GNITN – Special Edition One Hundred Seventy-Seven

Israel At War – Day 7

Unrest Around The World

Israel Starting Ground Raids

As expected, the Israel Defense Force (IDF) is moving into areas they bombed earlier searching for signs of hostages and taking out Hamas anti-tank missiles. All of this is preparing for the expected ground forces of the IDF to secure the land and eliminate the terrorists camps, hideouts and structures. The IDF said this in an article from The Times of Israel web site (see https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-launches-first-localized-raids-into-gaza-ahead-of-expected-ground-invasion/) about their recent actions:

IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said armored and infantry forces carried out searches and “thwarted anti-tank guided missile squads that intended to infiltrate into Israeli territory.”

“The forces located findings that may help in the effort to locate the missing,” Hagari said. “We will continue to make every effort to find every detail about the missing and hostages,” he added.

While this is going on, the IDF has urged all Palestinians to evacuate before the bigger offensive attacks are launched.

One Million People

The process of evacuating is a daunting task considering that there are at least 1 million residents that need to leave. Doctors are not willing to leave their patients among others who don’t want to leave their homes all of which are understandable. Predictably, Hamas is telling residents to stay put in a show of solidarity in this quote from The Times:

Hamas had urged residents to stay.

The group called on Palestinians to “remain steadfast in your homes and to stand firm in the face of this disgusting psychological war waged by the occupation,” according to a statement from its authority for refugee affairs.

A statement on the terror group’s website called Israel “delusional” for thinking people will flee.

“Scenes of migration and displacement are a thing of the past and won’t be repeated, except with the victorious return of our people to our occupied land,” the group said.

An Uneasy Situation

Going back to the same article from The Times of Israel we hear from those inside the Gaza Strip about having to evacuate so quickly:

“This is chaos, no one understands what to do,” Inas Hamdan, an officer at the UN Palestinian refugee agency in Gaza City, told AP, grabbing whatever she could throw into her bags as the panicked shouts of her relatives could be heard around her. She said all the UN staff in Gaza City and northern Gaza have been told to evacuate south to Rafah.

Nebal Farsakh, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent in Gaza City, said there is no way more than one million people could be safely moved that fast.

“Forget about food, forget about electricity, forget about fuel. The only concern now is just if you’re going to make it, if you’re going to live,” Farsakh said, breaking into heaving sobs.

Leaving is only part of the process, though as this quote attests:

Al Jazeera correspondent Safwat al-Kahlout said relatives are trying to figure out where they can even go if they move south.

“More than one million Palestinians are panicking, are confused, and they don’t have a plan, and they don’t understand what to do. Now my children are asking me, ‘Where should we go?’ I said, I don’t know.”

Hamas Is To Blame

This quote from the aforementioned Times article informs us who Israel considers responsible for the evacuations and any casualties:

Hagari said Hamas would be responsible for any harm to civilians who do not evacuate from the northern part of the Gaza Strip.

“Hamas is taking advantage of the residents of the Gaza Strip, bringing disaster upon them and calling on the residents of the Gaza Strip at this time as well not to listen to the IDF’s recommendations,” Hagari said.

“The responsibility for what may happen to those who do not evacuate is on Hamas’s head,” he said.

That, however, doesn’t make it any easier of a task to displace so many people in so soon of a time. In an article from CBN.com (https://www2.cbn.com/news/israel/idf-orders-1-million-civilians-evacuate-northern-gaza-wider-offensive-looms) the response is not one of revenge:

“We are not seeing the residents of Gaza Strip as our enemies,” said Ambassador Gilad Cohen, Israel’s Ambassador to Japan. “Hamas is our enemy. Hamas is our enemy and will pay the price of what it did to us. People are saying, 'Israel is revenging,' no, no, no, it's not revenge. How can you revenge one-year-old baby, that they shot him in the head? What is the revenge for it? There is no revenge for it. This is just a war. An operational strategy of Israel to eliminate Hamas of its power."

Hamas And Hezbollah Continue To Launch Rockets

These Terrorist groups are not giving up in their attempt to eradicate Israel and take over their land. But more than that, they are encouraging Iran and Hezbollah to join the attacks. Here is another quote from the same CBN article on this:

Israel is also building up its presence along the Northern border in case more fighting breaks out with Hezbollah.

On Friday, Iran’s foreign minister met with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and other Lebanese leaders in Beirut. He warned that the war could spread to other parts of the Middle East if Israel does not stop its air strikes in Gaza.

Senior Hamas official Ali Barakeh also told The Associated Press this week in Beirut that allies like Iran and Hezbollah “will join the battle if Gaza is subjected to a war of annihilation.”

Such talk is a sign of desperation according to some as see in this quote from the same article:

However, Rabbi Tuly Weisz, an Orthodox Jewish rabbi told the outlet that the messages are an act of desperation. He said Hamas aims to mobilize globally "because they're getting destroyed" in Gaza.

"They're posturing," Weisz told The Daily Signal. "There won't be Hamas by Friday."

Afghanistan Rocked By Earthquakes

I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” (Gen 12:3, NLT)

You may wonder why this is being mentioned in connection to the Israel war, but it could be. As we’ve discussed in previous podcasts according to some sources (see https://www.watch.org/) see attacks on Israel or calls to divide their land as cursing them and that God responds with bad news for those actions. On October 7th of this year the Taliban who are controlling Afghanistan have asked Iran, Iraq, and Jordon for permission to grant them passage to help Hamas to conquer Jerusalem. On that same day the country was rocked by a level 6.3 earthquake. There have been two more with a level 4.6 one hitting today. While some may say that this is a coincidence, those that adhere to belief that what god promised Israel in Genesis 12:3 is in play here. I’ll let you decide on this.

Is America Next?

With the constant influx of illegal immigrants coming into America, may are fearing that among those coming over our borders are building sleeper cells bent on terrorists acts here. In a recent interview, Franklin Graham said this (see https://www2.cbn.com/news/us/could-us-face-attack-one-israel-franklin-graham-warns-terrorists-already-among-us):

Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, warns the U.S. may have already released countless terrorists into our own country, disguised among the millions of migrants who have flooded across our southern border in the last few years.

"There are tens of thousands of military-aged men from countries like Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, that are walking into this country and we don't know who they are. And so, could they just have a coordinated attack at some point where they walk into a theater or grocery store and start spraying bullets like they've done in Israel? It could happen," Graham told Greta Van Susteren during an interview Monday night.

Graham isn’t alone in this thinking as we read this quote from the same article:

"We have to take the example of what just happened there and say to our own intelligence, 'What do we have along our border? What cells have we allowed to come in here?" U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and former House speaker, told radio host Hugh Hewitt on Monday.

It is a concern that we need to pray against as much as we intercede for Israel now. We certainly are ripe for judgment as we spiral out of control in a Sodom and Gomorrah manner. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and for a swift end to this war. Also pray for God to protect Israelis around the world. And then pray the United States will open it’s arms and hearts to another revival.