GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 146

It’s Coming

Lebanon Is Next

According to a report from The Jerusalem Post Iran will be turning Hezbollah loose on Israel:

Iran has given Lebanese terror organization Hezbollah the green light to escalate its attacks along Israel's northern border, the Arabic Post reported on Wednesday, citing high-level Iranian and Lebanese sources.

The Islamic Republic has reportedly set conditions for Hezbollah, ordering it to launch a large-scale attack on Israel only after it "had become certain of Israel's intention" to carry out an invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

This is in light of numerous comments from leaders in the IDF saying that they will push back Hezbollah away from Israel’s northern border regardless of a ceasefire occurring that will delay an offensive in Rafah:

As per the report, Tehran gave the go-ahead amid fears that, after the IDF completes an invasion of Rafah, southern Lebanon "will be next."

A source from Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) told Arabic Post that Esmail Qaani, the IRGC's Quds Force commander, visited Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah on Monday to discuss "the latest developments" along Israel's northern border.

Apparently Nasrallah called for the meeting:

The meeting between the two was reportedly held at the request of Nasrallah, who called for the "necessity" of holding an emergency meeting after "information was obtained" indicating Israeli intention to launch a large-scale assault on Hezbollah in Lebanon.

"Hassan Nasrallah told Qaani that the attack is likely to be very imminent, most likely in the month of Ramadan, or with Israel’s invasion of the city of Rafah," an IRGC source told Arabic Post. "Nasrallah said that he is completely certain of [Israel's] intention to launch a large-scale attack on Lebanon, and he asked Qaani to give him complete freedom in how he intends to attack," another diplomatic source in Iran said.

The article noted that Iran was not pleased with Hezbollah’s recent barrage of attacks on Israel as they advised them have patience as they are only supposed to be a distraction to the war on Hamas. However, in this report we do we something that makes some sense. If all these leaders are telling Israel to not go into Rafah know that it will push Hezbollah into a war with Israel, of course they will warn against it.

Storm The al-Aqsa Mosque

In a televised statement, a senior Hamas leader called for take over the al-Aqsa Mosque at the start of Ramadan as seen in an article from The Jerusalem Post:

In a televised statement, senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh called on residents of the West Bank and Jerusalem to barricade themselves at the al-Aqsa Mosque at the beginning of Ramadan. Haniyeh also called for "a broad and international movement to break the siege on al-Aqsa Mosque."

Conservative members of the Israeli government have called for strict security at the sight during Ramadan while others are in favor of looser security as a way to keep tensions lower. Apparently Hamas didn’t get the memo. In his statement he also talked about the ongoing hostage negotiations and the potential offensive in Rafah:

Haniyeh asserted that when it came to hostage negotiations, Hamas was demonstrating "flexibility," though the terrorist group maintained that they would continue fighting.

Haniyeh addressed the possibility of the IDF's invasion of Rafah and expressed hope that international efforts would restrain Israel's ambitions of an invasion.

In his own words, "The occupation and its partner, the United States, will not be able to achieve through political machinations what they did not achieve in combat. The world, especially Arab states, must restrain the enemy and refuse to let them invade the city of Rafah."

Major Demand By Hamas

According to sources one person Hamas wants released for hostages is leader who is serving life in prison. We read more on this from an article in i24news.tv:

In the ongoing negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the Gaza-based terror group is insisting on the release of Marwan Barghouti, a prominent Fatah leader currently serving multiple life sentences in an Israeli prison.

According to a reports, Palestinian leadership sees Barghouti as a key figure in any potential peace negotiations and demands his release as part of any agreement.

Barghouti being released would be a huge deal for those who revere him in the West Bank even to this day:

Barghouti is a well-known Palestinian political figure who gained prominence during the First and Second Intifadas. Initially supportive of the peace process, Barghouti later became disillusioned and emerged as a leader of the Second Intifada from the West Bank. He was associated with Tanzim, a paramilitary group affiliated with Fatah.

Israel, on the other hand see him differently:

Israeli authorities have labeled Barghouti as a terrorist, accusing him of orchestrating numerous attacks, including suicide bombings, targeting both civilians and military personnel.

In 2002, he was arrested by the Israel Defense Forces in Ramallah and subsequently tried and convicted on multiple counts of murder, resulting in five life sentences.

Barghouti’s value could extend past his terrorist ties:

Despite being incarcerated, Barghouti continues to wield significant influence within the Fatah movement, sparking speculation about his potential as a unifying candidate to succeed Mahmoud Abbas as the leader of the Palestinian Authority.

In my opinion, if Hamas considers Barghouti as highly as it appears, Israel should do what Hamas does and put a higher price for his release. I would suggest that if they give him up Hamas should release 100 or more hostages for him. Would they go for that? They claim they are flexible, but that’s all smoke and mirrors.

Doing The Unthinkable

We see in a report from i24news.tv that an IDF spokesperson feels that Hamas didn’t think Israel would actually do what they’re doing now:

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, spoke about the military's objectives and challenges, as well as successes so far, during the World Zionist Organization (WZO) Emergency Conference.

"We are dismantling the military framework of Hamas from the north to the south. We already dismantled 18 battalions out of 24 and we are finishing the others, the last four are in Rafah," Hagari began with the war goal to dismantle the terrorist organization responsible for the October 7 attack, as well as upcoming operation to its last stronghold in the southernmost area of Gaza.

Hagari went on to mention why Rafah needs to be controlled:

Rafah was explain was important due to the presence of hostages in the area, one of the two primary war goals, along with the last Hamas battalions. Hagari reiterated that the war was to ensure October 7 "never happens again."

The spokesperson also stated that Rafah was used as a weapon smuggling route, both underground through tunnels and above ground. Thus, the IDF were "setting the conditions so proliferation of arms will be decrease(d)."

He maintains that the terrorists didn’t think Israel had the will to fight in Gaza:

“Gaza is one of the hardest arenas of fighting in the world, and the IDF is doing professional work in an area which is so crowded, with 500 kilometers of tunnels, with terrorists that are so vicious, using hospitals, using schools, using mosques… using their own people as human shields, and we are overcoming all of the above and fighting them and dismantling them," the spokesperson described.

"They didn't think, they didn't imagine, that we'll get to Shifa. They didn't imagine that we will be in Khan Yunis. They didn't imagine that we'd fight inside the tunnels. They didn't think that we'd do it. Even other enemies around us didn't think we'll be there, but we'll be there. We'll be there until our hostages are home and until we dismantle this military framework… we'll do it on every one of our borders, pushing back our enemies, so there'll be no 7th of October," he stated.

Hagari ended by saying the physical war will be easier than the war of changing Palestinian minds and hearts. And as we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, that should be at or near the top of our lists.