GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 108

Is There A New Deal?

Negotiations Are Still Happening

We detailed the strong stands that Israel and Hamas have concerning deals that would release the remaining hostages and even though it appears that the two sides are far apart from agreeing, talks are still reportedly under way as we read in a report from i24news.tv:

In a press briefing White House spokesperson John Kirby confirmed that the United States 'is actively engaged in discussions with partners' to facilitate another release of hostages from Gaza.

Kirby emphasized the White House's commitment to any viable two-state solution, acknowledging that such resolutions demand compromises from all parties involved.

But Israel themselves are still working on a new deal:

Simultaneously, Israel is actively pursuing negotiations for a new hostage release deal under Qatari mediation. According to the reports, encouraging progress has been made following a perceived shift in Hamas' position.

Three political and security officials, speaking anonymously to Israel's Kan News, outlined the evolving plan. The negotiation framework involves three to four stages. Israel commits to releasing terrorists, including high-profile individuals, and agrees to prolonged ceasefires at each stage. Israel also has reportedly expressed 'openness' to reducing IDF deployment in the Gaza Strip without a commitment to an immediate end to fighting.

From my perspective, as long as the hostages have value to Hamas, they won’t release them all. And Israel is committed to totally eliminating Hamas so getting them all back with Hamas still in power will not happen unless there is a miracle. Fortunately, we pray to a God who performs miracles.

A Phased Release On The Table

According to an article from The Times Of Israel, a series of stages would eventually get all 136 remaining hostages released:

Israel has reportedly submitted a proposal through Qatari and Egyptian mediators that would see it agree to a pause in its fighting in Gaza for as long as two months, in exchange for a phased release of the remaining 136 hostages in Gaza.

The proposal does not heed the Hamas demand for Israel to end the war completely, but does appear to go further than Israel has gone in previous offers, according to the Axios news site, which cites two Israeli officials.

Israel is now waiting for Hamas’s response to the new proposal and is cautiously optimistic about the chance for progress in the coming days, the Israeli officials tell Axios.

The report continues by giving details about this phased offer:

The Israeli proposal reported by Axios would see the remaining children, women, men over the age of 60 and critically ill hostages released during the first stage. Subsequent stages would see female soldiers and men under the age of 60 who are not soldiers, followed by make soldiers and the bodies of hostages.

The Israeli offer states that Israel and Hamas would agree in advance as to how many security prisoners would be released by Jerusalem in each stage before holding separate negotiations on the names of these convicts.

The offer would also include a withdrawal of Israeli forces from the main population centers in Gaza and the gradual return of Palestinians to the northern Strip, from which they were ordered to evacuate.

The offer stipulates that Israel will not agree to end the war completely, nor release all 6,000 Palestinian security prisoners, but Israeli officials tell Axios that they are willing to release a significant number.

If implemented, IDF operations in Gaza would be significantly smaller in scope after the pause concludes, Axios says.

Now we’ll have to see if Hamas agrees to these terms. That could be a big ask:

The offer is relatively similar to ones that have reportedly been pressed since the seven-day truce ended nearly two months ago. Hamas has insisted that it will not agree to release any hostages unless the fighting in Gaza ceases completely — a non-starter for Israel, as it would leave those who orchestrated the October 7 massacre in power.

Devastating For Hezbollah

While meeting with his French counterpart, Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant brought up a potential war with Hezbollah as we read in this report from i24news.tv:

Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant hosted French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu at the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tel Aviv.

The two defense leaders engaged in a comprehensive discussion on the current state of the conflict, strategic goals, and the broader regional implications.

During the private one-on-one meeting followed by discussions with professional teams, Minister Gallant updated his French counterpart on the progress made by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in achieving of dismantling Hamas' governing and military capabilities and the safe return of hostages.

Minister Gallant underscored Israel's unwavering commitment to continuing military operations until these goals are realized.

The talks then turned to the northern front:

On the northern front, he expressed gratitude to Minister Lecornu for France's commitment to altering the security dynamics in southern Lebanon. Of particular importance is the effort to push Hezbollah forces away from the border, reducing potential threats to Israel.

"A war in the north will be challenging for Israel, but devastating for Hezbollah and Lebanon. Israel will not cease fire until it can guarantee the safe return of the northern communities to their homes, following a change in the security situation along the border,” Gallant declared in the meeting.

The IDF is ready to fight an all out battle with Hezbollah if needed, but it will be costly. Personally I can’t see how making things safe for Israelis living in the area can happen unless Hezbollah is also eliminated.

Prayer Keys

Things are continuing to progress in this war which could last until 2025 is Prime Minister Netanyahu correct, but I pray it ends sooner. Prayer is the one thing we can do now and with that in mind, here are more prayer keys for us:

We ask for any sons of Issachar to gain much more influence in Israel (1 Chr. 12:32a).

Lord Yeshua, speak to more believers concerning their responsibility to intercede about their nation's relations with Israel at this time in history (Isa. 34:8; Jer. 5:1; Ezek. 22:30-31).

Lord God, guide us in prayer as there are possible prophetic scenarios being set up today and we do not want to pray against Your will (Gen. 18:17; Amos 3:7; 1 John 5:14-15).

Lord, protect Israel from all unbiblical "suggestions" of the US administration on how it needs to battle Hamas and what Gaza should look like afterward (Psa. 2:1-3; 9:19-20; 124:1-8).

Reinforce Israel's rejection of having the Palestinian Authority [PA] to be the next ruler of Gaza as they are as demonically-inspired and full of Jew-hatred as Hamas (Psa. 33:10-11; Isa. 8:9-10).

Reveal to Israel's leaders that the only "day-after" scenario which pleases You is for Israel to take back all of Gaza, which is part of Judah's inheritance (Josh. 15:1, 47; Judg. 1:18; Joel 3:19-20).

Regardless of whether it was Your will for the IDF to change tactics, reveal Your current strategy to them so that this next phase actually hastens Hamas' destruction (Isa. 14:31-32; Ezek. 35:10-13).

Reinforce Your angelic armies in this war against Your enemies (Deut. 32:41; 2 Kin. 6:16; Psa. 7:6).

Fulfill Your Word from Jeremiah 46:15-16 against Hamas as found in Shabbat's prophetic portion.

God of mercy, please release all the remaining hostages miraculously (Psa. 146:7; Isa. 49:24-25).

As always, pray for the peace of Jerusalem.