GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 204

Psychological Warfare Continues

Hostage Video Released

In a move meant to put more pressure on the Israeli government to stop the war to release the hostages, Hamas released a video of two men held captive as we see in a report from i24news.tv:

Hamas has released a propaganda video featuring two Israeli hostages, Omri Miran and Keith Siegel.

The hostages, who appear in the video, discuss their captivity and appeal for action to secure their release.

Omri Miran, aged 47, and Keith Siegel, a 64-year-old American and Israeli citizen, were prominently featured in the video, which was released by Hamas on Saturday afternoon.

The footage, purportedly recorded a few days earlier, portrays the two men speaking about their experiences in captivity and their desire to return home.

The Miran family received confirmation of Omri's well-being back in November, providing a glimmer of hope amidst the uncertainty surrounding his situation. Keith Siegel's case holds additional significance as an American citizen, with his wife, Aviva Siegal, having been released from Gaza after 53 days.

In the video, both hostages express their awareness of recent demonstrations in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem advocating for their release. They urge the protesters to persist in their efforts, suggesting that sustained pressure on the government could lead to negotiations with Hamas.

Almost immediately citizens began calling for an end to the war if it means the hostages are released:

"Only under pressure will the government conclude a deal with Hamas," plead Miran and Siegel in the video, likely speaking under duress. They also mention their inability to celebrate Passover this year, a poignant reminder of their continued captivity during significant religious holidays.

The video allowed the hostages to tell of their desire to be freed:

Moreover, the hostages express a shared hope of returning home before Independence Day (Yom Ha'atzmaut), which falls on May 13. Miran states that he has been detained for 202 days, indicating that the recording was made last Thursday, adding a time-sensitive dimension to their plea for action.

As mentioned earlier hostage families renewed their calls for the Israel government to urgently get the captives released:

In response to the release of the video featuring Israeli hostages Omri Miran and Keith Siegel, the families' headquarters issued a poignant statement, declaring, "The sign of life from Kit Segal and Amri Miren are the clearest proof that the Israeli government should do everything to approve a deal to return all the abducted even before Independence Day, the living to be rehabilitated, and the murdered to be buried with dignity." They stressed the urgency for the government to fulfill its commitment to the citizens by ensuring the safe return of all abductees, highlighting that this opportunity must not be missed.

We Must Remember

It wasn’t that long ago that the IDF found a document listing tactics that Hamas will use to put psychological pressure on Israel to do what they want. In an article from the National Post from January 30th of this year we are told why Hamas releases videos and pictures about hostages among other things:

Israeli forces in Gaza recently found a secret document written by a senior Hamas official detailing the terrorist group’s psychological warfare strategy against the Israeli public, Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Monday.

Furthermore, the document was discovered at a site visited by Hamas’s senior leader in the Strip, Yahya Sinwar, according to the report. However, it was unclear whether the mastermind of the Oct. 7 massacre had penned the paper.

The article says that Hamas is using the hostages to create pressure on Israeli leadership:

The document orders that photos and videos of the Israeli hostages continue to be published “due to the psychological pressure they create.”

They also appear to think Defense Minister Gallant is a weak link:

The report also singles out Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant as a target for psychological pressure, apparently due to the terror group’s belief that he is the most susceptible to this tactic.

Making Netanyahu to blame is another tactic since Hamas sees it as way to divide the country:

Additionally, the directive emphasizes the importance of maintaining the narrative that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bears responsibility for the failures of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack, and pushing the idea that the IDF ground operations will not create the conditions necessary for the return of the rest of the hostages.

Moreover, the document highlights the social divide in Israel as an issue to focus on, as well as increasing pressure around the issue of the hostages and “putting sticks” in the wheels of Israel’s war.

It helps to remind us that Hamas doesn’t care about the hostages at all. They are pawns in their demonic game of terrorist chess and those who are calling to end the war to get them home are playing right into their hands. They don’t see that ending the war will only mean that Hamas will reconstitute itself and attack again to take more people hostage and play this game over and over again. As long as it works there is no reason to stop doing it. The short term release of hostages will only lead to long term attacks with more people dying. It is hard to do, but these people need to put pressure where it belongs and that is squarely on the heads of Hamas. And then they need to strongly support the government and let them do their job. Unfortunately, they won’t do that if current protests are any evidence.

We Must Fight On Our Knees

While the tactics Hamas is using is clever, it isn’t original at all as the Devil does the exact same thing when attacking Christians. The actual strategies may change from Christian to Christian and from situation to situation, but make no mistake, he is working constantly and malevolently along with his demons to break us down, cause division in our ranks and to hinder every good work we do including reaching the lost with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Satan will always beat us when we’re at our lowest moments and afflict us at our highest moments with either thoughts of doubt or pride. He never plays fair and will never stop until we tell him to in the name of Jesus. He's take every inch we let him and will make sure he sends us doubters and critics to makes us think we’re worthless and useless in God’s army. None of this is too surprising as this has been his tactics since many earthly armies use these to fight wars. I highly encourage believers to intercede as we know we aren’t fighting armies of flesh and blood:

For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against persons without bodies—the evil rulers of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings and great evil princes of darkness who rule this world; and against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world. (Eph 6:12, TLB)

As we intercede for Israel and pray for its peace we should also take time to lift up our spiritual army in prayer as we fight the good fight and do our best to fulfill the great commission. We can and will win if we fight and don’t give up:

And let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up. (Gal 6:9, TLB)