GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 143

Who Really Wants A Deal?

IDF and Hezbollah Exchange Strikes

As we read in a report from The Jerusalem Post the fighting in northern Israel became very active as both sides struck the other:

Hezbollah on Monday fired dozens of rockets toward the Golan in a significant departure from its general focus on the northern Galilee.

The Lebanese terrorist group said it was aiming for an IDF Golan base in retaliation for Israeli strikes near the city of Baalbek, which were themselves unusually deep strikes into Lebanon’s territory.

Baalbek is around 100 kilometers away from the Israeli border and is in Lebanon’s northeast, whereas most IDF attacks to date have been focused only on southern Lebanon, or on Beirut, which is still much further south than Baalbek.

In an article from The Times Of Israel we read more about the barrage of rockets into the Northern Israel and the reason why Hezbollah did it:

Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah on Monday fired a barrage of 60 Katyusha rockets at the Golan Heights.

The terror group said in a statement the volley of rockets was in response to Israeli strikes in Lebanon’s east, the deepest confirmed attacks since the beginning of the cross-border clashes. It said it targeted an Israeli military base in the Golan “in response to the Zionist aggression near the city of Baalbek,” 100 kilometers (more than 62 miles) from the border earlier in the day.

While there is talk of fighting stopping by Hezbollah if a ceasefire is brokered with Hamas, as we’ve read before, the IDF are going to continue to make the area safe for citizens to return and will continue to do that regardless of any truce between Hamas and Israel.

No Return To North Gaza

In a report from i24news.tv we read that no Gazans will return to the northern part until all hostages are returned:

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant held a meeting on Monday with the families of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip, promising them that "the full return of civilians to the northern area of the Gaza strip will only take place following the return of all the hostages."

This, according to the defense minister, reflects the position of Israel's defense establishment. Gallant emphasized his personal commitment to bringing back the hostages, saying that fighting in Gaza will continue as long as terrorists still hold abducted Israelis there.

Gallant addressed the concerns of hostage relatives as well:

The families of hostages have increasingly placed pressure on Israel to strike a deal to exchange the hostages for Palestinian prisoners and a ceasefire, which Gallant spoke about.

We are working around the clock to achieve a framework that will allow the return of hostages," he said. "As part of the talks, we are working to maintain pressure on Hamas."

"Even if we will have to cease fire temporarily, we will then continue fighting until the very last hostages return," he added.

As I have said repeatedly since day one, we have no moral right to stop the fighting as long as we have even a single hostage in Gaza. This position has not and will not change. Even if we achieve a framework that requires a temporary ceasefire, we will then return to fighting, in order to destroy the Hamas terrorist organization and to return all the hostages."

It is unclear if Gallant is revealing the feelings of all the leadership when he said that no Gazan citizens are coming back unless all hostages are released, but if true, the framework mentioned previously would be incorrect on that point.

Hamas Won’t Accept Proposed Deal

Will Hamas agree to the framework agreed to in Paris last week? As seen in a report on that from The Times Of Israel, Israeli officials don’t think they will:

Senior Israeli officials tell Hebrew media that there is mounting pessimism that Hamas will agree to a hostage deal laid out in a framework proposed by mediators.

Both Channel 12 and the Kan public broadcaster quote a senior official as saying that they were told that the framework worked out in Paris by the US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators “doesn’t correspond with Hamas demands.”

Mossad director mentions one possible reason why they won’t accept it:

Channel 12 also quotes Mossad director David Barnea as telling the cabinet that if Israel does not significantly manage to increase the amount of aid flowing into Gaza, the possibility of a deal will be destroyed.

Some Israeli officials still want a deal:

The Ynet news site quotes senior Israeli officials as saying that there has been no progress so far in the Doha talks, but that they were still working on them.

“There is no progress at the moment,” Ynet quotes the officials as saying. “There are very big gaps between the sides and [mediators] are trying to bridge them. We continue to work to achieve a result.”

Does Netanyahu Really Want A Deal?

According to some inside Israel, it is Prime Minister Netanyahu who doesn’t desire a new deal as we hear in an article from The Times Of Israel:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is demanding that any high-level Palestinian security prisoners released in a potential deal with Hamas be deported to Qatar as a condition of their release, Channel 12 reports.

According to the report, Netanyahu raised the demand during discussions by the war cabinet last night when Israel’s delegation to the Paris summit on a hostage-truce deal briefed ministers on their progress.

In addition, Ynet reports that Netanyahu also said in last night’s telephone consultations that he was not prepared to advance on the parameters of a deal until Israel receives a list specifying which of the 130 hostages held in Gaza since October are still alive.

Why would Netanyahu add these details? The article thinks some Israeli official know:

Some officials have reportedly accused Netanyahu of trying to torpedo the nascent hostage deal in order to appease the far-right elements of his government.

“Netanyahu is not really interested in the deal,” an anonymous official tells Channel 12. “He is doing things to torpedo negotiations and revealing demands at the last minute.”

Will the PM get his way? One official doesn’t think so:

According to the official, the other members of the war cabinet, including observers Aryeh Deri and Ron Dermer, support the current outline for the hostage deal, leaving Netanyahu alone in his purported objections to it.

Netanyahu’s additional conditions actually make sense when you think about it. Why would you want terrorists who are in prison for carrying out deadly attacks on your people to go back to living inside Israel? And the health of the hostages is an important part of any deal. If you are laying out a framework based on releasing terrorist and hostages with number ratios attached to them, knowing who is alive and who is dead would be a major factor. To date, Hamas has refused to do that and maybe Netanyahu has intel that explains why. Trust? Yes. Verify? Absolutely.

Additional Prayer Keys

Here are more ways to pray specifically for Israel:

  • God, we thank You for those Sons of Zion in Israel's government who have rejected US President Biden's and others' plans to recognize a Palestinian State after the war (Psa. 118:8-9; Zech. 9:13)!
  • We praise You that the Knesset, Israel's parliament, then voted 99-11 to support that government decision to reject any unilateral recognition of a Palestinian State by the nations (Psa. 133:1).
  • Guard over this unity in Israel's coalition and war cabinet (Amos 3:3).
  • Abba, comfort Your nation, especially those whose loved ones have been murdered or sexually abused by Hamas, or are still hostages, or whose fate is not known (Isa. 12:1; 61:1-3; 2 Cor. 1:3-4).
  • Send forth Your shalom on released soldiers and their families as they reunite (Num. 6:24-27).
  • God of Israel, bless Israel's economy to grow amazingly during this time (Deut. 8:18; 28:3-6).
  • God, guide us so that we do not pray against what You are doing to fulfill Your Word (Amos 3:7).
  • Lord, reveal to Your Body their spiritual obligation to stand in the gap for their nation (Ezek. 22:30) over its negative, or even just lukewarm, relations with Israel today (Isa. 60:12; Zech. 12:9).
  • Raise up prophetic voices in the US to warn political and church leaders that Biden's push to create a "Palestine" pushes America deeper into Your valley of judgment (Num. 23:19-24; Joel 3:1-2).
  • Lord, have Your Body warn their nations how You will not be mocked, but what they are trying to do with Israel is even now coming back on their lands as the deep divisions in most Western nations at this time can be linked with their push to divide Your land (Gen. 12:3a; Psa. 9:16; Gal. 6:7).
  • Defend IDF soldiers physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually, and provide them with all that they need to gain a victory that brings You great glory (1 Sam. 17:46-47; Psa. 24:15; Rev. 15:4).
  • We bless You that the IDF's tunnel warfare tactics have grown more effective and deadly against the enemy, and ask for all remaining tunnels to be found and demolished (Job 12:22; Jer. 23:24).
  • Direct Israel's plans to invade Rafah, Hamas' final stronghold on the Gaza-Egypt border, including the timing of it (Prov. 21:30-31).
  • As that border is a major gateway for Hamas to smuggle weaponry, Lord bring down every spiritual force that rules over that area and let it be completely conquered by the IDF (Isa. 28:5-6).
  • God, after the war, solidify Israel's total oversight of Gaza's Egyptian border, as well as help it to maintain, as much as possible, decent relations with Egypt (Isa. 19:23-25).
  • As Israel permits Gazan civilians to leave the Rafah area, give IDF soldiers discernment to spot and capture all terrorists trying to escape by blending in with those civilians (Job 11:20; Psa. 56:7).
  • Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and let intercessors pray specifically as Holy Spirit leads so that your chosen people will live in peace and safety and accept your Son Jesus as the messiah for them that He is (Ps 122:6)