GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 307

No One Really Knows

Going First

Apparently Iran wants Hezbollah to attack first as we see in a report from The Times Of Israel:

Israeli officials increasingly believe it will be Hezbollah, rather than Iran, that will be first to launch a major attack on Israel in the coming days, according to media reports on Wednesday, while Tehran was reported to be possibly reconsidering its threatened large-scale onslaught.

And Hezbollah may be attacking regardless of whether Iran does or not:

Citing two sources familiar with intelligence on the matter, CNN reported that Hezbollah appears increasingly set to act against Israel “independent” of an expected Iranian response to the recent killings of the Lebanese terror group’s top military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

But other people think that Hezbollah may be ready first, but that Iran isn’t muting its attack:

One of the sources said Hezbollah was moving at a faster clip than Iran in readying an attack, which it looks set to launch in the coming days. According to the US news network, multiple officials said Iran seems to still be hashing out its retaliation plans, with one US military official quoted as saying Tehran has already made some — but not all — of the expected preparations for a large-scale attack against Israel.

And others think that the terrorists to the north are simply closer but they are both still working together:

The second source said that unlike Iran, Hezbollah can likely initiate an attack with few to no warning signs, as Lebanon borders Israel. The source added that it’s unclear how or if the Islamic Republic and its Lebanese proxy are cooperating on a potential attack, and that some officials believe they may not be on the same page about how to proceed.

Israel is making it clear that they aren’t going to respond in kind to any attack, implying that they intend to really hit both hard if civilians are targeted:

Meanwhile, an unsourced report by Channel 12 news said Israel has conveyed to both Hezbollah and Iran that any harm to civilians in Israel during their promised retaliation for the killing of top terror leaders will be a red line, which will lead to a disproportionate response.

It won’t matter where they are attacked as well:

The report said that Israel was readying for potential attempts to attack civilian infrastructure or Israeli-linked targets abroad, though there is currently no intelligence suggesting plots against specific locations overseas.

The IDF intends to warn its people once they know an attack is coming:

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant took part in Home Front Command deliberations on Wednesday about when to issue an advance warning to Israeli citizens and update its public guidance, but did not reach a decision on a specific time due to concerns about exposing intelligence sources.

Defense sources have said that citizens will be looped in once Israel figures out an attack is underway.

US Warns Iran

We learn from an article from i24news.tv that the United States is telling Iran that they will suffer a significant blow if they attack Israel in large way:

The US warned Iran against a major escalation it stands to drag the Middle East into if it conducts a large-scale attack against Israel, a report in the Wall Street Journal said Thursday.

Although strong words are being uttered, the warning doesn’t appear to mean that the United States would do more than help Israel defend itself from their attack:

“The United States has sent clear messaging to Iran that the risk of a major escalation if they do a significant retaliatory attack against Israel is extremely high,” an unnamed US official said.

They said that Washington has told Tehran “that there is a serious risk of consequences for Iran’s economy and the stability of its newly elected government if it goes down that path.”

Could this be because they know what Israel can do if provoked? What we do know is that the US is positioning assets in the area:

US CENTCOM was bolstered by F-22 Raptor jets earlier, another move to demonstrate military strength in the region as Iran mulls its response to the alleged Israeli assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh last Wednesday.

America has helped out Israel in the past:

The US aided Israel in defending itself against a massive drone and missile attack launched by Iran in April, in turn prompted by Israel’s targeted killing of Mohammad Reza Zahedi, the highest-ranking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander since the US eliminated Qasem Soleimani in 2020.

The US assets are meant to stop missiles from hitting Israel:

Since Iran’s threats, more naval vessels have arrived in the region to prevent projectiles from reaching Israel in the case of an assault by Iran or its proxies.

Still, no one knows outside Iran when attacks will come:

The nature and timing of the attack remains unknown, although officials have indicated it is expected to be similar to the April attack.

Israel has remained on edge as reports of the attack to come soon have been arriving for the past week.

So much talk is being done, but the mystery is when and how much will Iran’s response be. Some even think that Iran actually took out Haniyeh and is using the death as an excuse to attack Israel. While it is true that someone in the Iranian guard had to plant the bomb, it is believed that they were paid to do it and then were whisked away to northern Europe. Regardless of the motive, Iran looks to attack anyway. And maybe that is all that needs to be known right now. Praying for the peace of Israel now includes praying for the peace and safety of its citizens as well as for the IDF as it readies itself for attacks from just about anywhere. They say they are prepared and we ask God to guide them as surprises lurk at every turn. Again, may the peace of Jerusalem prevail.