God’s News In The News – Special Edition

Week One Hundred Seventy-Two

Israel At War

Surprise Attacks In Israel

Things are heating up in Israel as we speak as reported on major media sites. Here is how CNN is reporting things now:

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the country was “at war” on Saturday, after Palestinian militants in Gaza fired a deadly barrage of rockets and sent gunmen into Israeli territory in a major escalation of the long running conflict between the two sides. Militants launched a barrage of some 2,200 rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel, according to the Israeli military, while armed gunmen infiltrated into Israel by land, sea and air – in paragliders. Multiple explosions were heard over Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and in southern Israel – some blasts likely the interceptions of incoming rockets – while air raids sent Israelis pouring into underground shelters. By the early afternoon, at least 40 were dead and nearly 800 injured in Israel, according to Israel’s rescue service Magen David Adom (MDA). Israel responded by launching strikes on what it called Hamas targets in Gaza. The Palestinian health ministry said that nearly 200 Palestinians had been killed and 1,610 injured in the violence, but did not make clear where the deaths occurred or whether the toll included Hamas militants or civilians in Gaza.

Prime Minister Declares War

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has officially declared war in this statement, also from CNN:

We are at war, not in an operation or in rounds, but at war,” Netanyahu said in a video statement, adding that Hamas, the Palestinian militant movement that runs Gaza, had “launched a murderous surprise attack against the state of Israel and its citizens.

This is a major statement by the Prime Minister and should not be taken lightly. According to another news site, The Times Of Israel, a price will be paid for the attack:

“We have been in this since the early morning hours. I have convened the heads of the defense establishment. I’ve given directives, first and foremost, to clear the [affected] urban areas of the terrorists who penetrated them,” Netanyahu said. “This is happening right now.”

“In parallel, I am initiating an extensive mobilization of the reserves to fight back on a scale and intensity that the enemy has so far not experienced. The enemy will pay an unprecedented price,” Netanyahu said.

While the response is aimed at Hamas, there are fears that others will get involved, such Hezbollah.

Timing Is Suspect

Going back to the same CNN article, the timing of the attacks coincide with another major attack against Israel:

The surprise assault on Saturday was unprecedented in recent history in its scale and scope, falling on the 50th anniversary of the 1973 War in which Arab states blitzed Israel on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.

A statement from the aggressors was also released and here is another quote from CNN:

Dubbing the operation “Al-Aqsa Storm,” Hamas military commander Muhammad Al-Deif said in a recorded message that the group had “targeted the enemy positions, airports and military positions with 5,000 rockets” and that the assault on Israel was a response to attacks on women, the desecration of the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem and the ongoing siege of Gaza.

“If you have a gun, get it out. This is the time to use it – get out with trucks, cars, axes, today the best and most honorable history starts,” Al-Deif added.

There also reports of Israeli soldiers being taken hostage.

The Prophetic Importance

Since this podcast brings you Current Events with a Biblical Perspective, it is only apropos that I bring up what this could be leading to and that my friends is the Psalm 83 war. This war is what I believe will be the next great conflict in the Middle East and could very well be coming next. If you’re not aware of the prophecies about this war, a brief explanation is that the surrounding Arab nations will conspire to wipe Israel off the map with an assault from all sides. For this to be fulfilled, more than Hamas will need to be involved and Israel will not stop and fighting just the Arab nations but will also most likely take this time to disable the Iranian’s nuclear capacity. If all these things happen, and Israel prevails, the Middle East maps will change dramatically as Israel will occupy more land than they ever have since they became a nation back in 1948. And they very well could be seen as the new Middle East superpower. That being said, things would get very serious, very fast if current statements by Iranian leaders are any evidence. We should monitor the next steps in the Middle East very closely to see what is going to happen next. And as always pray for the peace of Jerusalem.