Shalom from a very different Israel than what we had one month ago. Back then, we were mired in political friction. There was a huge divide over judicial reform with threats being leveled from all sides. Culturally, we were not just two different countries with a conservative population and a liberal population, but we had countless subgroups centered around religious beliefs and lifestyle choices and ethnic backgrounds. When I looked at my nation back then, I felt incredible sorrow. We were a nation fighting an internal war and I could see my country falling apart.
That is no longer so. When you look at Israel now, you see one country, one people. We are Israelis, and if you harm one of us, you harm us all. As a nation, we were attacked. As a nation, we were murdered and tortured and kidnapped. And as a nation, we will have our vengeance on those who perpetrated these heinous acts on our children, our elderly, our women, and our men. We will also ensure that those who attacked us will never have the capability to do it again, because we know that if they could, they would. Hamas didn’t just “get this out of their system” and now they’re ready to play nice. They are the same evil, antisemitic Nazis they have always been, and they will not be satisfied until every Jew has been pushed into the sea.
Israel’s actions meet that “necessary and proper” criteria to protect the innocent and eradicate evil. More and more nations are going to soon find themselves in the same situation making the same types of choices, because this radical antisemitism and, in many circumstances, its accompanying universalist Islamist vision is not going to remain localized to the Middle East. This war is a global event, and it has ramifications around the world.
Gaza
The Israeli ground assault is continuing in Gaza. The plan is to cut the Gaza Strip in two, which will allow the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to wrap around and eventually surround Shifa hospital – the main hospital in Gaza. Now, New York Times, before you start saying, “See, we told you that Israel likes to bomb hospitals,” let me tell you why they are doing that. Within that hospital compound, built both above and below ground, are Hamas’s main headquarters.
If Israel really didn’t care about civilians, they would have dropped a few bunker buster bombs on the Shifa property and been done with it. Instead, they are making a risky maneuver so that they can target Hamas terrorists, all the while announcing what they are going to do so that the hospital and the surrounding area can be emptied of civilians.
Once again, we see the difference between Hamas and the IDF. Hamas targets innocent civilians. The IDF warns civilians so that they can escape. The reason non-combatants are killed is because Hamas forces them to remain behind to maintain the human shield, and so that they can use their bodies afterward as propaganda for the world’s media.
Gaza has had billions of dollars poured into it. Where has it all gone? First, to the Hamas leaders. Hamas Deputy Chairman Mousa Abu Marzuk is worth $3 billion, former Chairman Khaled Mashal is worth $4 billion, and current Chairman Ismail Haniyeh is also worth $4 billion. It’s understandable, though, because it takes a lot of money to pay for their luxury housing in Turkey and Qatar. I mean, you couldn’t expect them to live in Gaza amongst the riff-raff, could you? Most of the remaining money went to the construction of an intricate, multi-leveled system of 1300 tunnels that stretch for 500 kilometers (311 miles) and reach 70 meters deep (229 feet).
The flaw in this tunnel system is that it needs gas for generators to power the ventilation system. So, while there is food and water in Gaza, as well as electricity in most areas, gas is very difficult to find. This is because the IDF has confiscated all the gas they can find. No gas, no ventilators. No ventilators, no air. No air, the terrorists will be forced to scurry out of their holes where they will surrender or be killed.
Lebanon and Syria
Iran desperately wants their militias in southern Syria to do something directed at Israel. But so far there has only been the occasional rocket or artillery fire. Hezbollah in Lebanon is receiving the same pressure from Iran. The skirmishes across the Lebanese/Israeli border have been more intense that those with Syria but have still mostly been in the form of rockets and airstrikes. However, there have been border breaches that had to be dealt with by the IDF. Hassan Nasrallah, secretary-general of Hezbollah, has announced that he will make a very important speech Friday at 3:00 PM. The speculation is that he will declare Hezbollah’s entrance into the war.
This would be unfortunate for two reasons. First of all, the Lebanese don’t want war. Most civilians in Lebanon are good, hard-working people who are in the unfortunate situation of having their country commandeered by a terrorist organization whose puppet strings are being pulled by Iran’s radical Islamist regime. Maybe this will be the catalyst for the people to finally rise up and oust Hezbollah.
The second reason Nasrallah should think carefully before entering the fray is that him doing so would be a fatal mistake. Because of the organization and training of Hezbollah, it would likely take more Israeli lives to end Hezbollah. But rest assured, by the time the IDF has finished, there would be no more Hezbollah and no more Hassan Nasrallah.
Last night, Ismail Qaani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), visited Beirut, likely to discuss Hezbollah’s involvement in the next phase of the war. Please pray that this front does not open wide.
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