GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 382

Fighting Will Not Stop

They Were Close

According to a report from The Times Of Israel the drone that attacked the Prime Minister’s home in Caesaria actually hit its target:

A drone fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home in Caesarea on Saturday hit and caused damage to his residence when it exploded, the military censor permitted for publication on Tuesday.

They even released picture of the damage:

An image, previously barred from publication by the military censor, showed the damage caused to the home by Saturday’s drone impact.

The blast cracked glass in a bedroom window but did not penetrate the home, apparently because of reinforced glass and other protections. Pieces of glass reportedly landed in the family’s pool nearby and in the yard

There were no injuries, and Netanyahu and his wife were not home at the time.

As we also know, Hezbollah was behind the drone strike even though we know Iran ordered it:

Hezbollah in a statement Tuesday took “full, complete and exclusive responsibility for the Caesarea operation targeting… Netanyahu” — echoing Iranian statements attempting to distance the Islamic Republic from the apparent assassination attempt launched by its proxy.

Citing unnamed sources, the Saudi Al-Hadath news network reported Tuesday that Israel’s investigation into the strike has found that Iranian embassy officials in Beirut were also involved in the attack.

And we also know, the PM was most displeased:

The prime minister on Saturday laid the blame for the strike on “agents of Iran” and vowed that anyone who harmed Israelis would pay “a heavy price.”

The drones were sent from Lebanon. The IDF still hasn’t said why they lost track on one of them, but this is the second time that three drones were fired by Hezbollah and one made it past the IDF security grid. If the terrorists are using a stealth system, the IDF needs to figure out how and how to disable it before thousands of drones are sent against them. I think the IDF will unravel this mystery sooner than later since they are masters at developing undetectable weapons of their own.

Don’t Ignore Assassination Attempt

That’s what Prime Minister Netanyahu told the US Secretary of State when the two met in Jerusalem today as we read in an article from The Jerusalem Post:

Iran and Hezbollah’s assassination attempt cannot be disregarded, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken when the two men met in Jerusalem on Tuesday.

In the long meeting between them, the PM told Blinken this:

“This is an issue of dramatic significance that cannot be ignored,” Netanyahu said during their meeting which lasted for two and half hours.

No read out of the meeting was given to the press:

There were no joint statements or press conferences before or after the meeting. It was Blinken’s 11th trip to the region since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, 2023. He arrived at a time of heightened military cooperation and tensions between the two governments, with the United States pushing for diplomacy, while Israel has relied heavily on fighting its enemies militarily.

What did they talk about? We aren’t told, but the Iranian attack had to be one topic:

The two men discussed Israel’s expected retaliatory strike against Iran’s ballistic missile attack on the Jewish state on October 1. Israel is also expected to respond to the Hezbollah drone attack on Netanyahu’s house in Caesarea that damaged his bedroom window. Neither he nor his family were home at the time.

The United States, which helped defend Israel against the last two Iranian attacks, is expected to do so again, should Iran respond to any Israeli retaliatory strike.

“The issue of the Iranian threat and the need for both countries to join forces against it was raised,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said, adding that Netanyahu thanked Blinken for the US support “in the fight against Iran’s axis of evil and terrorism.”

A US source told us what they know about the meeting:

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the two men “discussed the need to deter further regional aggression from Iran and its proxies,” as well as efforts toward that end which the US and its partners are taking.

Miller reminded us about that very familiar phrase concerning US support for Israel:

Blinken “reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security,” Miller said.

Even with that ironclad support, the US still wants to control what Israel does in this war:

The US has sought to constrain Israel’s response to Iran and its strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon, even as it congratulated Jerusalem for its military achievements, including the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in August.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that Israelis have to be able to “protect themselves” and “react to” threats.

Still, she said, what Blinken is “doing in the region is important to what we’re trying to do, getting to that de-escalation, but also a long-lasting peace.”

Peace will remain elusive while Hezbollah keeps sending drone attacks on the PM, but they still try thinking diplomacy will work:

US special envoy Amos Hochstein has been in Lebanon this week to push for a ceasefire, stressing the importance of basing it on Resolution 1701, which bans Hezbollah from the area of southern Lebanon near the Israeli border.

According to a report in the Lebanese news web site Al-Akhbar, Hochstein proposed strengthening and amending UNSC Resolution 1701 to include moving Hezbollah further back away from the border so that it would be several additional kilometers behind the Litani River, as opposed to at the river.

According to Al-Akhbar, he also wants to increase the peacekeeping force and expand the number of Lebanese troops that could be placed in that border area.

No Stopping The Fighting

Citing the Post article again, while the US and Israel talked about ending the fighting overall, the PM told them that until things change, the attacks will only ramp in Lebanon:

Netanyahu, according to his office, spoke of the importance of the IDF’s activity in Lebanon and the need for security and political changes there, which would allow for over 60,000 Israelis to return to their northern border communities which were evacuated last year when Hezbollah launched attacks at the area on October 8, 2023.

The PMO said that “the meeting was friendly and productive” and that “an expanded meeting was held afterward, with the participation of both sides’ professional echelons.”

According to one Iranian source they don’t expect a serious strike on Iran by Israel:

Israel is unlikely to make a “significant move” against Tehran, but could instead mount a symbolic limited attack, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) cultural and social commander Mohammad Ali Jafari said on Tuesday, according to the Iranian Student News Network.

Jafari then demeans Israel as part of his logic:

“Israel is too small to be able to attack Iran, although it may carry out a desperate, limited, and small attack to say it has retaliated, it will definitely not carry out an offensive (strike) similar to ours,” said Jafari, the former commander in chief of the IRGC.

But if Israel does hit Iran hard, they will respond with even more force:

He added that Iran’s response would depend on the intensity of Israel’s retaliation, and that if Israel ended up carrying out a significant attack, Iran would respond with a higher-intensity offensive against Israel.

The Israel Defense Minister told Blinken that the US needs to stand firm with their support even after they strike Iran:

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, in his meeting with Blinken, “highlighted the importance of the US standing with Israel following Israel’s attack on Iran. This will strengthen regional deterrence and weaken the ‘axis of evil,” his office said.

Gallant also said that the fighting against Hezbollah will not stop after the current round of targeted strikes:

He also emphasized to Blinken that “Israel will continue striking the terrorist organization’s infrastructure even once the targeted operations are complete, and that this will continue systematically until it is possible to ensure: the safe return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes, and the withdrawal of Hezbollah forces from southern Lebanon.”

As we pray for the peace of Jerusalem we need to factor in what we’ve learned now and then do battle in the heavenlies. We need to bind in heaven all the demonic plans against God’s people and loose in Heaven God’s plans for their protection, provision and prosperity in this time of trouble.