GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 420

Hezbollah Not Going Away

Declaring Victory

I’m going to tell you now if you haven’t already heard me say it, but the Hezbollah threat isn’t going to end until Hezbollah is ended. If you think the current ceasefire will bring calm in the area it will most likely bring even more instability. We read in a report from The Jerusalem Post that the terrorists from Lebanon are heralding the ceasefire as a resounding victory:

“We are meeting today in an atmosphere of divine victory,” Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said in a televised speech Friday, adding that the “victory” achieved is greater than the one in 2006.

The arrogance runs deep in this organization and it should not go unnoticed. Instead of seeing that they are a shell of what they once were they are bragging about being stronger:

“We won because we prevented the enemy from destroying Hezbollah, stopped them from ending the resistance, and defeated them because the enemy was forced to justify the agreement,” Qassem said.

Qassem used the return of people in south Lebanon as a public repudiation of Israel since Israelis aren’t also coming back to their homes and businesses. As I noted yesterday, the people coming back to the region in the south of Lebanon was not a coincidence but totally planned by Hezbollah so they could make the following statement:

One of the signs of Israel’s defeat is “the image of the return of our people and the absence of the settlers on the opposite side,” he said, referring to the Israeli evacuees who have not returned to their homes.

Talking about the surprise pager explosions, Qassem basically said they withstood them and put Israel on the defensive:

“Israel expected to achieve its goals in a short time after striking the command system and capabilities,” Qassem said, alluding to the pager attack Israel conducted in September.

“Hezbollah was able to stand firm on the frontlines and began targeting the enemy's home front, which put the situation into a significant defensive position,” he continued.

Rather than saying that the Lebanese will take over, he asserted that they would work together on the deal signaling they were in control of the agreement:

Qassem also discussed the cease-fire arrangements in his speech, saying that there will be “high-level coordination” between the Lebanese army and Hezbollah to implement the deal. “We approved the deal with our heads held high,” he added.

And if there was ever evidence that they have no intention of leaving southern Lebanon it when he went on to state this:

He stressed that the main point of the agreement was the withdrawal of the Israeli military from all parts of southern Lebanon below the Litani River.

“For those that bet that Hezbollah would be weakened, their bet has failed,” he said.

Their goal and the goal of Iran was to get Israeli troops out of Lebanon so they can regroup, rebuild, and rearm. Prime Minister Netanyahu obviously saw this coming and knows that Hezbollah can’t stand down if they wanted to, their pride won’t let them.

Eyes On Syria

We’re told in another article from The Jerusalem Post that the focus of the war is turning to the Syrian border of Lebanon since any military aid from Iran will come through there:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a security meeting Friday evening to discuss the developments in Syria, as well as the ceasefire with Lebanon, Israeli media reported Friday.

Of importance is the instability of the Syrian government:

In the meeting, Israeli intelligence officials will focus on the rebel attempt to capture the city of Aleppo, its regional implications, and the potential domino effect these events could trigger in the Middle East.

The meeting will focus on how this uprising in Syria will affect Hezbollah:

One possible scenario includes the transfer of Hezbollah forces and weaponry from Lebanon to Syria to defend the Assad regime. At this stage, the Iranians and Russians are already assisting the Syrian army. Additionally, the possibility of the Houthis also joining to support the Assad regime is another consideration.

Another concern is possible weapons transfers:

Another scenario causing concern is the possibility that Iran will attempt to transfer weapons to the Syrian arena to support the war effort. The subsequent spillover of these weapons could lead to their transfer to Lebanon, where Hezbollah is expected to use them to rebuild its military capabilities.

The IDF clarified last week that it would act aggressively against any attempt to smuggle weapons into Lebanon. Additionally, Netanyahu stated earlier in the week that Bashar al-Assad is "playing with fire," referencing the terror infrastructure he allows on Syrian soil, weapons production, and his disregard for arms smuggling from Syria to Lebanon.

Yet another troubling aspect are groups using Syria as a staging ground:

Another element that raises alarm within the defense establishment involves the various rebel factions, some of which are part of global terrorist groups like Jabhat al-Nusra. Some factions are supported by Turkey, others by Ukraine, and some consist of Syrian civilians. Israel aims to ensure that no entity exploits the situation to engage in activities hostile to Israeli interests.

Lastly, Israel needs to decide how to respond to opposition forces trying to wrest control of Syria from Assad:

Rebel forces in Syria, led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham organization, launched an offensive in the north of the country starting on Wednesday, targeting the cities of Aleppo, Idlib, and other areas under Assad's control.

The rebels have reached the outskirts of Aleppo, and battles are now ongoing between them and the Syrian army, which issued a statement claiming it inflicted significant losses on the rebels.

Actually, things are changing so fast that we need to let you know that the rebel forces in Syria have captured the city of Aleppo despite what the Syrian media reports. Iran, Russia, and Assad are losing their grip now in Syria after having lost it in Hamas and Lebanon. My friends, rather than ramping down, the region is heating up. Pray that Israel will have the anointing of the Sons of Issachar as they make decisions about what to do next.