yGNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 320

It’s Dead Jim

On Life Support

In an homage to one of my favorite TV shows from my youth, the hostage deal in once again teetering on dying and really it’s dead. And I predicted this, but is anyone listening or are we just seeing through peace colored glasses yet again? Look, over there I see a mermaid swimming with the Loch Ness Monster and on the shore is a unicorn being ridden by Big Foot. Oh, and I see Hamas accepting a hostage deal with Israel. When I tell you they are fictional accounts of things we’ll never see in real life, well, you get the picture. Rather than me giving you the details, allow me to let an article from the Jerusalem News Syndicate fill you in:

Gaza ceasefire talks are “on the brink of collapsing” as negotiators head to Cairo this week to discuss the latest proposal, Politico reported on Tuesday, citing two U.S. and two Israeli officials.

And this time it’s all on Hamas to accept or not accept the deal:

Before heading to Egypt and Qatar, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Israel on Monday that the government in Jerusalem had accepted a Biden administration proposal to bridge differences with the Hamas for a ceasefire and the release of the remaining hostages held by the terror group in exchange for Palestinian security prisoners.

But just swapping out hostages for terrorists isn’t enough for Hamas:

However, Hamas has publicly rejected the latest offer, leading Washington to become increasingly pessimistic, while outwardly displaying signs of optimism that an agreement can be achieved.

You see, it’s those other details that continue to left out of these reports, you know that Israel wants to continue decimating Hamas once the hostages are returned and Hamas wants to still be alive and the war to end with a ceasefire. Regardless, let’s continue to hear more on this:

Speaking ahead of meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv on Monday, Blinken said, “This is a decisive moment, probably the best, maybe the last opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a ceasefire, and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security.”

The US doesn’t see a path forward now:

The officials told Politico that the offer on the table is the strongest one yet, but that Hamas’s rejections have “U.S. officials increasingly worried that this proposal will falter just as earlier ones did, with Hamas and Israel at odds and no clear path to end fighting or bring hostages home.”

The stakes are high because absent a deal Iran and Hezbollah are going to attack Israel:

“We don’t know if [Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya] Sinwar wants this deal,” one of the officials familiar with the U.S. position on the negotiations said. “But if we don’t get the deal there’s a chance that Iran attacks and this escalates into a full blown confrontation.”

And yet, the US is still holding out hope:

Still, according to the Politico report, U.S. officials are hopeful that a deal can still be had, with the possibility that Hamas will suddenly change its stance, as it has done previously.

The IAF Is Ready

We learn from a report found in The Jerusalem Post that regardless of the hostage talks, Israel is ready to do some serious damage to anyone wanting to attack them:

Israel’s air force is prepared for both defensive and offensive maneuvers, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday after the IDF said it had bombed Hezbollah weapons storage facilities in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley overnight.

The PM alluded to hitting their enemies where they are the weakest and using the Israel Air Force (IAF) to do it:

“The Air Force is our iron fist that knows how to hit the soft underbelly of our enemies,” Netanyahu said as he visited the Ramat David Air Force base in the North.

“They prove it time and time again, and if we have to – we will prove it again and again,” he said.

Netanyahu addressed the current increase of strikes from the north:

He spoke as strikes and counterstrikes between Hezbollah and Israel in the North heated up, including aerial attacks by the Iranian proxy group in the area of Katzrin and Kibbutz Amiad. It’s estimated that some 50 projectiles were launched at Katzrin, damaging homes and injuring one person. Photos showed smoke and fire rising from streets with residential homes.

The IDF has been busy taking out more terrorist leaders:

Israel also said on Wednesday it had killed Khalil Hussein Khalil al-Maqdah in the Sidon area, southern Lebanon, who worked with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah.

It is not known how many others of those that were killed were also terrorists:

The IAF airstrike in the Bekaa Valley killed at least two people and injured 19, according to security sources, but it was not immediately clear if those killed were civilians or fighters.

The PM added to those at the base that he watching their preparations:

Netanyahu said “I am here, at the air force base, to closely monitor our preparations against threats both near and far. We are prepared for any scenario – both a defensive and offensive one.”

Israel’s President also spoke to what is happening in Lebanon:

Foreign Minister Israel Katz warned that Hezbollah was “leading Lebanon into darkness – both literally and figuratively.”

He was referring to the power outages in the country and how Hezbollah couldn’t care less:

“While the people of Lebanon suffer through endless blackouts and a crumbling infrastructure, Hezbollah diverts their resources to ignite the region with violence and terror,” he wrote in a post on X.

Katz is hoping that his words will be read by the citizens of Lebanon:

“The Lebanese people deserve a future of peace, dignity, and a Lebanon free from the grip of terror,” Katz wrote. He attached a video in English with a similar message aimed at the people of Lebanon.

As is usually the case, innocent people’s lives are adversely affected in times of war and this is no different. Israelis are in the 300th day or so of being displaced and there isn’t hope of returning anytime soon. And the populace of Lebanon would rather Hezbollah leave than subject them to imminent rocket and drone strikes where the terrorist live being shielded by them.

Rafah Success

We’re used to hearing the IDF talk about how they defeated Hamas only to hear later that they rose from the dead in other places. But in a report from i24news.tv the Israel Defense Minister it touting success over Hamas in Rafah:

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited soldiers in the Philidelphi Corridor on Wednesday, touting the defeat of the Rafah Brigade.

Gallant made sure to say that they are on target with their goals:

“The most important thing is to remember what the goals of the war are and to stick to them,” he told soldiers. “The Rafah Brigade has been defeated, most of the tunnels in the Philadelphi Corridor are canals dug with engineering tools above the surface and covered with dirt."

He met with forces of the 162nd Division, which operated in the Rafah area of the southern Gaza Strip.

The time in Rafah was also a planning one, too:

Gallant held a situational assessment with Lieutenant Colonel Yitzhak (Itzik) Cohen, the commander of the division, as well as Nahal Brigade Commander Lieutenant Colonel Yair Zuckerman and other major commanders taking part in southern Gazan operations.

He heard about further destruction of Hamas’s vaunted tunnel system, too:

Gallant received an overview of the operational activity that led to the defeat of the Rafah Brigade, with more than 150 tunnels destroyed in the area.

Gallant then commended the troops that made it all happen:

“Look, I came here first of all to express great appreciation,” Gallant told soldiers. “The 162nd Division and its brigades… fight like lions. The Rafah Brigade was defeated, the enemy's Rafah Brigade was defeated by the 162nd Division.”

The vastly under reported story in all the hoopla about a hostage deal that isn’t happening, is that the IDF is just devastating Hamas everywhere they show their heads and many places where they aren’t. Before long there won’t be any Hamas to bargain with apart from Yahya Sinwar. As we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, let us specifically pray for the IDF who is tasked with taking out these vicious terrorists. And let us pray for the IDF and the intelligence agencies tasked with finding those hostages still alive and rescuing them.