GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 411

God’s Foreign Policy

Hezbollah Responds

While Hezbollah is raining down rockets on Israel, they tell us that they have responded to the US offer for peace as we’re told in a report from The Times Of Israel:

In his third address as Hezbollah leader, Naim Qassem said on Wednesday that the terror group had reviewed an American proposal for a ceasefire and submitted its response through the mediation of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and that the ball is now in Israel’s court.

Qassem says that they have two things they want:

In a pre-recorded speech, Qassem said the terror group would not disclose its position to the media, but noted that in negotiations, the terror group had adhered to two principles: a complete cessation of hostilities, and the preservation of Lebanese sovereignty.

As we heard in a previous look at the offer, both sides have the option of retaliating if attacked in the future, something he disputed:

He rejected the notion that Israel would be able to keep striking Hezbollah even after a truce is reached, saying that Israel should not be allowed to breach Lebanon’s sovereignty.

The speech came a few hours after Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar told 100 foreign ambassadors that Israel wanted a durable agreement with Hezbollah, but needed to maintain the right to act if the agreement was violated.

And then the Hezbollah leader stated that regardless of recent devastating attacks by the IDF they still have the ability to fight for some time:

Qassem also vowed that Hezbollah had the means to continue to engage the IDF in a long war of attrition and that the group was willing to “pay any price because the price will also rise for the enemy,” adding that it would respond to Israeli strikes on Beirut by targeting Tel Aviv.

He then took a swipe at Israel’s stated goal of returning its citizens back to northern Israel:

“When the enemy does not achieve its goals, it means we have won,” he asserted.

The leader made it look like they were the adults in the room when he said this:

Qassem said Hezbollah was allowing ceasefire talks to continue and was watching to see if they would produce results, adding that a ceasefire depended on “the Israeli response and the seriousness” of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Qassem them seemed to say that the agreement is the only way Israel can get what they want:

“Through the agreement, the occupation [Israel] believed that it could obtain what it has not achieved on the battlefield, but that is impossible,” Qassem said.

This is what his people and his fellow terrorists need to hear from him, but not necessarily what will get a truce done.

The US Will Arrive

It comes as no surprise that the US is coming to hopefully seal the deal:

The terror leader’s speech came shortly after US Mideast envoy Amos Hochstein announced that he would travel to Israel to try to secure a ceasefire after making “additional progress” in a second meeting with Berri in Beirut.

Hochstein will sit down with Prime Minister Netanyahu first:

While his schedule in Israel was not immediately clear, Hochstein was reportedly set to meet with Netanyahu on Thursday morning.

Going back to Qassem the topic of Lebanese leaders was brought up and he told us this:

Addressing Lebanon’s political stalemate, Qassem said the terror group would act in cooperation with other political forces and would “bring its contribution for the election of a new president by the parliament” after a ceasefire was achieved.

The report them gives us a little history on how we got to this tense moment:

Since October 8, 2023, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war there.

In their minds Hezbollah has ample reasons for targeting civilians now:

The conflict with the group escalated in late September with Israel’s increased strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, in which the vast majority of its leadership was killed, including former leader Hassan Nasrallah, and a subsequent ground offensive launched in southern Lebanon by the IDF.

Hezbollah has since expanded its attacks to also target cities in central and northern Israel with rockets, in addition to the attacks on the border, though in recent days the IDF has seen a decrease in the number of attacks.

Hezbollah has been striking Israel once Hamas attacked last year as way of helping Hamas:

The attacks on northern Israel since October 2023 have resulted in the deaths of 44 civilians. In addition, 71 IDF soldiers and reservists have died in cross-border skirmishes and in the ensuing ground operation launched in southern Lebanon in late September.

As for me I highly doubt any agreement is in the offing mainly because Hezbollah has one its goals to survive, regroup, and rearm. And Israel is determined to not have the terrorists to the north to be a threat to the citizens in the north going forward. Ultimately Hezbollah can’t exist if the promised return of their people happens. We may like the sound of peace, but the reality of war necessitates that peace comes through power. In this case the power of eliminating the terrorist threats all around Israel.

Help Is Also Coming

The current administration could be counted on to say that their support for Israel is Ironclad, but that commitment came with strings tied to it as over and over again, the US demanded that they do things their way or else. However, the incoming political leaders are telling Israel that they won’t be like that as we read in an article from the Jerusalem News Syndicate:

Senate Majority Leader-elect John Thune on Tuesday criticized what he described as Democrats’ difficulties in supporting Israel and added that “reinforcements are on the way” as Republicans prepare to reclaim the majority in the chamber on Jan. 3.

Thune offered these words to back that up:

“To our allies in Israel and to the Jewish people around the world, my message to you is this: Reinforcements are on the way. Senate Republicans reclaim the majority in six weeks. And when we do, we will make clear that the United States Congress stands squarely in Israel’s corner and we will help the Trump-Vance administration defend Israel and promote peace in the region,” he said at a Senate Republican leadership press conference.

The Senate Leader-elect then turned his attention to the current leader:

Thune called on the incumbent Democratic majority leader, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, to launch legislation to punish the International Criminal Court for going after Israel.

If Schumer fails to comply, the Republican-majority Senate will introduce such legislation next year and make this and similar bills “a top priority,” Thune said.

Thune then gave his opinion of the ongoing criminal cases brought by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israel:

ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan has asked the court to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and three Hamas leaders for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

“That is outrageous and it is unlawful. The ICC rogue actions are a threat to our ally Israel and left unchecked could pose a threat to America in the future,” said Thune (R-S.D.)

He again pointed the finger at Schumer for not tackling the issue now, but also said things will change next year when he holds the gavel:

“I’m calling on Leader Schumer to bring a bill to the floor sanctioning the ICC, which the House has already passed on a bipartisan basis. If he refuses to act, our Senate Republican majority next year will. We will stand with Israel and make this and other supportive legislation a top priority in the next Congress,” he added.

Thune made note of how support of Israel is a political burden for Democrats adding that such struggles have real world effects:

Under President Joe Biden, “Democrats have struggled to support our ally Israel and this has literally fractured the Democrat party,” Thune observed. He noted that Sen. Bernie Sanders is expected to “offer a resolution denying lethal aid to Israel. The refusal to have our allies’ back and the hesitation to call out antisemitism in our own country has consequences,” said Thune.

He detailed what is does for anyone who hadn’t connected the dots on their own:

It “enables bad behavior and bad actors around the world and it encourages others to abandon Israel in their time of need,” he added, citing the ICC move on Israelis.

Who will be the first in line to not heed Thune’s warnings? That would be Bernie Sanders:

Sanders is an independent from Vermont who caucuses with Democrats. He has announced plans to introduce bills to block arms shipments to Israel.

These duplicious Democrats might want to understand this verse from the Bible:

I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you. (Gen 12:3, NLT)