The regional conflict continues
The Israeli-Hezbollah war in Lebanon rages. According to the IDF, 1200 Hezbollah fighters have been eliminated in ground operations since October 2023. Israel’s Air Force continued this week its strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. The focus has been on locations for weapon manufacturing as well as storage of Hezbollah financial assets. Suburbs of Beirut and the ancient coastal city of Tyre have been a special focus of Israeli attacks. The town of Kfarkela, a Hezbollah stronghold in the south, was destroyed.
War continues to rage in Gaza. The IDF, which is trying to clear northern Gaza of terrorists, carried out an airstrike in northern Gaza on Thursday, targeting a former school used by terrorists to coordinate and launch attacks against Israel. It has been reported that at least 18 members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad were killed. The IDF noted efforts to minimize civilian casualties such as utiliziing precision-guided munitions and aerial surveillance.
The IDF said it has discovered documents in the Gaza Strip that show six active Al Jazeera reporters are operatives in the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups.
However the big question is whether, when and how Israel will attack Iran. Israel promised to carry out an attack of some sort after Iran’s recent attack on Israel in which 181 missiles were fired into Israel. There is much speculation but it is not known when or how Israel will respond. Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei has apparently ordered the military to develop response plans, depending on the nature and severity of the attack.
“The big question is whether, when and how Israel will attack Iran.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in the region this week. The US is urging Israel not to escalate the conflict, and to improve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, even threatening to restrict US military aid to Israel.
Another goal of Blinken’s visit is to attempt to achieve a cease-fire agreement with Hamas, possibly supported by Saudi Arabia and Egypt, that would involve release of the approximately 100 hostages still held in Gaza. “Now is the time to turn those successes [against Hamas] into an enduring strategic success. And there are really two things left to do, get the hostages home and bring the war to an end with an understanding of what will follow,” Blinken told reporters.
After meetings in Cairo, David Barnea, head of Mossad (Israel’s secret service) has flown to Doha for meetings with US and Qatari representatives.
This week was Simchat Torah, the holiday of the joy of the Torah, marking the end of the Sukkot festival. It is especially poingant this year, as it also marks the anniversary of the attack on 7th October 2023, which took place on Simchat Torah.
Let us pray this week for all who are affected by the seemingly never-ending conflict. Let us pray for Israel’s leaders as they make critical decisions in these days of high tension. May the Holy Spirit inspire and guide all. And let us continue to pray for the hostages who remain in captivity in Gaza. May the Lord pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem “the spirit of grace and supplication” that He has promised through the prophet Zechariah.
Over 200 Participants in Declaration of Solidarity against Antisemitism in Wiener Neustadt
Marie-Louise Weissenböck at C4Israel: “On Thursday, October 10, 2024, over 200 participants gathered at the main square in Wiener Neustadt (a town south of Vienna) to participate in a “Declaration of Solidarity” for Israel and against antisemitism and hatred of Jews.”
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The killing of Yahya Sinwar
Melanie Phillips at JNS: “Some people here in Israel reportedly cried tears of joy over the killing by the Israel Defense Forces of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the Rafah area of Gaza on Wednesday. Others were jubilant. I was not.”
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Many Questions, Still Too Few Answers to Evil
Jamie Hyams (AIJAC) in The Daily Telegraph: “Immediately after the October 7 Hamas atrocities, two questions were predominant – how did it happen, and how could people treat others so horrifically and barbarically? However, as Israel carried out its war of self-defence to ensure Hamas could not fulfil its vows to conduct similar attacks “again and again”, and to stop Hezbollah’s rockets keeping Israel’s northern residents homeless, the conduct of others raised other, equally baffling questions.”
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Senate Republicans threaten UN funding if global body sidelines Israel
JNS: “A move to downgrade Israel’s status at the United Nations would be a new low, even for an organization that is as rife with antisemites as the U.N.,” said Sen. Tom Cotton.
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Seven Israeli citizens prosecuted for spying on behalf of Iran
Tal Hartuv at C4Israel: Early this week, shockwaves were felt throughout Israel when the Israel Security Service announced immediate prosecution against seven Jewish Israeli citizens, immigrants from Azerbaijan for operating as Iranian agents.
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Ruth Plays Along | The Book of RUTH with Johannes Gerloff #47
Ruth is not only driven by circumstances, by the decisions of others, by the zeitgeist. She sets her very own, decisive markers and thus determines the further course of events.
Zechariah 12:10-1410 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on[b] me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. 11 On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be as great as the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, 13 the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, 14 and all the rest of the clans and their wives.
