GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 150

Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions

Bad Things Done

For those of us who already knew this, a United Nations (UN) report supports the reports that Hamas did terrible things to women on October 7th as we read in a report from The Jerusalem Post:

A mission team led on a trip through Israel by the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, found that there was substantial evidence to conclude that victims, as well as hostages and survivors of October 7, were sexually abused and raped by Hamas terrorists. This is the first instance where an international organization has confirmed what Israel has alleged since October 7.

Patten, therefore, called on Hamas to “immediately and unconditionally release all individuals held in captivity and to ensure their protection, including from sexual violence.”

Here are more details about the report:

The team, traveling and researching with Israel’s full cooperation, found “clear and convincing information that sexual violence, including rape, sexualized torture, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment has been committed against hostages.”

They have “reasonable grounds to believe that such violence may be ongoing against those still held in captivity.” Patten’s team, which visited throughout the first two weeks of February, was comprised of “nine experts drawn from the United Nations, including… specialists trained in safe and ethical interviewing of survivors/victims and witnesses of sexual violence crimes; a forensic pathologist; and a digital and open-source information analyst.”

While the report does confirm allegations made by Israel from the start of the war, the UN didn’t use the finding to officially label Hamas a terrorist group. Here is quote from Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz:

Despite the authority granted to him, the UN secretary-general did not order the convening of the security council in light of the findings, in order to declare Hamas a terrorist organization and impose sanctions on its supporters.

At the press conference some of the reporters tried to downplay the report with some even trying to evoke sympathy for Hamas:

During that same press conference, Patten faced multiple questions of doubt from the media. One Arabic Daily reporter asked if Patten had seen "how well the hostages were treated," reminding her that some "held water bottles in their hands" upon their release to demonstrate how well they were treated.

"This report is only a validation of the Israeli narrative," the same reporter later said. "Can you address that a woman is being raped and bit the finger of her rapist? How can you stand with the rapist?" he asked, comparing Hamas rapists to victims of rape themselves.

A correspondent for PassBlue also asked to what extent one might believe the information gathered for the report "if you're just collecting evidence."

They Just Don’t Know

As we see in an article from i24news.tv, Hamas is unable to verify information about the hostages:

In an interview with the BBC, a Hamas political official revealed that the organization lacks the knowledge to provide Israel with a list of living hostages, as it remains uncertain about the status and whereabouts of all captives.

Basim Naim, a member of Hamas's politburo, explained to the BBC from Istanbul that Hamas has refrained from submitting a list of hostages to Israel due to the complexities of the situation.

As usual Hamas blames the Israel Defense Force (IDF) for the uncertainty:

"Technically and practically, it is now impossible to know exactly who is still alive and who has been killed," Naim stated, citing the impact of Israeli bombardments and the blockade on Gaza.

Naim that if the IDF would agree to a ceasefire the hostage information could be gathered:

Naim emphasized that the hostages are dispersed across various locations and groups, making it challenging to gather accurate information. He reiterated Hamas's call for a ceasefire to facilitate the collection of data regarding the hostages.

Israel probably knew something was up when they demanded that information on the remaining hostages be part of any deal:

Israel has demanded that Hamas specify the ratio of security prisoners it seeks to be released per Israeli hostage as part of any ceasefire agreement. Without progress on these demands, Israel opted against sending a delegation to Cairo for further discussions on a potential ceasefire deal involving American, Egyptian, and Qatari mediators.

Does anyone really believe that Hamas can’t confirm the hostage information if they really wanted to? It is ludicrous to entertain that an organization who planned intricate tunnels and devised detailed military strategies for the better part of close to 20 years doesn’t keep strict track of hostages that are extremely valuable to them.

A Very Troubling Admission

As if things are already tense in the Middle East, the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) admitted to a very worrisome piece of information as discovered in an article from The Times Of Israel:

IAEA Chief Rafael Grossi on Monday told the IAEA Board of Governors, concerning Iran’s nuclear advancement, that “the agency has lost continuity of knowledge about the production and inventory of centrifuges, rotors and bellows, heavy water and uranium ore concentrate.”

“It is three years since Iran stopped provisionally applying its additional protocol and therefore it is also three years since the agency was able to conduct complementary access in Iran,” Grossi said, describing large gaps in nuclear inspections.

Basically he is telling is that they don’t know how close Iran is to having nuclear weapons, but it could only be a political decision preventing them from creating them:

Next, he referred to a recent Iranian nuclear official who said that all aspects of the nuclear weapons cycle are complete and that the only obstacle to Tehran producing a nuclear weapon is the political decision to do so.

Grossi said, “Public statements made in Iran regarding its technical capabilities to produce nuclear weapons only increase my concerns about the correctness and completeness of Iran’s safeguard declarations.”

According to Grossi they aren’t getting anywhere on any updates:

Further, the IAEA chief stated, “There has been no progress in resolving the outstanding safeguard issues. Iran has not provided the agency with technically credible explanations for the presence of uranium particles of anthropogenic origin at Varamin and Turquzabad or informed the agency of the current location(s) of the nuclear material and/or of contaminated equipment.”

Don’t expect the IAEA or the United States to do anything about this:

Despite all of the above concerns from Grossi, the IAEA board is not expected to refer the nuclear standoff to the UN’s Security Council.

Indications are that the US and the West are distracted by the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and that short of a clear sign that Tehran was seeking to break out to a nuclear weapon, there is little stomach for provoking a more intense confrontation.

Sources specifically told Reuters that the US was dead set on avoiding a confrontation between Iran and the IAEA pending the Gaza War and possibly for an even longer period pending the US election in November.

Darn those politics getting in the way of addressing a nuclear attack on America and Israel.

Will Israel Stop Iran’s Nuclear Ambition?

The IAEA and Grossi probably don’t see things this way, however their admission adds credence to those of us who believe that Israel will attack Iran’s nuclear ability as seen in Bible prophecy. Here is a prophecy seen in Scripture about this:

This is the Word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the man of God about Elam, at the beginning of the rule of King Zedekiah of Judah, saying, 35 “The Lord of All says, ‘I will break the bow of Elam, the best of their strength. 36 I will bring the four winds to Elam from the four ends of heaven. And I will have these winds send them everywhere. There will not be a nation to which the people sent out of Elam will not go. 37 I will fill Elam with fear in front of those who hate them and want to kill them. I will bring much trouble upon them, even My burning anger,’ says the Lord. ‘I will send the sword after them until I have destroyed them. 38 Then I will set My throne in Elam, and will destroy their kings and leaders,’ says the Lord. 39 ‘But in the last days I will return the people of Elam to their land,’” says the Lord. (Jer 49:34-39, NLV)

Jeremiah predicts that Elam will be struck at the foremost place of its strength. If such an attack occurred in the near future that would probably be its nuclear site(s). Not necessarily all sites, but specifically sites existing within the boundaries of ancient Elam. A prime target would be the Bushehr nuclear site. Subsequently, the prophet warns that after the attack the affected populations are forced to scatter from the area. Jeremiah says, “There shall be no nations where the outcasts of Elam will not go.” This could be the result of Iranian’s attempting to flee from an isolated nuclear disaster. Should the Bushehr nuclear reactor be struck, this becomes a very real possibility because the facility is loaded with Russian supplied fuel rods. These rods were loaded during the summer of 2010. At the time former UN Ambassador John Bolton warned that once the rods were loaded in place, an attack upon the site could result in severe radioactive fallout. Are we close to this happening? Unless I’m reading things incorrectly, add this to your prayer list as you pray for the peace of Jerusalem.