GNITN – Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 31
Dealing With The Tunnels

A Very Big Boast

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In a statement released today, the Israel Defense force (IDF) boasted that the military can defend itself anywhere it is needed in this quote from The Times Of Israel (see https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-november-6-2023/) :

In a released statement, the IDF Chief of Staff; "We have been in the war for a month now, we are hurting Hamas very, very hard, hurting the leadership of Hamas, hurting the commanders, hurting the terrorists, destroying Hamas's infrastructure in Gaza, and we are also constantly ready for other areas. This base knows how to reach anywhere in the Middle East."

“We are already a month into the war, hitting Hamas very, very hard, hitting the leadership of Hamas, hitting the commanders, hitting the terrorists, destroying Hamas’s infrastructure in Gaza, and we are also constantly ready for other areas,” says Halevi to soldiers at the Nevatim airbase. “This [air] base knows how to reach anywhere in the Middle East.”

Halevi tells the soldiers that he recently saw an F-35I jet providing air support to troops some 200 meters (some 656 feet) away in the Gaza Strip.

“We never did anything like this. With very heavy munitions, a very good connection between what the [ground] force needs and what the plane knows to give,” he says. “This connection of air and land together, we always knew it was strong, we see now that it is much stronger than we knew.”

As I’ve mentioned on many occasions, the IDF has more in its arsenal than anyone knows, and if push comes to shove, the terrorists all around them will see what they have. While I pray they never have to use this capacity, if it means the difference between Israel existing or not I support them using it.

Evacuations On The Northern Border

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Even though publicly the government is saying that they will not pursue a war with Hezbollah from the north, a great deal of residents who live right on the Lebanon/Israeli border have already left for fear of a war breaking out there. Unfortunately residents from both sides are used to this kind of unrest. On the Israeli side there are those who are stubbornly not leaving as we read in this report from CBN.com (see https://www2.cbn.com/news/israel/israeli-residents-brace-potential-hezbollah-battle-evacuate-northern-border-communities) :

And the real question is, what is the new normal going to look like? Many of the people who live here are saying they're tired of living under the threat from Hezbollah, which can launch rockets over here in a matter of seconds at any time. And it hasn't been just for the last three weeks. This has been going on for years. But some residents refuse to give in to the terrorist pressure.

Matsuva resident Betty Tsvi said, "I've lived here for many, many years. If I was going to leave, I would have done that many, many, many, many years ago for many, many, many, many reasons. Nah, that never crossed my mind. We've been through so many wars here. There have been so many. And I kind of got used to it."

"And, okay, I hear the rockets now and then. It doesn't matter if we're firing or they're firing. But what really bothers me now is when I want to come home sometimes and they close up the roads and I have to wait at a junction for two hours. Nothing will ever be the same again. More, more so in the south," she said.

Tsvi is ready for these terrorist attacks to finally end:

They need to go hard and completely fix this problem. We've given in so many times. Every operation we start, and then we're requested ceasefire, and then there's a lot of things to consider with that. World opinion, uh, citizens. And then it stops, and then within very little time, it starts up again.

But this time, with all those atrocities, and it's, they have to finish up. They said it's going to take a while, and I'm sure it will. And we just have to be patient. But you can't live in a country where there's always a threat.

Will Jordan Flip?

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Of all the nations listed in the Psalm 83 war, Jordan is the hardest to see aligning with the nations that are prophesied to attack Israel. Israel and Jordan do have a peace treaty and it is still in place, however recent comments made by Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh tend to make me think that things could change quickly. Here is a report on those comments found in The Times Of Israel (see https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/jordans-pm-well-consider-any-attempt-to-displace-gazans-a-declaration-of-war/) :

Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh warns that any attempt to “displace” Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank would be “a red line” and Jordan will consider it “a declaration of war.”

“There will be no displacement, no new Nakba, God willing, no resettlement, and no alternative homeland,” he says in a statement.

Israel, for its part believes that their relationship with Jordan is important as we read in another report from The Times (see https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-november-6-2023/#liveblog-entry-3146611):

After Jordan’s prime minister says any attempt to push Palestinians out of the West Bank or Gaza would be considered “an act of war,” Israel stresses that its relations with Jordan are of “strategic importance.”

“Israel is fighting a murderous terrorist organization that poses a danger to the entire region,” tweets Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lior Haiat. “Israel’s relations with Jordan are of strategic importance to both countries and we regret the inflammatory statements from Jordan’s leadership.”

Only time will tell which way the Jordanians will go, but it must be noted that the IDF did coordinate an air drop into Gaza with supplies for a Jordanian field hospital. And Jordan did reportedly intercept a missile tired for Iraq that was headed towards Israel.

Terrorist Tunnels Are Under Assault

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Those who wonder how the IDF will dismantle the infamous Hamas tunnel system aren’t likely to get detailed information on the how as seen in this quote from The Times Of Israel (see https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-has-unique-solutions-to-handle-hamas-tunnels-defense-minister/) :

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says the military has “unique solutions” to demolish Hamas’s vast network of tunnels under the Gaza Strip.

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“We have unique solutions to reach all the tunnels and dismantle them underground; we are ready to do it,” Gallant says to troops of the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit.

“We will reach everywhere, and then the terrorists will have two options: either die in the tunnel or come out. And there, either die from the fire of our forces or surrender unconditionally,” he says.

“There is no third option, those are the only options and that’s how we operate,” he adds.

In another report, Gallant says this (see https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/army-engineers-said-to-begin-operation-to-destroy-hamas-tunnels-in-areas-under-idf-control/) :

The combat engineers are using various types of robots and explosive devices to destroy the tunnels, detonate any booby traps installed by Hamas, and kill terrorists, the report says.

“Maybe at first they were able to harass us, sting us by firing from tunnel exits, but after we established control of the areas, the engineering operation started,” a senior officer in the Southern Command tells Walla.

“We are going to collapse the entrances and the tunnels on them. It will become a death zone. They made a mistake, they chose to be in a place they cannot escape from. They will die in the tunnels,” he said.

Defeating All Enemies In Your Life

… so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs. (2 Cor 2:11, ESV)

As we just detailed how the IDF is destroying the terrorist tunnels in Gaza, we also know that Satan tunnels into our lives and works under the surface where no one can see him steal, kill, and destroy us our loved ones. Yes, he resides in the lives of unsaved people as well and so when we fight and expel the accuser of the brethren in our lives we can specifically pray for them, too. The devil has rooted his way into our lives skillfully and masterfully mainly because we let him. The key to ridding us from his malevolent, malicious, and menacing presence in our lives we must first close gaps in our armor. Of course it goes without saying that we first need to put on the whole armor of God in the first place (see Ephesians 6:14–18). (show pic 7) Once on, cracks can occur for 3 basic reasons: We step outside God’s will, we walk in unforgiveness, or we have unconfessed sin in our lives. Without getting into a great amount of details, if you want kick out Satan, deal with these three things and to keep him from tunneling back into your life once your armor is on, ask Holy Spirit to shine a spotlight on those gaps or openings in your life so you can repair your armor. You don’t need the IDF’s engineers to do this. You need the creator of the universe to show the way. The Great Physician can skillfully remove the enemy if you let Him.