GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 82

Israel Needs Unity Now

You’re Next

In an interview from The Times Of Israel with a former foreign minister of Israel he tells us who is next in the fight against terrorism:

Foreign Minister Eli Cohen says the head of Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group could be Israel’s next target.

Touring Israel’s border with foreign ambassadors, Cohen says Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, “must understand that he’s next.”

He says Hezbollah must respect a 2006 UN ceasefire that calls on the group to withdraw from the border area.

“We will operate to make the most of the diplomatic option,” Cohen says. “If it doesn’t work, all options are on the table.”

We read more from Cohen who was talking to foreign ambassadors in a separate article from i24news.tv:

During the tour, Minister Cohen strategically engaged foreign ambassadors, providing them with firsthand insights into the security challenges faced by Israel. The focus was on Hezbollah's activities along the border and the impact on civilians, particularly those forced to evacuate due to the constant threat of terrorism.

Cohen also stressed the importance of the 2006 ceasefire:

The tour also emphasized the significance of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, adopted in 2006, as the linchpin for resolving the crisis. Minister Cohen reiterated the importance of fully implementing the resolution, which calls for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Hezbollah to the north of the Litani River.

The failure to enforce these provisions has heightened tensions and necessitated a more assertive diplomatic stance.

It isn’t a coincidence that Hezbollah is increasing its attacks in the north against Israel. As I’ve said before, the closer Hamas is to defeat, the more Hezbollah will attack from the north.

These Aren’t Good People

During so many of the pro-Hamas protests, signs and chants make their feelings know that Israel is killing innocent people and they are the evil ones. However a recent attack from Hezbollah on a monastery tells us another story as we read in a report from i24news.tv:

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that a Hezbollah anti-tank missile struck St. Mary's Greek Orthodox Church in Iqrit, northern Israel.

On X, the IDF said the attack, occurring on the day after Christmas, not only violated UN Security Council Resolution 1701 but also infringed upon the freedom of worship.

A civilian near the Christian village of Iqrit suffered serious injuries in the missile strike. IDF forces and first responders are on the scene, providing assistance to the victim.

However we must read about what happened when the Israel Defense Force rushed to help the civilian:

However, reportedly the situation escalated when, upon the arrival of troops, another anti-tank missile was launched, leading to an intense firefight. 9 IDF troops have transferred to a hospital after evacuating the civilian from the scene. One of the soldiers was seriously injured and eight soldiers were moderately and lightly injured.

Allow me to connect the dots for you. Hezbollah attacks a church which they know will draw the IDF out to help the injured citizen. Then they open fire on the troops preying on the goodwill of Israels troops. These are not the actions of good people. Not anywhere close.

Turkey President Lashes Out

In a report from The Times Of Israel we see that relations between Turkey and Israel are certainly cooling:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was worse than Nazi leader Adolf Hitler during a speech he gave at an event in Ankara on Wednesday, drawing charges that he himself was guilty of genocide.

The barbed exchange was a return to form for the two leaders, whose long history of public attacks on each other has ebbed and flowed alongside Israel and Turkey’s on-again, off-again alliance. The attacks had halted in the last year or two as Jerusalem and Ankara rekindled their relationship, but the détente has seemingly fallen apart over the Israel-Hamas war.

Erdogan explained his logic this way:

During an opening speech at an award ceremony in the Turkish capital, Erdogan said the systematic slaughter of 6 million Jews in the Holocaust was not as bad as Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza, and likened Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in the Strip to that of Jews rounded up in concentration and death camps.

“We’ve seen the Nazi camps of Israel. How does this happen? They used to talk about Hitler, but how are you any different than Hitler?” he asked of Israel.

“This is even worse than Hitler,” he added to raucous applause. “What Netanyahu is doing is no less than what Hitler did.”

“Hitler was not as rich as [Netanyahu] is,” Erdogan continued after a short pause. “He is richer than Hitler. He takes support from the West, he receives all kinds of support from the US, and with all that support, 20,000 Gazans have been killed.”

Not willing to take such inflammatory rhetoric lying down, Netanyahu shot back on X:

“Erdogan, who commits genocide against the Kurds, who holds a world record for imprisoning journalists who oppose his rule, is the last one who can preach morality to us.

The IDF is the most moral army in the world, which fights against and eliminates the most abhorrent and cruel terror organization in the world: Hamas-ISIS, which has committed crimes against humanity and which Erdogan praises and hosts.”

It sounds like Turkey is already punching its ticket to the war of Gog and Magog parade just as prophesied in Ezekiel 38.

Can Israel Survive The Fighting From Terrorism And Unrest From Within?

This is a valid question where a democracy thrives in the Middle East. What many have forgotten is that before October 7th, Israel was experiencing civil unrest over the proposed Supreme Court law that would curtail its power. We’re talking about riots in the streets unrest. And now some of the vitriol is bubbling up again, just when unity is needed to fight the war against terrorism. In a primetime address to the nation, Israel President Isaac Herzog vocalized his concerns as we read in an article from The Times Of Israel:

“The enemy is waiting to see chasms among us, for us to start fighting with one another. It sees the confrontations, the ego battles and the political headbutting,” Herzog says, appearing to refer to proliferating verbal attacks by politicians against other politicians and military officials. “It celebrates every time disagreement drives us apart.”

“We must not return to the discourse of October 6, of us and them,” Herzog says, referring to the deep societal divisions that raged earlier this year over the hardline government’s judicial overhaul, before Hamas’s October 7 massacres temporarily drove Israelis to unite.

Lest you think he was pointing these comments to the citizens, he made it clear it was leadership he was talking to:

“We must not return to toxic discourse online. Anyone who returns us to the discourse of October 6 harms the war effort and citizens’ security,” he adds.

“I am directly addressing the leadership and anyone acting in the public and political spheres, and demanding that you stop. Show responsibility, restrain yourselves and wait a little longer with the political campaigns and messages.”

And we could just as easily be the targets of such advice here in America. Pray that Israel will not fall prey to the conditions that may have distracted them in the days and weeks leading up to the October 7th massacre.

Prayer For Israel

Returning to the prayer keys found on the web site www.ifi.org we will pray specifically for the leadership in Israel:

  • According to what You say in the prophetic portion, Lord may this be the season when You take the Jews whom You have already regathered, and make them one nation on Your land (Ezek. 37:21-22).
  • Also increase the influence of the Sons of Issachar throughout Israel (1 Chr. 12:32a).
  • Abba, as long as Bibi Netanyahu is Israel's leader, use him for Your glory (Psa. 80:17; Prov. 16:1).
  • Yet if after the war, it is Your time for Bibi to leave politics, please tell him (Dan. 4:17; 5:21).
  • And if that is so, show us whom You want Israel's next leader to be so that we pray (Amos 3:7).
  • Make Bibi and the rest of Israel's leaders very stubborn in things that are of You – such as standing against the creation of a Palestinian State – and yet flexible in all else (Job 11:6; 38:36; Ezek. 3:8-10).
  • Protect and continue to speak through Israeli UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan (Ex. 4:11-12; Gal. 4:16).
  • God, plant Psalm 42:5-11 and 43:5 into the hearts of all Israelis whose loved ones have died, or will die, or are still hostages, or whose fate is still unknown (Psa. 23:4; 46:1, 7; 91:2; 94:19; Dan. 9:9).
  • We glorify You for using this demonic massacre and the war to draw many Haredi [ultra-Orthodox] to want to become more of an active part of Israeli society (Psa. 50:15; 133:1; Rom. 8:28).
  • Turn multitudes of them into Sons of Zion, especially their rabbis (Psa. 119:5, 11-16, 18, 25).