GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 296

War Drum Beats Are Louder

They Must Pay A Price

In reports from a variety of sources both from the left and the right in Israeli politics the consensus is that Israel must hit back and hard for the rocket strike that killed 12 young people with more in critical condition. It isn’t about if, but when as we read in an article from the Jerusalem News Syndicate:

Most of Israel’s political establishment, both within and without the coalition, expressed outrage at the Hezbollah rocket strike in the Golan Heights on Saturday that killed 12 children in a Druze town. They demanded decisive military action.

Members of the right were strong in their comments even calling for the assassination of the Hezbollah leader:

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir were two of the more prominent voices calling for a swift response against Hezbollah, joining Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who promised that the “horrific” attack would not “pass in silence.”

Smotrich called for the targeted killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, posting to X on Saturday: “For the death of small children, Nasrallah should pay with his head. Lebanon as a whole has to pay the price. My position regarding the necessary steps is known. The prime minister must return [from his U.S. visit] immediately. It’s time for action!”

Ben-Gvir wants a strong retaliation:

Ben-Gvir tweeted, “The heart is broken to pieces, innocent little children who just wanted to play football. We will not rest until we take revenge on the despicable terrorists, who mercilessly struck and slaughtered our children without pity.”

Another member from the party of the PM said this:

Knesset member Boaz Bismuth, voicing the opinion of the Likud Party’s rank-and-file, said: “The blood of children is not forfeit. The reaction should be very painful. There is no other option!”

And from the left, similar words are given:

Opposition parties largely shared the same sentiment.

Opposition leader and Yesh Atid Party Chairman Yair Lapid tweeted, “The Iranian-backed terror group, Hezbollah, killed innocent Israeli children as they played outside. We have a responsibility to defend our citizens and restore security. The situation in the north cannot continue. The world must stand with Israel as we defend ourselves.”

Even those who disagree with Netanyahu offered support:

Benny Gantz, chairman of the opposition National Unity party, tweeted that “the government will be afforded wide support from outside the government for any determined and effective response that will restore security to the citizens of the north.”

Another political opponent called for the head of Hezbollah:

Avigdor Liberman, head of the opposition Israel Beiteinu Party, said, “The one responsible for the murder of the many children and youth at Majdal Shams is Nasrallah, and the time has arrived that he pays the price.”

Crossing a Red Line

A familiar phrase keeps showing up from every politician:

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement on Saturday, stated that the massacre “constitutes the crossing of all red lines by Hezbollah.

“This is not an army fighting another army; rather it is a terrorist organization deliberately shooting at civilians. Israel will exercise its right and duty to act in self-defense and will respond to the massacre,” the ministry said.

More details are coming out about the deadly attack:

The rocket smashed into a soccer field in Majdal Shams, a Druze town in the southern foothills of Mount Hermon. It may have been intended for Mount Hermon, like the other projectiles Hezbollah fired on Saturday, but gone astray.

They didn’t have a lot of time to react:

Given the proximity to Lebanon where the rocket originated, children at the soccer field had 15 seconds to seek shelter from the time the warning sirens sounded.

The casualties continue to rise:

In addition to those killed, 40 were wounded, including six critically.

The terrorist organization is still denying they carried out the attack, but even their allies know they’re lying:

Hezbollah denied any connection to the attack, a denial that carried little weight given its responsibility for near-daily attacks on Israel since the start of the Oct. 7 war. It fired at least 100 rockets at Israel on Saturday.

The Lebanon-based terrorist group has tried to distance itself from the attack, which angered even its allies in Lebanon. Lebanese Druze politician Wiam Wahhab, who is close to Hezbollah, demanded an independent investigation into the incident. The Lebanese government condemned the “attack against civilians.”

Israel also knows who is responsible:

The IDF said it has reliable information that Hezbollah was responsible and the projectile it fired was an Iranian-designed Falaq rocket with a 53-kilogram warhead.

“This is a Hezbollah rocket. And whoever launches such a rocket into a built-up area wants to kill civilians, wants to kill children,” IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said while visiting Majdal Shams on Saturday.

The IDF is getting ready for a big fight, although everyone is staying away from calling it what it most likely will become – war. So far there has been a limited response:

“We are greatly increasing our readiness for the next stage of fighting in the north,” he added.

Immediately following the attack, the IDF struck targets along the Lebanese border, including near the port of Tyre and at least one strike further north in the Bekaa Valley. A wider response is expected.

Netanyahu continues to say the response will be significant:

“Hezbollah will pay a heavy price which it has not paid up to now,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

Cabinet Gives The Green Light

After a long meeting, Netanyahu and Gallant were given the authority to plan the response as we learn from a report from The Times Of Israel:

The security cabinet meeting ends after over four hours.

The forum gives Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant authority to decide on the scale and timing of Israel’s response to yesterday’s deadly rocket attack in the Golan, says Netanyahu’s office.

Everyone got a say in the decision:

After ministers objected to the cursory manner in which the strike on Yemen was approved last week, in today’s meeting, every minister was given ample time to speak, according to Yedioth Ahronoth.

Two members didn’t vote:

The report says, however, that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir abstained from the vote.

The ongoing hostage talks was discussed, but no actions taken:

The hostage talks were discussed, but another meeting will be set to focus on Israel’s next steps in that regard, according to the paper.

While a great deal of people are talking about the war against Hamas and this conflict with Hezbollah separately they are completely connected. Hezbollah has actually said that as well as the Houthi rebels in Yemen. And Iran says that if Israel hits Hezbollah hard they will join in the fight. Even now those who want to avoid a response of any kind with the terrorists up north are using this as a way to push a hostage deal since they say that if a deal is reached Hezbollah will back down. Lost is all this is that 12 young kids are dead and many more wounded. Israel has no choice to hit back hard even if it means an all-out regional war. And did I mention that Turkey is talking about invading Israel? The drum beats of war are getting louder and louder. Will the Psalm 83 war happen and then the preparations for the War of Gog and Magog follow quickly? Both wars don’t provide us with times and dates so we don’t know. What we do know is that the arena is heating up and the dominoes look like they are going to fall extremely fast. And yes, let’s pray for the peace of Jerusalem as it is needed now more than ever.