GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 189

Any Day Now

War With Iran “Imminent”

As we see in an article from The Jerusalem Post Iran could strike Israel with drones and missiles at any time now:

The threat of an Iranian attack is viable and credible, the White House said as the American news outlet CBS reported that Iran could attack military sites within Israel with missiles and drones on Friday.

America, France, Russia, and India issued travel warnings. At the same time, Israel’s Home Front Command remained silent even as the war cabinet met and the army was on high alert for an Iranian response to an alleged IDF airstrike in Damascus that killed seven Iranian generals on April 1.

"We are prepared to defend ourselves on the ground and in the air, in close cooperation with our partners, and we will know how to respond,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Friday as he met with the head of US Central Command (CENTCOM) Michael Erik Kurilla at the IAF Hatzor airbase.

To say that things are heating up in the Middle East is an understatement. But one thing is certain, Israel is ready for such an attack and while many are trying to stop Iran from acting, it could be more than Iran that attacks:

IDF Chief-of-Staff Hezl Halevi who also met with Kurilla and held a situational assessment with top army brass said Israeli forces were prepared for any scenario.

“The IDF continues to closely monitor what is happening in Iran and in the various arenas, while constantly preparing to deal with existing and potential threats in coordination with the United States Army.”

US Is Ready to Help

As continue to read in the Post report, the United States appears to be ready to help as Iran could very well strike US military sites at the same time they attack Israel:

US National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby said that Washington was “certainly mindful of a very public and what we consider to be a very credible threat made by Iran in terms of potential attacks.”

US officials have been in “constant communication” with their Israeli counterparts, to make sure “they can defend themselves against those kinds of attacks,” Kirby stated.

“We are taking this seriously and so are our Israeli counterparts,” he stated.

Kirby added that the United States is looking at its own force posture in the region in light of Tehran's threat. Gallant, after speaking with Kurilla in Israel, said that they had discussed the “close cooperation between the US and Israel, between our defense establishments and our militaries.”

Israel’s Defense Minister added that they and the US are in this together:

“Our enemies think that they can pull apart Israel and the United States, but the opposite is true - they are bringing us together and strengthening our ties. We stand shoulder to shoulder,” Gallant stated.

In light of the heightened possibility of an attack, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in the last 48 hours.

Prime Minister Netanyahu says that Israel will not hold back if attacked:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Israel Katz have also issued public statements warning Tehran that it would retaliate for any strike, including direct hits on its soil.

As I mentioned yesterday, the Bible does speak of Israel attacking Iran, specifically the former land of Elam which is exactly where their nuclear plants are built (see Jeremiah 49:35-36).

And the world is on notice:

The US, France, Russia, and Germany have all worked behind the scenes to avert a direct confrontation between the two arch-foes, which comes as Israel has been under attack by Iranian proxy groups for the last half year.

The US embassy asked its staff and their families not to travel outside of “greater Tel Aviv (including Herzliya, Netanya, and Even Yehuda), Jerusalem, and Be’er Sheva areas until further notice.”

France advised its citizens to refrain in the coming days from traveling to Iran, Lebanon, Israel, and the Palestinian territories. It also asked that the families of diplomatic staff leave Iran.

India advised its citizens on Friday against traveling to Iran and Israel until further notice given the "prevailing situation in the region".

India's foreign ministry said citizens in the two countries should observe "utmost precautions about their safety and restrict their movements to the minimum.”

Attack Could Happen Within Hours

In a report from The Times Of Israel an unnamed US source speaking to CBS said this:

A major retaliatory attack by Iran on Israel could come as soon as Friday, according to an American media report, as the top United States general in the Mideast visited for talks with the defense brass on military readiness amid the Iranian threats.

Citing two unnamed US officials, CBS reported the attack could possibly include more than 100 drones and dozens of missiles aimed at military targets inside the country, the officials said, while warning Israel would be challenged to fend off an assault of that scale.

The officials said it was possible Tehran may still opt for a smaller-magnitude strike in order to avoid a dramatic escalation.

Regardless of the scale, these reports don’t include Iran’s proxies who are more than ready to attack as well. And we read that the IDF maintains that it is Iran they’ve been fighting all along:

Amid concerns an Iranian attack on Israel could spark a broader conflagration in the Middle East, CENTCOM chief Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla met Friday with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi. Gallant’s office said the two discussed “readiness for an Iranian attack against the State of Israel, which may lead to regional escalation.”

Before his meeting with Kurilla, the IDF said Halevi held a “comprehensive” assessment of the military’s “readiness for all scenarios.”

“The IDF is well prepared in attack and defense against any threat. We are at war and have been on high alert for about six months. The IDF continues to closely monitor what is happening in Iran and in the various arenas, while constantly preparing to deal with existing and potential threats in coordination with the United States armed forces,” Halevi said following the assessment, in remarks published by the IDF.

Prayer Points Needed Now More Than Ever

It is critical that we pray for the peace of Jerusalem as the signs of a regional war are growing by the minute. Here are more prayer keys for now:

  • Iran has threatened Israel with retaliation for its assassination of the head of Iran's Quds Force for Syria and Lebanon. Yet others report that Hizbullah seeks a diplomatic solution to its conflict with Israel over their shared Lebanese border. Also, internal uprisings against the Iranian regime by various Iranian ethnic groups have increased. Israel is getting prepared, but we wonder whether God has something else in mind for these two enemies of His (Psa. 83:1-4).
  • Prepare Israel for Iran's retaliation – and to pre-empt it if that is Your will (1 Chr. 19:17).
  • Show Israel's intelligence services what Iran and Hizbullah are secretly planning (2 Kin. 6:11-12).
  • In any major war between Israel and Hizbullah, enable the IDF's attacks to be so devastating that the whole nation of Lebanon shakes in fear before Israel and its God (Jer. 22:23; Zech. 11:1).
  • Abba, as priests in Messiah Yeshua, we pray for Israel, and remind You of Joel 2:17-20, asking You to totally destroy Hizbullah, the northern army threatening Israel today.
  • Lord God, cause Iran's rulers' curses, and attacks by their proxies, against Israel and Your land to fall back onto their own heads (Num. 24:9b; Isa. 34:8; Ezek. 35:6; Gal. 6:7).
  • Send confusion into the minds of Iran's nuclear scientists, resulting in miscalculations (Psa. 71:13).
  • Increase the internal difficulties that Iran is experiencing now – including armed resistance in its southern districts and a severe drop in value of the rial – the Iranian currency (Psa. 9:1-11; 27:2).
  • May Israel learn from history that no nation will stop Iran just for the Jews' sake, and then show them how to destroy the threat of an Iranian nuke once and for all (Jer. 51:20-24).
  • And pray for the peace of Jerusalem specifically so that we will see Israel become a nation without walls, dwelling in peace and safety (Ps 122:6, Ezekiel 38:10-12)