War

They Shall Come Back

October 13, 2025 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

And they shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope in your future, says the Lord, your sons shall come back to their own border. Jeremiah 21:16b-17

This happened today, Monday October 13.

Exactly two years ago, on the Holiday of Succot (booths), Hamas brutally attacked southern Israel from Gaza, murdering 1,200 Israelis and abducting 251 into Gaza. Israel declared war on Hamas and that has been fought since then.

Now, there is great joy in Israel as all the hostages are Home.

So, all who had returned from the captivity…sat under the booths… And there was very great joy and gladness. Nehemiah 8:17

Late on October 9, Israel’s cabinet formally approved plans for a ceasefire with Hamas, setting a Gaza peace process in motion.

Phase I

U.S. President Donald Trump announced that it constituted the “first phase” of his twenty-point peace plan that the White House had unveiled last week.

Qatar, a critical player in the mediation efforts, confirmed the developments, as did Israeli and Hamas officials. It has been a long and drawn out effort of negotiations between Israel and Hamas through the mediators, Egypt and Qatar, for the release of the remaining hostages still held in Hamas’ terra-dungeons in Gaza, because of Hamas’ unreasonable demands.

Israel’s military action in Gaza had reportedly intensified until right up to the ceasefire deadline. Since the truce, Palestinians have been returning in droves to Gaza City after an Israeli military spokesperson declared it safe to head back to the enclave’s previously most populous city.

The Israeli army, Israel Defense Forces (IDF), agreed to withdraw their troops up to a line that leaves it in control of 53 percent of the strip.

With the withdrawal complete, a seventy-two-hour window was given to Hamas to return the remaining hostages taken on October 7. Twenty were believed to be alive; another twenty-eight deceased. This is the first stage of the agreement.

Until now, out of the 251 hostages, 147 were released or exchanged in prior deals, eight of whom were dead, and the bodies of dozens more have been recovered by the IDF.

In this first phase, Hamas agreed to release the hostages safely and quietly, without victory demonstrations.

Israel agreed to release 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences in Israel, as well as 1,700 detainees from Gaza.

Israel published its official list of who would be freed on Friday; not including several high-profile political figures at the top of Hamas’s list. Israel also agreed to give back fifteen Palestinian bodies for the remains of each Israeli hostage it received.

Trump was very pleased with the progress, as he said that it was a “great day” for the Arab and Muslim world, Israel and all surrounding nations, as well as the US. “We thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!” he posted.

As Israel anxiously awaited the return of the 20 live hostages and the bodies of twenty-eight hostages brutally murdered by Hamas, there was an extensive preparation underway to receive the bodies, honor the fallen, and support their bereaved families.

However, the exact number of the fallen hostages remains uncertain. There is also the danger that the bodies may be booby-trapped with grenades or explosives, as was the case in the past.

President Donald Trump arrived in Israel this morning for a very short visit. It coincided with the arrival of the hostages from Gaza.

President Trump’s visit lasted close to four hours. Air Force One landed at Ben Gurion Airport at 9:20 a.m. and due to the short visit, there was only a red carpet, flag bearers, honorary salutes and handshakes, but no speeches and no anthems.

Phase II

The President visited the Israeli Knesset (parliament) where he delivered a speech. Then he flew to Egypt for a summit of Arab and world leaders on the topic of Gaza to raise support and finalize an agreement over the second phase of the president’s post-war Gaza plan. Israel was not invited to attend the summit.

During the summit, leaders are expected to sign the U.S.-brokered peace agreement aimed at ending the conflict in Gaza. [Click here to read Trump’s 20 points of the Gaza peace proposal.]

Let’s thank the Lord that the 20 live hostages have returned. Please pray for their care and rehabilitation now that they are home. Please pray that all of the deceased will be returned. Pray that Israel will be able to eliminate Hamas’s military and political power in Gaza, as part of the second phase. (we will report on that in our next newsletter.)

Image by R.D. Smith, Unsplash

The 20 Points of President Trump’s Peace Plan

October 13, 2025 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

Gaza will be a deradicalized terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbors (out of the two Gaza neighbors, Egypt and Israel.
Gaza will be redeveloped for the benefit of the people of Gaza, who have suffered more than enough.
If both sides agree to this proposal, the war will immediately end. Israeli forces will withdraw to the agreed upon line to prepare for a hostage release. During this time, all military operations, including aerial and artillery bombardment, will be suspended, and battle lines will remain frozen until conditions are met for the complete staged withdrawal.
Within 72 hours of Israel publicly acceptation this agreement, all hostages, alive and deceased, will be returned.
Once all hostages are released, Israel will release 250 life sentence prisoners plus 1700 Gazans who were detained after October 7th 2023, including all women and children. For every Israeli hostage whose remains are released, Israel will release the remains of 15 deceased Gazans.
Once all hostages are returned, Hamas members who commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty. Members of Hamas who wish to leave Gaza will be provided safe passage to receiving countries.
Upon acceptance of this agreement, full aid will be immediately sent into the Gaza Strip. At a minimum, aid quantities will be consistent with what was included in the January 19, 2025 agreement regarding humanitarian aid, including rehabilitation of infrastructure, such as water, electricity, sewage, rehabilitation of hospitals and bakeries, and entry of necessary equipment to remove rubble and open roads.
Entry of distribution and aid in the Gaza Strip will proceed without interference from the two parties (Israel and Hamas) through the United Nations and its agencies, and the Red Crescent, in addition to other international institutions not associated in any manner with either party.
Gaza will be governed under the temporary transitional government of a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee, responsible for delivering the day to day running of public services and municipalities for the people of Gaza. This committee will be made up of qualified Palestinians and international experts with oversight and supervision by a new international transitional body, the “Board of Peace,” which will be headed and chaired by President Donald J. Trump, with other members and heads of States to be announced, including Former Prime Minister Tony Blair. This body will set the framework and handle the funding for the redevelopment of Gaza until such a time as the Palestinian Authority has completed its reform, as outlined in various proposals, including President Trump’s peace plan in 2020 and the Saudi-French proposal, and can securely and effectively take back control of Gaza. This body will call on best international standards to create modern and efficient governance that serves the people of Gaza and is conductive to attracting investment.
A Trump economic development plan to rebuild and energize Gaza will be created by convening a panel of experts who have helped birth some the thriving modern miracle cities in the Middle East. Many thoughtful investment proposals and exciting development ideas have been crafted by will-meaning international groups, and will be considered to synthesize the security and governance frameworks to attract and facilitate these investments that will create jobs, opportunity, and hope for future Gaza.
A special economic zone will be established with preferred tariff and access rates to be negotiated with participating countries.
No one will be forced to leave Gaza, and those who want to leave will be free to do so and free to return. We will encourage people to stay and offer them the opportunity to build a better Gaza.
Hamas and other factions agree not to have any role in the governance of Gaza, directly, indirectly, or in any form. All military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapon production facilities, will be destroyed and not rebuilt. There will be a process of demilitarization of Gaza under the supervision if independent monitors, which will include placing weapons permanently beyond use through an agreed process of demilitarization of decommissioning, and supported by an internationally funded buy back and reintegration program all verified by the independent monitors. New Gaza will be fully committed to building a prosperous economy and to peaceful coexistence with their neighbors (Israel and Egypt).
A guarantee will be provided by regional partners to ensure that Hamas and other factions (terror organizations) comply with their obligations and that New Gaza posses no threat to its neighbors (Israel) or its own people.
The US will work with Arab and international partners to develop a temporary International Stabilization Force (ISF)to immediately deploy in Gaza. The ISF will train and provide support to a vetted Palestinian police force in Gaza, and will consult with Jordan and Egypt who have extensive experience in this field. This force will be the long-term internal security solution. The ISF will work with Israel and Egypt to help secure border areas, along with newly trained Palestinian police forces. It is critical to prevent supply of ammunition from entering Gaza and to facilitate the rapid and secure flow of goods to rebuild and revitalize Gaza. A deconfliction mechanism will be agreed upon by the parties.
Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza. As the ISF establishes control and stability, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will withdraw based on standards, milestones, and timeframes linked to demilitarization that will be agreed upon between the IDF, ISF, the guarantors, and the Unites States, with the objective of a secure Gaza that no longer poses a threat to Israel, Egypt, or its citizens. Practically, the IDF will progressively hand over the Gaza territory it occupies to the ISF according to an agreement they will make with the transitional authority until they are withdrawn completely from Gaza, save for a security perimeter presence that will remain until Gaza is properly secure from any resurgent terror threat.
In the event Hamas delays or rejects this proposal, the above, including the scaled-up aid operation, will proceed in the terror-free areas handed over from the IDF to the ISF.
An interfaith dialogue process will be established based on the values of tolerance and peaceful co-existence to try and change mindsets and narratives of Palestinians and Israelis by emphasizing the benefits that can be derived from peace.
While Gaza re-development advances and when the PA reform program is faithfully carried out, the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognize as the aspiration of the Palestinian people.
The United States will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous co-existence.

Israel and Hamas agreed to halt fighting. This initial ceasefire went into effect on Friday after Israel’s cabinet formally approved the agreement the day before. Trump’s peace plan sketches this out as “all military operations, including aerial and artillery bombardment, will be suspended, and battle lines will remain frozen.”

Image from Aliaksei Lepik, Unsplash

10 Killed, Including Two Children, in Overnight Iranian Missile Strikes

June 15, 2025 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

הֶן עָם כְּלָבִיא יָקוּם וְכַאֲרִי יִתְנַשָּׂא

A Nation rises like a lion; the people rouse themselves like a lion…Numbers 23:24

Israel continues to recover from one of the deadliest escalations in its ongoing conflict with Iran after an unprecedented overnight missile barrage left at least 10 people dead, including two children, and hundreds wounded.

Rescue operations remain underway, with emergency services still searching for survivors trapped beneath collapsed buildings. The heaviest damage occurred in Bat Yam, just south of Tel Aviv, where a residential building suffered a direct hit from an Iranian missile carrying heavy explosives.

Six people, including two children, were killed instantly. In the immediate aftermath, at least seven people were reported missing. However, emergency services have since located four of the missing individuals alive and receiving treatment in hospitals, reducing the number of missing persons to three.

Rescue teams from the Home Front Command continue complex operations at the Bat Yam site, where portions of the building remain dangerously unstable. Large sections of the structure are partially suspended, threatening the safety of both those trapped and the rescuers. According to authorities, the projectile that struck Bat Yam was not a new model but part of a salvo of known long-range heavy munitions, each containing hundreds of kilograms of explosives.

The building that was hit also housed a command center and shelter on the ground floor, though most of those located on the upper floors managed to escape unharmed. Victims were primarily found in unprotected areas of the structure.

(Pictured Left: Israeli rescue workers at the scene where a ballistic missile fired from Iran caused damage in Bat Yam on June 15, 2025. Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

In a separate strike in northern Israel, an Iranian missile hit a home in Tamra, killing four members of the same family and injuring 20 others. The attacks mark one of the most devastating nights in Israel since the beginning of the war.

Meanwhile, further south, Home Front Command rescue teams managed to pull a Holocaust survivor from the rubble of a damaged building in Rehovot. His son, present at the scene, embraced the rescue teams and thanked them for saving his father’s life. Nearby, the Weizmann Institute also sustained damage, with fires breaking out in some laboratories following another missile strike.

The Iranian barrage, launched in response to Israeli airstrikes on Tehran’s nuclear infrastructure, included not only missiles but also reports of drone activity and launches from additional regional actors, including Yemen. Israel continues to face simultaneous threats across multiple fronts.

As the situation remains volatile, Israeli defense forces remain on high alert for further escalation while search and rescue teams continue their dangerous work in hopes of locating the remaining missing individuals.

Please pray for the protection of all of Israel at this volatile time, and as the Holy Spirit leads.

“Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumbers nor sleeps.”

Iran – The Head of the Octopus

October 15, 2024 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

“You will set Your throne in Elam (Persia, today Iran), And will destroy from there the king and the princes, We pray You destroy the evil anti-semite regime of Iran and its military that aims to destroy Israel…You will bring disaster upon them, Your fierce anger,’ ‘And I will send the sword after them Until I have consumed them.'”
According to Your Word, Lord in Jeremiah 49:35, 38

O God, You are more awesome than Your holy places. The GOD OF ISRAEL is He who gives strength and power to His people.

Iran, the arch enemy of Israel, which many Israelis consider to be the head of the octopus, is today the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism and the greatest threat in the Middle East. Iranians are not Arabs but they are Shiite Muslims. The Iranian revolutionary regime’s basic ideology opposes Western values and interests.

Iran aim is to reach the Mediterranean coast and Israel’s borders by creating a passage through Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon by providing advanced weapons to its terrorist proxies to attack Israel. Today, it uses this passage to transfer military equipment and terrorists to Israel’s northern border.

Iran’s Nuclear Program

The development of Iran’s nuclear program poses an existential threat to the Jewish state and the rest of the world. It even risks triggering a nuclear arms race with the Arab world, further destabilizing the region and damaging U.S. interests. For years, the PM of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu has warned leading world nations in the world that the leading state sponsor of terrorism can never be allowed to obtain the world’s deadliest weapon. The Iranian regime has fooled the world by consistently lying of the true purpose of its nuclear program and hiding key aspects of it. Israeli intelligence has exposed Iran’s true intentions by breaking into Tehran’s Nuclear archives, demonstrably proving that Iran has been engaged in a nuclear arms developing program.

In June 2022, the IAEA Board (International Atomic Energy Agency) censured Iran for failing to provide “technically credible” answers regarding hidden nuclear sites, expanding its nuclear program beyond agreed limits, and limiting international inspectors’ access to suspected undisclosed nuclear sites.

By spending enormous amounts of money to further its nuclear project and funding its terrorist proxies throughout the region, the Iranian regime demonstrates that this is its priority over providing for their own people.

Iran’s Objective

The Ayatollah’s aims is to expand Iran’s influence in the Arab world by spreading hatred to Israel and America.

Iranian leadership encourages its people in public events to burn and stamp on US and Israeli flags and chant the slogans “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”.
Picture of Khamenei from X

Furthermore, along with verbal demonstrations of hatred toward America and Israel, Iran has taken action against the two Western nations.

The regime is a threat to U.S. forces stationed in the region, to Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other U.S. allies. Since 1979, the Iranian regime has invested resources in attacking Israel and American forces deployed in the Middle East and beyond.

Iran’s Arsenol

Iran has the largest and most diverse ballistic missile arsenal in the Middle East. It is the only country to develop a 2,000-km missile without first having nuclear weapons capability. Most were acquired from foreign sources, notably North Korea.
Picture from War on the Rocks
It is noteworthy that Israel has more ballistic missiles, but they are fewer in number and type.

The fundamental motivation behind Iran’s supreme Muslim Shiite leadership is anti-Antisemitism. Since it took over rulership in the revolution, it has deemed Israel as illegitimate. According to its religious concept, “Palestine” (the land of Israel) belongs to the Muslim Palestinians and not to the ‘Jews.’

In their pure antisemitic libel propaganda, Israel is a Western imperialist state and the Jews advance American imperialism in the Middle East. According to the Ayatollah’s regime, this is a struggle between good (them) and evil (America, the big satan, and Israel the little satan.) and that Muslims have a religious obligation to resist Israel and global Jewry, accusing the Jews of being the first to start anti-Islamic propaganda.

Iran’s “Sacred Duty” and the Proliferation of Anti-Semitism

The Ayatollahs claim that resistance to the Jewish state is the sacred duty of “every Muslim and anyone who believes in Allah.” “Israel is a cancerous tumor on Islam’s body [in the Middle East] that must be removed [from existence.]”

Recently, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei declared: “The divine promise to eliminate the Zionist entity will be fulfilled and we will see the day when Palestine will rise from the river to the sea.” (that is the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea (which is today the land of Israel.)

Iran’s supreme leader leads in Holocaust denial, making such false ridiculous statements as: “there are documents showing close collaboration of the Zionists with Nazi Germany, and exaggerated numbers relating to the Jewish Holocaust that were fabricated to solicit the sympathy of world public opinion, to lay the ground for the occupation of Palestine, and to justify the atrocities of the Zionists.”

For four decades, the Iranian regime has propagated hatred for Zionism and the Jews by promoting the infamous booklet, “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” and other anti-Semitic tracts.

Iran trains and arms terrorist groups, such as Hamas, Palestine Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah, promoting their attacks on Israel.

For the last year, the Head of the Octopus Iran has been using its arms to fight Israel on several fronts. With ground troops in Gaza and Lebanon, Israel’s air force backs those forces by bombing enemy targets to thwart attacks from Yemen and Shiite militias in Iraq and Syria. Israel also fights Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists in the Judea and Samaria.

Escalation

Iran’s last missile attack last week could likely provoke an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.This would open the largest, biggest, and most intense front so far.
(Illustration from The Cryptonomist)

Last Monday, 7th of October, Israel marked the first anniversary of the October 7, 2023 massacre when thousands of Hamas terrorists stormed into southern Israeli cities and villages, destroying civilian homes, murdering, burning, beheading, and raping and kidnapping over two hundred Israelis.

Two people were injured on the Memorial Day of October 7th, 2024, while sirens sounded across central Israel as a result of rockets fired by Hamas from northern Gaza.

An estimated tens of thousands of Iranians participated in a procession through Tehran with a leader enticing the crowd in chanting “Death to America!” “Death to Israel!

Before the October 7th first anniversary, in a video statement on October 5th Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Today, Israel is defending itself on seven fronts against the enemies of civilization…and we are fighting against Iran, which last week fired over 200 ballistic missiles directly at Israel and which stands behind this seven-front war against Israel,” Netanyahu added.

The Iranian ballistic missile barrage came in response to the limited Israeli ground operation in southern Lebanon to eliminate the Hezbollah threat. It was the first land incursion since the war against Hezbollah in 2006.

Following intelligence that Hezbollah is hiding its weapons and missiles inside homes of southern Lebanese villages, the IDF informed the Lebanese residents to evacuate before the IDF dismantled the Hezbollah infrastructure, underground tunnels included.

“We are targeting Hezbollah strongholds that threaten northern Israeli towns, kibbutzim, and communities along our border,” said IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari. He presented evidence that Hezbollah was planning an operation involving thousands of its terrorist fighters copying Hamas’ October 7, 2023 terror attack on Israel.

“Hezbollah turned Lebanese villages next to Israeli villages into military bases ready for an attack on Israel,” he said. In addition to ground raids, the Israeli Air Force has also increased its air attacks on Hezbollah headquarters since mid-September, including the capital, Beirut.

Terrorist Leadership and the IDF

Until now, Israel has eliminated the commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force following the air raid Damascus on 1 April 2024, Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Teheran, Hezbollah leader and key Iran ally Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut on 27 September and many top Hezbollah commanders. All the while the IDF continues to target Hamas, Hezbollah, and all other regional foes.

Octopus (Illustration from Stable Diffusion Website)

An Amazing Turn of Events

September 24, 2024 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

“…and also against Hamath, which borders it, as well as Tyre and Sidon, though they are very shrewd. And on Tyre and Sidon (cities in south Lebanon,) though they are very skillful. Tyre (on the sea coast, 23 kilometers north of the Israeli border) has built herself a stronghold; she has heaped up silver like dust and gold like the dirt of the streets. But the Lord will take away her possessions and destroy her power on the sea, and she will be consumed by fire.” Zechariah 9:2-4

Pagers

Pagers, used by Hezbollah members to coordinate their military operations, exploded in Beirut and southern Lebanon on Tuesday last week in a remote cyber-attack, killing 12 (the figure is not final) people and injuring close to 3000.

Israel has not officially taken responsibility for the pager Cyber-attack. However, in a process of elimination and due to the ongoing exchange of fire between Israel and Hezbollah in northern Israel and south Lebanon, and given Israel’s intelligence and cyber capabilities, who else could have done it?

Hezbollah blamed Israel and has vowed to retaliate. Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran and designated a terror organization by the United States and the UK, emerged during the Lebanese civil war. Tensions with Israel date back to the 1980s with the militant group declaring Western powers and Israel as their enemies.

Hezbollah fought against Israeli forces in 2006 and began launching rockets into northern Israel in solidarity with Hamas shortly after the start of the war in Gaza. Israel has responded by striking Hezbollah military facilities.

Hezbollah, a Shia militant Iranian proxy terrorist organization that is based in south Lebanon with offices in the capital Beirut, shunned the use of smartphones that can easily be hacked by Israel and turned to using its outdated pager system in order to shield sensitive information from modern hacking techniques. It was a wrong calculation on their part, as it has proven to be false security.

Instead of coordinating military operations, hundreds of pagers held by Hezbollah members exploded. They were remotely hacked, causing their batteries to overheat and explode, resulting in loss of life and many injuries.

The shocking waves of explosions in strongholds such as the southern suburbs of Beirut stunned Hezbollah members and fighters. Among the victims were the son of a Hezbollah member of Parliament. Hospitals in Beirut were overwhelmed by the influx of casualties, with desperate calls for blood donations.

Experts agree that this attack will change warfare from now on. Cyber-attacks are often below the surface, without visible traces or debris. Most of the attacks are aimed at systems or financial institutions, without hurting people.

Walkie-Talkies

The following day, on Wednesday, walkie-talkies and solar equipment exploded in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon in a second wave of attacks targeting Hezbollah electronic devices.

According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, at least nine people were killed and more than 300 people wounded in the second wave.

Just two days earlier, Israel redefined the goal of the war against Hezbollah by adding to its formal war goals the safe return of its citizens who have been evacuated from their homes in northern Israel and near the border with Lebanon due to Hezbollah’s attacks from southern Lebanon.

Thousands of Israelis have been relocated to hotels all around Israel and their lives disrupted after Hezbollah started attacking on October 8, 2023, the day after Hamas’ genocidal killing spree in Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza.

However, even with airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon and the assassination of senior Hezbollah commanders, Israel must take stronger action against Hezbollah to stop their near-daily attacks that have continued for almost a year. A full-blown war is unavoidable.

Hezbollah says it would halt the attacks if there would be a cease-fire in Gaza.
However, Israel must continue the war in Gaza in order to eliminate Hamas, which opposes any deal with Israel.

The U.S.

The United States has pressed for restraint, warning that a wider war in Lebanon would not achieve its goals.

U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein has met with Israeli P.M Netanyahu and made several visits to Lebanon and Israel to try to ease tensions. Hochstein argues that a full-scale war in Lebanon would spark a broader and drawn-out regional conflict. He told the PM that the Biden administration remained committed to finding a diplomatic solution in Gaza and Lebanon.

However, Netanyahu told Hochstein that, with all due respect and appreciation for the U.S. support, there must be a major fundamental in the security situation in northern Israel before residents can return to their homes. Israel must and will “do what is necessary to safeguard its security.”

On Wednesday, a day after the initial cyber-attacks, several blasts were heard at a funeral in Beirut for three Hezbollah members killed by exploding pagers the day before, according to Associated Press journalists at the scene. A photographer in the southern coastal city of Sidon saw a car and a mobile phone shop damaged after devices exploded inside of them.

Welcome to the future. Cyber warfare is now a present-day battlefield, as seen in the attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon. This new battlefield has shifted from land and sea to cyberspace.

Hezbollah’s Response

Hezbollah’s reliance on its invulnerable communication system of pagers has been shattered.

On Saturday night and Sunday morning, Hezbollah sent approximately 150 rockets, cruise missiles, and UAVs, mainly into northern Israel. Most were intercepted by Israel’s multi-layered aerial defense. There were a small number of hits as well as shrapnel falling. “The Israeli Air Force is prepared for both defensive and offensive operations,” the IDF stated.

A teenager was killed when his vehicle crashed as sirens sounded in the early hours of Sunday morning. Three people were wounded in a rocket strike in Kiryat Bialik north of Haifa Sunday morning. Twenty-five cows were killed when a rocket struck a dairy farm in the Jezreel Valley. It was the deepest rocket fired into Israel since the beginning of the war in October.

On Saturday, the IDF carried out a wave of airstrikes against hundreds of Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, including rocket launchers, with the army saying it had identified plans to launch major rocket attacks against Israel.

“IDF strikes will continue and increase against the terrorist organization Hezbollah,” the military said.

PM Netanyahu’s Statement

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented Sunday on the recent escalation between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“We inflicted a series of blows on Hezbollah. If Hezbollah did not get the message, I promise you – it will get the message now,” Netanyahu said.

He also said. “On October 7th, the Hamas terrorist monsters burst into Israel, murdered our people, raped and beheaded our women, burnt babies alive, and took 255 innocent people hostage, including many Americans.”

“A day later, on October 8th, another Iranian terrorist proxy, Hezbollah, attacked Israel completely unprovoked. They fired missiles and rockets into our cities. They made 60,000 Israelis leave their homes along the Lebanon border, becoming refugees in their own land. In the subsequent months, they haven’t stopped attacking us for a single day” Netanyahu said.

“No country can accept the wanton rocketing of its cities. We can’t accept it either,” he declared. “We will take whatever action is necessary to restore security and to bring our people safely to their homes.”

Click here to read more about Hezbollah.

Click here to read more about the situation in Lebanon.

As we write this letter

The Israeli Air Force continues to strike Hezbollah terrorist targets. The Israeli Air Force aircraft, under the direction of the intelligence, attacked about 1,300 Hezbollah targets throughout Lebanon. Prior to the strikes, Israel warned Lebanese civilians in Arabic to evacuate buildings in which weapons are hidden by Hezbollah. On Monday afternoon, multiple barrages of missiles were launched from Lebanon toward Israeli territory, activating sirens in several areas in northern Israel. Several were intercepted. A direct hit was reported on a home in a village, no one was injured. Early this morning sirens were sounded in the Jeszreel Valley and in the Nazareth area. Paramedics are searching areas where reports of explosions have been received. They treated a number of people who were injured while running for shelter, as well as some who were suffering from anxiety. Several blazes ignited near Ami’ad, and were extinguished by firefighting teams.

Please pray as the Holy Spirit leads.

Prayer Requests

Praise and thanks to the Lord for the pager/walkie-talkie strategy where the maximum number of civilians were protected and yet many terrorists were effectively disabled. Praise the Lord that according to His Word, He is fighting for Israel.
Pray for the hearts of Israelis to be moved to confession and repentance during these trying times.
Pray the same for the hearts of Gazans, Lebanese and even Hamas and Hezbollah operatives, as we pray for our enemies.
Pray for protection over all of Israel’s borders.