide who is real, who is allowed to speak, and under what conditions.

The age of "trust me, it's real" is ending.

The age of "prove you are human" is about to begin.

The only remaining question is whether we enter that age with wisdom--or after catastrophe forces our hand.

Israel warned US: Iranian missile drills may be cover for strike

Report | Israel warned US: Iranian missile drills may be cover for strike

Israel National News

Israeli officials have warned the Trump administration that an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) missile exercise could be preparations for an attack on Israel, Barak Ravid of Axios reported on Sunday, citing three Israeli and US officials with direct knowledge of the matter.

Israeli sources said the intelligence gathered so far shows only force movements inside Iran. Still, concerns remain high, as Israel’s tolerance for risk is far lower than it was before the Hamas invasion on October 7, 2023.

One Israeli source quoted by Axios noted that similar warnings were raised six weeks ago after intelligence identified Iranian missile movements that ultimately led to no action. “The chances for an Iranian attack are less than 50%, but nobody is willing to take the risk and just say it is only an exercise,” the source said.

American intelligence officials told Axios the US currently sees no indication that Iran is preparing an imminent strike.

Behind the scenes, according to the report, IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir spoke on Saturday with US Central Command (CENTCOM) head Adm. Brad Cooper to convey Israel’s concerns about the IRGC missile maneuvers launched several days ago. According to sources, Zamir warned that the missile activity and other operational movements could be used as cover for a surprise attack, urging close coordination between US and Israeli forces on defensive measures.

Cooper met Zamir and senior IDF officials in Tel Aviv on Sunday to discuss the situation. The IDF declined to comment, and CENTCOM did not respond to a request for comment.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet US President Donald Trump on December 29 in Miami, Israeli sources said. On Saturday, NBC News reported that Netanyahu intends to discuss with Trump Iran’s ballistic missile buildup and the possibility of another Israeli strike against Iran in 2026.

According to Israeli intelligence, Iran appears to be rebuilding its missile forces with greater determination than at any time since the 12-day war in June. Israeli officials said that after the war, Iran’s missile stockpiles dropped from 3,000 to around 1,500, while its number of launchers fell from 400 to 200.

On Saturday, Iran International reported that Western intelligence sources had identified “unusual aerial activity” by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Aerospace Force.

The activity, which includes movements and coordination “beyond normal patterns” between drone, missile, and air-defense units, has "prompted heightened monitoring," the site added.

The officials said that one assessment is that this may be part of a military exercise, but noted that the scope of the activity and the synchronization has drawn particular attention.

Venezuela condemns US ‘act of piracy’

Venezuela condemns US ‘act of piracy’

RT

Venezuela has condemned the seizure of another oil tanker off its shores, accusing the US of carrying out an “act of piracy” as part of a broader campaign to overthrow the government in Caracas and seize the country’s vast energy resources.

In an official statement released on Saturday, the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry denounced what it described as the “theft and hijacking” of a private vessel transporting Venezuelan oil in international waters, and accused US military personnel of the “forced disappearance” of its crew.

Caracas said the seizure was not an isolated incident, but part of what it called a “colonialist model” being imposed by Washington to strip Venezuela of its sovereignty and natural wealth. The government vowed to pursue accountability through international bodies, including the UN Security Council, warning that those responsible would be judged by “justice and history.”

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced earlier on Saturday that US forces seized the tanker in a predawn operation, an action she framed as enforcement against Venezuelan oil exports. The move comes days after President Donald Trump ordered what he described as a “total and complete” blockade of “sanctioned” tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.

Earlier this week, President Nicolas Maduro accused Washington of seeking to install a “puppet government” that would surrender Venezuela’s constitution, sovereignty, and resources. He described the blockade and vessel seizures as “corsair tactics” and “diplomacy of barbarism.”

Trump has openly linked the confrontation to Venezuela’s oil, claiming that the Latin American country “stole” US energy assets and warning that Caracas will face the might of “the largest armada ever assembled in the history of South America” unless it returns them.

Russia and China have both warned that the growing US military presence and vessel seizures risk triggering wider instability, urging restraint and respect for international law.

Terry James: The Visitation

The Visitation

Terry James

One solitary birth is the basis upon which the future hangs for every person ever to enter this mortal realm we call planet Earth. How each man, woman, and child–who has reached the age of understanding salvation–views this visitation determines where their home will be for eternity.

Many believe Jesus was sent by God to show us how to live a good life. Some think He was a great prophet and teacher. Others regard Him as a philosopher right up there with Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and the rest. A few among the billions who have lived since His birth have believed Jesus is the Son of God, but perhaps one among others of a created angelic order assigned to influence the affairs of humankind. Still fewer believe He was who He claimed to be: the only begotten Son of God; the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14: 6).

No birth of any individual has ever caused the excitement and controversy that the birth of Jesus has engendered. Was this baby a stranger of an otherworldly order sent to Earth to provide moral guidance? Was Jesus sent to philosophize on the vicissitudes of the human existence? Or was this visitation something more?

Jesus came into the world through the Jewish race. Only those inalterably antagonistic to the truth of history will argue against that. So, we should examine this birth–this visitation—through the prism of Israel and that Jewish nation’s dealings with the one called Jesus.

Although there are other histories about the era, the Bible’s historical account has, through archaeological unveilings, proven time after time to be accurate in details concerning matters surrounding Jesus, the Jews, and Israel. (One such example is the relatively recent discovery of artifacts and evidence that one called Pontius Pilate ruled the area of Judea during the times attributed to Jesus’ crucifixion. Until the discovery, Pilate’s existence as a historical figure was seriously doubted, even denied by many historians.)

We can know the accuracy of how Israel—and the religious Jews in particular—dealt with Jesus. We can know with assurance that He performed miracles and claimed to be God Himself by using the Bible’s documented veracity as proof that Jesus was born exactly as described in detail by Old Testament prophets. The Jewish religious leaders’ treatment of Christ’s First Coming as a baby lays groundwork for understanding what that means to the souls of all humankind. Understanding that First Coming also helps frame the importance of how each of us views Christ’s prophesied Second Advent.

Tragically, the pious Jewish leaders refused to accept that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah sent from Jehovah to be their King and Savior. They rejected Him despite the precise prophecies He fulfilled in His coming and His ministry. They chose to have Rome rather than Jesus rule over them. The results of their rejection continue to reverberate not only in the Holy Land, but throughout the entire world. Armageddon is building, its nucleus grounded in satanic rage against God’s chosen people.

Christ’s First Visitation was ignored and scoffed at by the religious leaders of the time. Their choice was their own way rather than God’s. They preferred to do what was right in their own eyes. True to Jesus’ prophecy, Jerusalem was laid waste, the Temple destroyed, and the Jews scattered to every part of the world. Genocide was committed against them to the point that their very existence as a race was threatened.

A parallel can be drawn between the ecclesiastical Jewish leaders of the time of Jesus’ First Visitation, and many among mainstream evangelical clergy today.

Neither group has considered prophecies of Christ’s coming as relevant to their times. Their attitude is much akin to the one described by the Apostle Peter:

“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation” (2 Peter 3:3-4).

This sin-darkened sphere is on the brink of another visitation. Unlike the first, when He came as a humble baby who was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, He will come the next time as the King of all kings and Lord of all Lords. Let us who claim Christ as Savior heed His words about His coming again. And the first phase of that Second Coming will be unannounced, in the twinkling of an eye–the Rapture!

“Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch” (Mark 13:35-37).