GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 312

Israel Is Praying

Is Netanyahu Getting In The Way?

In multiple reports, a ceasefire could stop threats of attacks by Iran and Hezbollah. But is Prime Minister Netanyahu adding poison pills in the offers Israel made? We hear more on that charge in an article from The Jerusalem Post:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not add any new conditions to the hostage deal, his office said as the United States, Qatar, and Egypt were set to hold a new round of hostage talks on Thursday.

The claim that Netanyahu “added new demands to the May 27 outline is false,” the Prime Minister’s Office stated, as he referenced the three-phase proposal US President Joe Biden unveiled on May 31.

The PMO added more details on their rebuttal:

It contrasted the initial Israeli proposal of May 27, which was the basis of that document, with the clarifications Israel had set forward on July 27.

“The July 27 draft does not include new conditions and does not contradict the May 27 outline. Hamas is the one who demanded 29 changes - something that the prime minister opposed,” the Prime Minister’s Office stated. It focused on three issues raised by Netanyahu himself and heavily debated in the media, including the New York Times piece.

Netanyahu doesn’t want released terrorists to stay in Israel:

The first was Israel’s refusal to allow armed terrorists to return to northern Gaza, which Netanyahu has set as one of his red lines for the deal.

Initially, the language around the issue stated that armed terrorists should not be allowed to return, but in July it said that there would need to be a screening process, according to the NYT.

Netanyahu’s office added that the clarifications were based on the original framework:

The PMO said, “The July 27th draft document refers to the need to establish an agreed verification mechanism in order to ensure that only unarmed civilians return to the northern Gaza Strip (a proposal put forward by the United States) - in accordance with the proposal in the May 27th outline.”

Negotiations on the amount of hostages was always part of the deal, too:

The Prime Minister’s Office secondly rejected the claim that it was adding in new conditions regarding the release of hostages in the first phase of the deal. Israeli officials have been blunt about their desire to see the maximal number of live hostages returned during that phase, in which humanitarian captives are set to be released. These are all women, elderly, and ill hostages.

“In the July 27 draft, it was stated that all living hostages in the relevant category should be released, in accordance with the May 27 outline, which stated that a certain number of abductees - alive or dead - would be released,” the Prime Minister’s Office stated.

The article states that the number of terrorists were to be negotiated and that Israel has the right to veto any list given by Hamas and deport anyone deemed a risk. In short, the PMO is only trying to clarify parts of the deal, not change them.

Ceasefire Could Be The Key

Adding more confusion to the Iranian response to the assassination of a Hamas leader in Tehran is the news that Iran now wants to participate in the hostage negotiations, something they have refrained from up until now. We learn about this in a report from The Times Of Israel:

An Iranian attack on Israel could be delayed amid hoped-for negotiations later this week for a hostage release and ceasefire deal in Gaza, three Iranian officials said on Tuesday, indicating that a successful deal could hold Iran back from direct retaliation against Israel for alleged assassinating Hamas terror chief Ismail Haniyeh on its soil.

Now they say they will attack if no deal happens:

One of the sources, a senior Iranian security official, said Iran, along with allies such as the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon, would launch a direct attack if the talks for a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas fail or it perceives Israel is dragging out negotiations. The sources did not say how long Iran would allow for talks to progress before taking action.

Quite a few nations are trying to get Iran to not attack or only respond in a measured way:

With an increased risk of a broader Middle East war after the killings of both Haniyeh and top Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut, Iran has been involved in intense dialogue with Western countries and the United States in recent days on ways to calibrate retaliation, said the sources, who all spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Israel isn’t buying these reports and still maintains that attacks are still coming:

Several reports in recent days indicated Israel believes Iran intends to attack before Thursday’s renewed talks for a deal. The new comments appeared to signal that the attack would only take place after those talks, and only if they failed to yield what Iran deems to be sufficient results.

As the attempts to deescalate the situation continue, Iran released a statement saying they will respond in a way that won’t get in the way of the hostage talks:

“We hope our response will be timed and executed in a way that does not harm a potential ceasefire,” Iran’s mission to the UN said on Friday in a statement. Iran’s foreign ministry on Tuesday said calls to exercise restraint “contradict principles of international law.”

The US still sees Iran and others still striking admitting that any response will affect hostage talks:

“Something could happen as soon as this week by Iran and its proxies… That is a US assessment as well as an Israel assessment,” White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Monday.

“If something does happen this week, the timing of it could certainly well have an impact on these talks we want to do on Thursday,” he added. Over the weekend, Hamas cast doubt on whether talks would go ahead. Israel and Hamas have held several fruitless rounds of talks in recent months.

One Israeli researcher thinks Iran will attack and try avoid a regional war:

Meir Litvak, a senior researcher at Tel Aviv University’s Alliance Center for Iranian Studies, said he thought Iran would put its needs before helping its ally Hamas but that Iran also wanted to avoid a full-scale war. “The Iranians never subordinated their strategy and policies to the needs of their proxies or protégées,” Litvak said. “An attack is likely and almost inevitable but I don’t know the scale and the timing.”

Israel Prepares By Praying

We learn from an article from CBN.com that Israelis know that prayer is a powerful weapon:

Despite threats from many fronts, tens of thousands of Israelis gathered to pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem and at Hostages' Square in Tel Aviv for the Jewish commemoration of Tisha B'Av.

It's a day on the Hebrew calendar when disasters have hit the Jewish people, such as the destruction of both the First and Second Temples and the start of World War I.

Israelis started praying yesterday and will continue today:

The prayers began on Monday and will continue until sundown on Tuesday, including a reading of the Book of Lamentations. During the biblical reading, people sit on the ground as a sign of mourning and humility.

While it is still believed that this time of Jewish contrition is a good time to attack Israel, the military is ready to defend Israel whenever Iran and it’s proxies strike:

Israel says it's taking the threats from its enemies seriously, whether Hezbollah, Iran, or other proxies, and the Israel Defense Forces aren't waiting to strike back.

"We attack all the time and remove threats as soon as we detect them," said IDF Chief Spokesman Daniel Hagari. "We are at peak readiness for this mission."

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared the Jewish nation is ready. "We are in days of vigilance and preparedness. The threats from Tehran as well as Beirut may come to fruition," Gallant stated.

As we mentioned earlier, the US still thinks the announced attacks on Israel are coming:

The U.S. agrees with Israel's intelligence which warns that a wave of major attacks could come at any moment.

National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby cautioned, "We have to be prepared for what could be a significant set of attacks."

In Lebanon people are getting ready for a response from the IDF:

Hezbollah also appears to be readying for war. Lebanese media reports say the Iranian proxy has evacuated people, computers, and equipment from its Beirut headquarters.

Interestingly, the whole hostage talks could become moot as the IDF says they were very close to finding Hamas leader Sinwar:

In Gaza, an IDF general divulged that military personnel were just minutes away from reaching Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. They found his coffee was still hot and a great deal of cash was discovered in his underground jar.

Now that would be an answer to prayer and the war against Hamas could suffer a deadly blow. And, if we are to take Iran and Hezbollah’s previous comments as being true, the regional war predicted in the Bible will happen. And we need to do exactly as Psalm 122:6 and pray for the peace of Jerusalem.