GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 171

Strained US/Israel Relations

US Allows UN Resolution

In a report from The Times Of Israel we see that the US didn’t veto a UN resolution that harms the Israeli war effort:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday canceled a planned trip to Washington by his top aides to discuss plans for an offensive in the Gaza city of Rafah, taking the step after the United States refrained from using a veto to block a United Nations Security Council resolution, backed by Russia and China, that called for a ceasefire without conditioning it on the release of hostages.

In a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, Israel said the US was harming the war effort against Hamas and attempts to free hostages with its decision.

Netanyahu went on to point out how this hurts the war effort:

The statement called the decision “a clear retreat from the consistent US position in the Security Council since the beginning of the war,” and one that “gives Hamas hope that international pressure will allow them to get a ceasefire without releasing our hostages.”

US officials defended their actions and their showed their dissatisfaction of the Prime Minister’s decision:

In response, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told journalists: “We’re very disappointed that they won’t be coming to Washington, DC, to allow us to have a fulsome conversation with them about viable alternatives to going in on the ground in Rafah.”

Kirby insisted that the vote “does not represent a shift in our policy,” and said the United States abstained because the text did not condemn Hamas.

“We’ve been consistent in our support [for] a ceasefire as part of a hostage deal,” he said.

“It’s a non-binding resolution, so there’s no impact at all on Israel’s ability to continue to go after Hamas,” Kirby said. The position appears to be shared by South Korea and other members as well.

There appears to be a disagreement on just exactly wasn’t vetoed by the US and favored by nations that think it does make it clear that releasing the hostages is part of the ceasefire. Regardless, if the UN doesn’t specifically call out Hamas and put international pressure on them to release the hostages on the grounds it is a violation of international law, they make it very difficult to be trusted when they criticize Israel for all manner of things.

Hamas Wants A Deal Not Tied To Hostage Releases

In an article from i24news.tv Hamas apparently doesn’t want a new deal for a ceasefire to include releasing any hostages:

Senior Hamas official, Hussam Badran, added a new condition to ceasefire and hostage release negotiations while delinking a hostage release from a deal, according to a statement on Monday reported by Palestinian and Arab media.

"Our priorities are stopping the aggression, bringing in aid, the return of the displaced, and a clear reconstruction plan, and not limited to the release of prisoners as promoted by the occupation," the Hamas officials was quoted as saying, referring to 134 hostages, including children as young as one-years-old as "prisoners."

Israel is trying to get a deal, but Hamas is increasing its demands rather than compromise:

Israel recently agreed to a new proposal formulated by mediators in Qatar, reportedly showing flexibility in demands for the return of displaced to northern Gaza and the amount of Palestinian prisoners released, which now awaited Hamas's official response.

The latest statement by Badran indicated that the terrorist organization Hamas increased its demands, with a new condition for a "clear reconstruction plan" in Gaza.

Furthermore, the statement alarmed Israeli media channels for the inclusion of "not limited to the release" of remaining hostages, who were abducted during the Hamas-led October 7 attack.

Hamas further accused Israel of getting in the way of deal:

However, the senior Hamas official accused Israel and the United States as "obstructing any agreement," during the presentation of new demands and refuting a release of hostages.

Why Hamas is changing their demands when a deal appears to be close is not fully known. Some think that is has a lot to do with them not actually having as many live hostages as they say and others think that when the hostages are released they’ll spill the beans on how they were treated. Most likely it is because without the hostages, they know that the IDF will not have any reason to show restraint in their offensive against them. Or it could a little of all three.

Premature War Ending Will Start Hezbollah War

According to an article in The Jerusalem Post if the war against Hamas stops hastily, Hezbollah could ramp up their attacks:

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday said that if the IDF ends its war in Gaza prematurely, this will likely lead to Hezbollah being more audacious about launching a larger attack against Israel from the North.

Gallant said, "There is no moral basis for stopping the war until we return home all of the hostages. If we do not achieve a decisive and absolute victory in Gaza, a bigger war in the North will come closer."

Gallant made his statements while in the United States:

Gallant delivered his message from the White House in Washington DC, an hour after the UN Security Council voted to demand Israel end the war and right before he met with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

He went on to say that keeping Israel at full strength is a good thing:

He said he came to Washington to remind top US officials of the need to keep the IDF stronger than its enemies.

Further, he said he would not drop Israel's demand to complete the removal of Hamas from power.

Gallant also said work on who will lead Gazans once the war ends was discussed:

In addition, without specifying how he said that Israel and the US would develop an alternative to Hamas for managing Gaza.

Will Hezbollah wait to unload on Israel until Hamas is defeated? We’d need Iran to chime in on that. After all, they are the ones pulling the strings in this war against Israel.

More Prayer Keys

I end this lesson with some ways to pray for Israel:

  • Lord God, in an age when truth has fallen in the streets and fails to make an impact on many in our nations (Isa., 59:13-15), grace us to intercede in line with Your will (Isa. 59:16).
  • Sovereign Lord, use Israel's current government for Your glory (Psa. 57:5, 11; 63:11; 115:1-3).
  • Surround him (Netanyahu) with sons of Zion and sons of Issachar who he will listen to (1 Chr. 12:32; Eccl. 7:19).
  • Extinguish the media's lies against Israel, both locally and globally (Job 13:4-5).
  • Let today's Hamans hang on the gallows that they have built for Your people (Est. 7:10; Psa. 57:6).
  • Lord of hosts, since Hamas named their Oct. 7th attack "the Al-Aksa flood," let Your Spirit come upon the IDF and fulfill Isaiah 59:19b.
  • During Ramadan, reinforce Your angelic hosts guarding over Israel (2 Chr. 20:15; 32:7-8).
  • Let Israel's intelligence services personnel inquire of You concerning what is important and what is not as they interpret the mass of collected data (Psa. 86:7; 91:15; Jer. 3:3).
  • Abundantly bless and abundantly use the IDF's new tunnel detection unit formed specifically to locate tunnel threats in Judea and Samaria (Amos 9:2-3).
  • Help Israel to be better at guarding its roads and checkpoints against terrorist attacks (Deut. 28:6).
  • Continue to restrain Israeli-Arab citizens from rioting (Gen. 12:3a; Josh. 9:24-25).
  • Lord, watch over Your holy hill in Jerusalem's during Ramadan (Isa. 31:5; 42:13).
  • Reveal to Israel Your way to deal with any rioting on the Temple Mount (Josh. 3:9).
  • Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and bless those who do (Ps 122:6)