The Ceasefire Is Over

As I predicted the ceasefire ended after Hamas refused to work with negotiators and release more hostages as we’re told in a report from The Times Of Israel where Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke to Israelis directly:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists in a televised address from Tel Aviv that Israel “will continue to fight” until all of its war goals are achieved in Gaza — returning all the hostages, destroying Hamas, and ensuring Gaza will never again constitute a threat to Israel.

He said that he sympathizes for the hostages and their families:

He says, “My heart, all of our hearts, are with the hostages and their families.”

“They are going through an inhuman nightmare every day, every minute,” he says of the hostages still in Gaza. He states that his commitment is to work tirelessly to free all the hostages, living and dead.

The PM then castigates the press that he believes is carrying water for Hamas and then gave a warning to the terrorists:

As he often does, Netanyahu blasts the press for “lies” and denies any political considerations were behind the resumed military operation in Gaza.

“They have no shame, they have no red lines,” he asserts, referring to critics in the media. “They simply echo Hamas’s propaganda time and time again,” he argues. “So I want to say to Hamas — don’t rely on this. Because nothing will stop us from achieving all the goals of the war.”

Netanyahu praised those in the IDF and those in the security establishment for their help. He then gave his logic for returning to fighting against Hamas:

Regarding the fighting in Gaza, Netanyahu insists that “military pressure is a necessary condition” for further hostage releases. “Hurting Hamas militarily and the freeing of our hostages are not contradictory goals. They are goals that complement each other.”

He thanked the US for helping fight the Houthis and agreed with US President Trump that they are also weakening Iran when they do so:

On the ballistic missile fired by the Houthis in Yemen at Israel earlier today, Netanyahu says that he “greatly appreciates” US military cooperation against the “Iranian axis in Yemen.”

“We still have a great deal of work to do against other parts of the axis of evil,” he says before his customary sign-off that a unified Israel will defeat its enemies. “With God’s help, united we will act, and united we will win.”

The Last Resort

As widely reported, the IDF returned to attacking Hamas in Gaza as we continue to read from The Times report:

Israel has returned to intensive combat against Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says in a televised address, adding that the intelligence services and IDF recommended the course of action and that it was a last resort after weeks of failed efforts to get Hamas to free more hostages.

The PM stated that Hamas had more than enough opportunities to continue the ceasefire and more than enough warnings of what would happen if they didn’t:

According to Netanyahu, the terror group turned down all proposals to release more of the 59 hostages still held in Gaza, 24 of whom are believed to be alive. He says Israel “extended the ceasefire for weeks during which we did not receive hostages” in order to exhaust all the chances for Hamas to end its obduracy.

He said that Israel sent negotiators in the hopes of getting a deal, but that didn’t happen:

Speaking in a recorded video statement released during primetime evening news broadcasts, after massive Israeli airstrikes in Gaza overnight, he says Israel sent delegations to Doha and Cairo, to no avail.

While Israel accepted US envoy Steve Witkoff’s proposal for hostages to be freed and the ceasefire extended, he goes on, “Hamas rejected every proposal, time after time.”

Netanyahu wanted to extend the deal but Hamas gave Israel no choice but to start the war again:

Netanyahu has sought instead to extend the ceasefire and secure more hostage releases without entering phase two, and Hamas has refused.

Netanyahu says that he always promised that if Hamas remained implacable, the military campaign would resume.

“And indeed, we have gone back to fighting,” Netanyahu says “We have gone back to fighting with force.”

And he said that the fighting won’t stop even if negotiations are held:

Netanyahu declares that Israel will now operate with steadily growing force against Hamas.

“From now on,” Netanyahu continues, “negotiations will be conducted only under fire.”

“This is only the beginning,” Netanyahu warns Hamas.

After many, many warnings from both Israel and the US to change their tune, Hamas didn’t listen or, if they did, decided they could stall things further. Now they are out of time.

The Middle East Is Heating Up

In a report from Amir Tsarfati, many areas of the Middle East is seeing increased military action:

In the last few hours, let me explain what happened. Israel attacked multiple times in Lebanon against Hezbollah. Israel struck over 30 times in Syria against former Assad regime military bases that HTS, the current jihadists, are about to take over. So again, Syria and Lebanon are clashing right now. Although they always say there is some agreement between them, they are killing each other as we speak.

I can confirm that the clash between Syria and Lebanon is happening from an article in The Epoch Times and apparently they have called a truce, but the tensions there are real. In Iraq they are concerned about attacks from Israel:

In Iraq, the Iraqi Ministry of Defense announced that they received information about imminent Israeli strikes on terrorist targets in Iraq.

Iran has elevated its alertness to the maximum. Iranian fighter jets—old, but still fighter jets—are patrolling all across the skies of Iran right now. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Defense just announced that three more aircraft carriers are on their way to the Middle East.

Tsarfati then mentions what is happening in Yemen where the US continues to pound the Houthis and the Houthis try and fight back:

And I forgot to mention the biggest part—multiple U.S. strikes in Yemen. Multiple U.S. strikes in Yemen.

And the Israel Defense Force (IDF) had to strike down a rocket sent at them by the Houthis as we’re told in a report from The Jerusalem Post. The IDF intercepted it before it entered Israeli air space. Tsarfati then summarizes the events for us:

So, let’s go over this again. In just the last few hours:

Multiple attacks in Lebanon by Israel.

Multiple attacks in Syria by Israel.

Clashes between Lebanon and Syria.

Multiple attacks by America in Yemen.

Iraq bracing for an Israeli strike.

Iran bracing for a U.S. strike.

He notes that the US is sending three more aircraft carriers into the area which could mean that the aforementioned Iranian attacks could be upcoming. Tsarfati correctly states that Iran fears Trump:

I want to remind you, folks, that the Iranians are afraid of Trump… This is a credible threat. And Trump is doing this in the middle of the night to make it look even better because when it’s dark, the explosions are way more spectacular and dramatic.

He then echoes my feelings on what could happen in the area:

Folks, the Middle East is about to explode again. Israel is striking in Lebanon nonstop. Israel is striking in Syria nonstop. There are clashes between Lebanon and Syria. Iran and Iraq are bracing for something big.

Hamas is being attacked again and now everywhere we look, terrorists are being hit either by the IDF or the US. For now I’d say the focus on peace in the Middle East is tenuous at best, at least in the short term. But peace through strength might have a chance. And praying for the peace of Jerusalem is definitely something all Christians should be doing in light of all this information.