Day 15 — Israel in Crisis
Updated: Oct 22, 2023
News
Hamas Releases Two, Keeps Two Hundred
No doubt, knowing 1) a ground invasion was imminent, 2) the world is now comparing Hamas to ISIS, and 3) the US president has given Israel the green light to destroy them, Hamas released two hostages for “humanitarian reasons.” We know this is nonsense because Hamas is inhumane. I'm not being cheeky; I'm telling you the truth. They are Nazi-ish.
You can’t cut babies' heads off one week and then proclaim yourself a tremendous humanitarian organization the next. They did this because the state of Israel is now an existential threat to Hamas, and they want to drip-release hostages to hold off an attack.
After releasing Judith Raanan and her teenage daughter Natalie, the terrorist organization released a statement saying that this was “to prove to the American people and the world that the claims made by Biden and his fascist administration are false and baseless.” Whatever…
They say this with a straight face while holding 201 additional hostages, amongst them, people who are injured, maimed, women, children… Real humanitarians!
Having said that, we are thrilled for Judith and Natalie to be free. Natilie's father Uri was overwhelmed, “I’m in tears, and I feel very, very good …. They look good and sound good…” Regarding their reunion, he said, “It’s going to be the best day of my life.”
No Ground Invasion...yet
A ground invasion into booby-trapped Gaza will be costly to Israelis, but it is the only way to destroy Hamas (outside of an Isaiah 37:36 miracle!). And Israel cannot feed hundreds of thousands of soldiers on the border forever. But ... several things happened yesterday that seemed to delay the ground invasion.
As mentioned, two hostages were released.
Egypt has agreed to open its southern border to Palestinians. It is interesting that with all the condemnation of Israel coming out from Ilhan Omar, Rashida Talib, AOC, Cory Bush, and others who don’t live in the same reality as most Americans, there has been zero criticism of Egypt and Jordan not being willing to take in Palestinians and save their lives. Despite the Nazi-like attack on Jews two weeks ago, their denunciations have been squarely aimed at the Jewish state. Egypt finally gave in.
There was some confusion yesterday when the reporter asked President Biden if Israel should delay the ground invasion. President Biden answered, "Yes." But then the White House backtracked and said, "The president was far away. He didn't hear the full question. The question sounded like, 'Would you like to see more hostages released?' He wasn't commenting on anything else." This, according to White House spokesperson Ben LaBolt. This produced some confusion around the world.
Nevertheless, Israel continues to prepare for a dangerous and lengthy ground invasion.
BBC Continues their Antisemitic Tradition with Show
BBC Presenter Gonzalo Canada claimed that the only reason that the U.S. supports Israel is because of Jewish money. “The BBC’s Spanish-language service released a program claiming that ‘Jewish wealth and influence’ in the United States is the reason behind the United States’ ongoing support for Israel.”
Canada cited Jewish success in America as the reason why America supports Israel. He seems to forget that Evangelicals have been even more pro-Israel than some American Jews. Evangelicals see Israel as a critical player in the end times and feel that believers have a God-given mandate to love Israel. Traditionally, the Republican Party has been more pro-Israel than the Democratic Party, despite 70% of Jews voting Democrat. Not too long ago, the Democratic Convention tried to throw out pro-Israel language from its platform. In other words, his antisemitic hypothesis is just typical Jew-hatred.
On the one hand,
leftists say that you can criticize Israel
and still like Jews.
But then they blame Jews
for everything happening in Israel.
America stands with Israel because Israel is the closest thing to America in the Middle East and because many Americans believe that God has commanded the church to bless Israel.
The BBC has come under attack recently for not being willing to call Hamas operatives terrorists. President Isaac Herzog boldly and publicly challenged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to deal with this.
Hamas used Cheap Cocaine to Help in Horrific Crimes Against Humanity
Captagon is “a synthetic amphetamine-type stimulant” that was found in the pockets of dead terrorists, according to the Jerusalem Post. It has been referred to as the cocaine of the poor. The drug “allowed the terrorists to commit heinous acts with a sense of calmness and indifference. Simultaneously, it kept them highly alert for extended periods and suppressed their appetite.”
Stories
Ofir Libstein
One of the things that I've learned over the past several months of living in southern Israel is the beauty of the south. Ofir Libstein brought his wife down to Kfar Aza. Your typical Israeli tourist never makes it to the flower festivals in the winter and spring, but they are magical. The “Darom Adom” (Red South, named after the red calanit flower) was his initiative. His widow describes the south as 95% heaven and 5% hell. Sadly, on a beautiful October morning, her family would endure the 5% of hell.
When the bombs began to fall in the early morning, he was told of an infiltration. Ofir put his family in the safe room and took his gun as he exited his house. He went straight to the armory to get weapons and then to fight the Hamas savages. A terrorist coming in on a paraglider shot him and killed him.
Watch the whole story here. Thanks to All Israel News for adding English subtitles.
Millionaire speaks of daughter’s death and Israel’s next steps
Eyal Waldman would gladly trade his millions to bring back his daughter Danielle and her boyfriend Noam, who were gunned down by Hamas. All Israel News also added subtitles to this powerful interview with the entrepreneur. Watch it till the end!
Hersh Goldberg-Polin Tied his Tourniquet
American-born Hersh told his mom that he and his friend were going camping after celebrating the last day of Sukkot. They went to the all-night rave in the desert with thousands of other young adults. Early in the morning, she got two texts from him, “one telling his parents he loved them, the other saying, ‘I’m sorry.’”
He and his friend hid in a shelter. The terrorists threw several grenades inside. Such a thing never entered his mind the night before as he left the synagogue. His friend Aner Shapiro, threw as many grenades back at the terrorists as he could. Shapiro was eventually killed, and Hersh’s arm was blown off from the elbow.
He was a medic in the IDF and tied his own tourniquet. The terrorists called to any survivors to come out and surrender. “Goldberg-Polin was loaded onto the back of a pickup with other hostages.” If he is still alive, he is in Gaza. Pray that his American citizenship and injuries will help ensure a quick release.
Hamas officials still claim that they only attacked soldiers. I guess the 201 hostages are all soldiers? And the mother and daughter that they released last night were actually navy seals.
Needs
We are working on the computers I told you about yesterday and the tactical gear. UPDATE! Just found 15 affordable computers!!! We will buy them tomorrow and take them to Ashkelon.
We are still getting requests from soldiers about bulletproof vests. This is very confusing for me because I hear on the news that everyone has one. Clearly, they do not. Please pray that this issue is resolved! I am also still waiting on this ‘mystery man’ to deliver me 42 bulletproof vests. Pray he finds me.
Today, we are looking for eight pairs of combat boots for a unit in the south. If the retailer is nearby, we will deliver them tomorrow to the soldiers: 5600 NIS ($1400). Please pray because we are having a hard time buying them online, though they appear to be in stock.
Revival of Generosity!
Thank you so much for your giving. Every day I am blown away. It is like a revival of generosity.
Our sole focus is making sure that you're gifts are making a real difference in the lives of Israelis.
We hope to revisit the Ashkelon hospital this week and deliver some good news to Dr. Tsangan in person. A good part of the city has been evacuated. He oversees the NICO unit, protecting premature babies. The hospital has been hit three times in the last two weeks with rockets. It is a miracle no one has been hurt… An absolute miracle!
Prayer requests:
Pray for the troops that are stationed on the Gaza border. It is very hot today. Pray for their morale to stay high.
Pray for more hostages to be released. Pray that Hamas will give in to pressure and release all women and children, As well as all noncombatants and those injured. They apparently do not like being compared to the savages in ISIS, so pray that they feel the pressure hard!
Pray for every soldier to have a bulletproof vest, bulletproof helmet, and everything else he or she needs to go into battle.
There are thousands of traumatized Israelis, many of them children, who have been evacuated from their homes in the South. My niece is at a hotel in Netanya (middle/north Israel). Pray for their healing.
Pray for Shelanu TV. Let's not forget why this ministry exists! Our primary and unashamed desire is for our people to know the Messiah of Israel—Yeshua. Pray that Israelis find our videos and TV channel and listen with an open heart.
Pray that this revival of generosity continues, and that Yeshua gets all the glory! We want to glorify his name in Israel.
Please pray for our protection as Elana and I go in and out of the south.
Lastly, there may be a few more typos today. I usually do not work on Shabbat, but these are extraordinary times. But I am on my own today in terms of proofreading.
