GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 155

Both Sides Not Budging

Tomorrow Is The Day

March 10th begins the month of Ramadan, the Muslim holy time and the unofficial deadline for a hostage deal. Currently there are no signs of a deal and Hamas may be facing deadlines of their own from Qatar as we read in an article from The Jerusalem Post:

The Wall Street Journal published an interview with Senior Hamas official Husam Badran on Saturday, discussing Hamas's hard-line stance of only agreeing to a permanent ceasefire and shedding light on details of the negotiation process that are lesser known to the public.

Badran begins the interview by claiming that Hamas is still willing to negotiate a ceasefire deal, saying claims of Hamas disinterest come from Israel and America. “We didn’t declare negotiations have been stopped. We are the party most keen to stop this war,” he said.

According to Egyptian and Hamas officials, Qatar has threatened to expel Hamas officially from their base in Doha if they don't come to an agreement, but Badran denied this claim.

Hamas says they are willing, but not willing enough to give up the one thing Israel will not agree to:

That being said, he stated that Hamas's official position is still a permanent ceasefire and allowing displaced Gazans to return to their homes.

As far as the negotiation process goes, he revealed that the discussion of swaps of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners has taken a back seat to relieving the humanitarian situation and ending the fighting.

Israel has already stated that no Gazans will return to their homes until the hostages return their homes. Again, I don’t see a deal coming anytime soon.

They Want Things To Escalate

Amid negotiations, the leader of Mossad thinks Hamas doesn’t want a deal as we read in a report from The Times Of Israel:

The Mossad spy agency said Saturday that the Hamas terror group prefers an escalation of violence during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan to a hostage deal, adding that Mossad chief David Barnea met CIA Director Bill Burns this weekend as part of efforts by mediators to reach a temporary truce.

In the rare statement, carried by the Prime Minister’s Office, the Mossad said Barnea met on Friday with his American counterpart, “as part of the ceaseless effort to advance another deal for the return of the hostages.” The meeting reportedly took place in Amman, Jordan.

What is the hold up? Barnea tell us this:

“At this stage, Hamas is fortifying its position as if it is not interested in a deal, and it strives to ignite the region during Ramadan at the expense of the Palestinian population of the Gaza Strip,” the Mossad (leader) said.

That being said, meetings are still occurring:

The Mossad (chief) added that “the talks and cooperation with the mediators continue all the time in an attempt to narrow the gaps and advance agreements.”

US Says A Deal Could Be Made

In an article from The Times Of Israel we see one way a deal could be reached as well:

Senior Biden administration officials on Thursday accused Hamas of holding up a six-week ceasefire deal with Israel by refusing to release the sick, elderly and female hostages that it’s holding in Gaza.

“There could be at least a six-week ceasefire today if Hamas would agree to release a defined category of vulnerable hostages, including women, the elderly, the sick and the wounded,” said one of the officials, who all briefed reporters on condition of anonymity. “The onus right now is on Hamas.”

“The fundamental element on [Hamas’s] side is releasing the sick, the elderly and the woman. That is right now the holdup,” a second official added.

A sticking point from the Israel side is simple as well:

The deal would also see the “repositioning of Israeli forces” during that first stage and also allow for Palestinians to return to northern Gaza.

This has been a sticking point for Israel, which has publicly rejected this demand to date, claiming it would allow for a resurgence of Hamas in that half of the Strip.

“We’re returning people to the north. That is part of the arrangement that has been worked out,” the official asserted.

Personally I really don’t see a deal happening unless both sides bend a little which, to date, hasn’t happened. Even the US officials see trouble and violence coming during Ramadan:

“We recognize that extremists could try to use Ramadan to spark something that would be deeply unfortunate in that holy month, and we want to make sure that we have a peaceful period so people can worship,” the senior official said. “We’re working that through with the Israelis, with the Palestinian Authority, with the Jordanians and others.”

“[Ismail] Haniyeh, leader of Hamas, has called for violence over Ramadan. We recognize that this is something that they might very well try to do. It’s always a volatile period… We fully recognize what [Hamas’s] intentions might be,” the official said, referring to the Hamas chief’s recent call for Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem to march to the Temple Mount on the first day of the Islamic holy month.

Prayer Is Still The Key

I end this with more prayer keys for us to use:

  • Lord God, in a world that no longer recognizes ultimate truth and therefore no longer can see right from wrong, keep us focused on Your Word as we pray into these dangerous scenarios (Isa. 5:20-23).
  • Strengthen and encourage Netanyahu and his coalition to steadfastly reject every plan of the nations that is not in line with Your will for Israel at this time in history (Prov. 21:1; Isa. 8:9-10).
  • Show them how often Your Word tells Israel to possess all of the rest of Your land (Obad. 1:15-20).
  • Abba, send divine comfort on all Israelis whose loved ones have been murdered or sexually abused by Hamas, or who are still hostages and whose fate is as yet unknown (Psa. 23:4; Isa. 25:8; 61:1-3).
  • Maintain Israel's demand of "proof-of-life" before any further hostage deal (Matt. 24:4).
  • Lead us to pray in line with what You are doing to fulfill Your word (Jer. 1:12; Amos 3:7).
  • As so many democratic nations tend to change their foreign policies after each election, turn Israel from trusting in its "allies" to see You as their eternal unelected King (Isa. 33:22; Jer. 10;10).
  • Lord God, wake up the Western nations to understand that Israel does not live in a nice area, having neighbors like Canada or Mexico, France or New Zealand (Psa. 28:3: Prov. 21:10; Jer. 12:14).
  • Speak truth through Israeli diplomats regardless of its reception (Mic. 4:1-3; Gal. 4:16).
  • Reinforce Your angelic hosts guarding over Israel today (Josh. 10:11; 2 Chr. 32:7-8), especially as the Islamic holy month of Ramadan starts early next week (Psa. 143:9).
  • Do not let the war end until Israel gains a complete victory (Psa. 44:4-6; 46:10; 68:35).
  • Guard over every IDF soldier, sailor, and pilot, physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually – and let them bear witness to the reality that You are with them (Psa. 17:8-9, 13; 143:12).
  • Almighty God, raise up in the IDF modern-day Jonathans and their armor bearers to use unique ways to confound and defeat Hamas terrorists (1 Sam. 14:1-16).
  • Lord, oversee Israel's upcoming invasion of Rafah, the last stronghold of Hamas on the Gaza-Egypt border, and do not allow Israel to be moved by the nations' exaggerated concerns (Prov. 21:30-31).
  • Lord of hosts, empower the IDF to conquer it and remain there after the war (Isa. 41:10-16).
  • Do not let any terrorist escape by blending in with Gaza's civilians but shine Your light on them in a way that makes it easy for the IDF to pick them out of the crowd (Prov. 10:28-30).
  • Lord God, if there are any hostages still alive, set them free supernaturally. (Isa. 49:24-26).
  • Use the pride of Israel's enemies to bring them to total destruction (Prov. 16:18).
  • Strengthen Iranian believers to persist in prayer (Luke 18:1) for both their nation (1 Tim. 2:1-4), and for Israel (Psa. 122:6) – the nation into which they have been grafted (Rom. 11:17-24).
  • Lord, save a large remnant of Jews– both in Israel and among those still in the captivity (Jer. 31:7b).
  • Lord Yeshua, reveal Your Father to a huge remnant of Jews living in Judea and Samaria; Holocaust survivors; survivors of October 7th; all living hostages, ex-hostages, their families and friends; IDF soldiers and their families; families and friends of soldiers who died in battle; all Israelis who are now handicapped; rabbis, their families and congregations in every Jewish sect; Israel's politicians and international diplomats; Israelis from the Gaza periphery and the north who are still homeless; Jews and Israelis in exile who are now fearful for their safety; unsaved loved ones of Messianic Jews (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:24-32).