I am a Jewish Israeli who comes from a millennia-long line of Jewish Israelis. We may have had different names over the years – Hebrews, Israelites, Judeans, Jews – but from the patriarchs to our nation now, we are the same people. What that means is that we have the same God over us as our ancestors had when they crossed the Red Sea and when they stood strong against the Assyrian army. Nothing has changed in the Lord’s heart since the day He told Abraham that He would make him into a great nation and would bless those who blessed him and curse those who cursed him.
All you need to do is watch the news to know how true that statement is. Just ask the Gazans. Just ask Hezbollah. Sadly for dearly departed, there are others you can no longer ask – like Qassem Soleimani, Saleh Al-Arouri, Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, and so many more. You can ask the leaders of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who have twice launched at Israel a missile volley bigger than any other in the history of world, and have twice failed miserably in their results. You can’t really blame them for a lack of planning or a poor strategy. They mistakenly thought they were going up against Israel’s missile defenses. What they didn’t realize was that they were really going up against Almighty God. Anyone is going to lose a fight like that, no matter how big and how plentiful their missiles are.
The Battle in Lebanon
The newsletter week began with sad news. In just two days, October 24 and 25, 13 Israeli soldiers were killed in action in Lebanon and Gaza. As the nation was still mourning that loss, a heavy barrage of rockets was fired from Lebanon on Tuesday at northern Israel. One of the rockets struck the town of Maalot-Tarshiha, killing a 22-year-old Israeli Arab man. Throughout the week, other rockets were fired and suicide UAVs were launched.
Thankfully, between the IDF’s constant airstrikes and Hezbollah’s difficulty in rearming, the terrorist group is finding it more and more difficult to strike at Israel. Yoav Gallant, Israeli Defense Minister, said on Tuesday that Hezbollah only has 20% of its rockets and missiles left, and those batteries are not organized. Every day, that number decreases even more as the IDF carries out its sorties. This past week, Beirut, Baalbek, and Tyre were all hit particularly hard. Iran is watching this and realizing that Hezbollah cannot effectively respond to Israel. At the same time, Hezbollah is watching Iran and learning that it can no longer rely on their benefactor nation to effectively support them.
In other news, Hezbollah has announced a new leader to take the place of Hassan Nasrallah who was permanently removed from office in a targeted killing. Naim Qassem, a former deputy of Nasrallah, is now the official secretary general of the terrorist group. I’ve decided to let you fill in your favorite “short-timer” joke here, because sometimes there are just way too many options from which to choose.
Gaza and UNRWA
On Tuesday, a unit of elite “ghost” IDF soldiers entered a building in Jabalia, northern Gaza. As they reached the upper floors, an explosive device was detonated killing four, aged 20-to-22, and wounding three others, one of them seriously. Once again, the nation mourned.
On Monday, the Israeli Knesset passed a law banning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) from operating within its borders. Not surprisingly, the UN is having kittens, as is most of the world’s media. But anyone who has truly been following the war, beginning with the October 7 attack, know that UNRWA has allowed itself to passively be used by, and at times actively participated with, the terrorists of Hamas. How could any nation be expected to allow a pseudo-humanitarian agency that is actively working toward the country’s demise to operate free-and-clear? Kudos to Israel’s government for shutting down these shills and charlatans.
West Bank-Born Terrorism
Several dozen people were boarding a bus at a stop near Glilot base north of Tel Aviv on Sunday morning. Suddenly, a full trailer truck intentionally swerved off the road and plowed through the crowd and into the bus. At least 40 were injured, with one 72-year-old man succumbing to his wounds The driver of the truck, an Israel Arab from Kalansweh, an Arab city just outside the borders of the West Bank, was shot dead by civilians at the scene.
Later that same day, a terrorist accelerated his vehicle toward IDF soldiers who were carrying out counterterrorism work in Hizma, West Bank. When no one was struck, the driver leapt from his vehicle with a knife in his hand in an attempt to stab someone. He was shot and killed by soldiers. We cannot forget about the West Bank when we are praying for Israel. It is a breeding ground for terrorism and can be just as dangerous for IDF troops as Lebanon and Gaza.
Israel Strikes Back at Iran
Early Saturday morning, Israel executed its strike against Iran in retaliation for the Islamic regime’s Operation True Promise 2 – a failed operation which launched nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel. Not surprisingly, the IDF was much more successful than Iran’s IRGC. After hacking and freezing Iranian radar screens, the Israeli Air Force was able to send wave after wave of bomb-laden jets toward Tehran and other key strategic sites.
Here are some of the ramifications of this attack. First, the strike wiped out Iran’s air defense capabilities, including their three remaining Russian S-300 air defense systems. Second, Tehran was made especially vulnerable by this strategy, as was western Iran from which the long-range missiles had been fired from toward Israel. Third, the IDF estimates that it will be two-to-three years before Iran can build back up their air defense capabilities. Fourth, although Iran still holds over 2,000 long-range ballistic missiles, it will have to ration them because their ability to build more was destroyed by the Israeli airstrike. Fifth, there was unfortunately no damage to Iran’s stockpile of UAVs. Sixth, Israel is preparing for a retaliatory strike by Iran. However, this time the Americans are expected to participate to a greater degree in the defense and interception of missiles.
This is my quick summary. A very complex strike occurred on numerous targets with every plane returning safely. Israel has now proven that it can strike Iran when and where it wants. Iran was left with a much-weakened air defense system, while Israel’s has recently been bolstered by three additional THAAD air defense systems. Israel has grown stronger, while Iran has become much weaker. Now, Israel sits and waits alongside much of the world to see what the United States will do on November 5.
Late News: CNN reported that Iran has very likely made a decision to respond against Israel before the U.S. elections. The probable reason for them making such an ill-advised move is because they think that a new White House is coming that will make striking back against Israel much more difficult. Thus, they let their demonic Islamic pride overcome their common sense. If the chance of this happening is shown to be high, then we just might see Israel preemptively strike Iran with a harder blow. This could be a very interesting weekend.
One last thing to remember: if Iran thinks that Israel has forgotten their attempt on our prime minister’s life, they are sadly mistaken. Sleep on that, Mr. Supreme Leader.
Boxing Day in Israel
For those of you who know my friendship with boxing legend Manny Pacquiao, you know how hard it is for me to say the following words – “Floyd Mayweather, Jr., is a great guy!” But it is absolutely true! Currently, Mayweather is in Israel, his fourth trip since the war began, visiting wounded IDF soldiers and doing what he can to encourage people. He even met with Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday, telling him, “Your strength and courage to protect the Jewish people is inspiring.” So, even though one of the wins in his perfect 50-0 record was against Manny, I’ve still got to stand up and cheer this great sports hero.
A Contrast of American Women
Lisa Johnson, the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, is actively advocating within the Lebanese political system for the government to begin preparing for a post-Hezbollah era. “The Lebanese people must demonstrate their determination to rise up and free themselves from Hezbollah,” the ambassador was reported as saying. Agreed, Ambassador Johnson, and well said. It is only when the citizens of Lebanon unite to oust Hezbollah that the people will finally be free.
In contrast, Ariana Tabatabai, the Pentagon official under suspicion for leaking highly classified material about Israel to Iran, has been transferred to a new role where she will oversee education and training within the Defense Secretary’s office. With this new position, she will have much less access to confidential material. My question is why does she have access to any material at all and why has she not yet been arrested?
A Contrast of UNIFIL Responses
Eight Austrian soldiers assigned to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were injured by a Hezbollah rocket on Tuesday that was fired into the middle of the international force’s Naqoura base in Lebanon. The world’s media responded with a stern whisper followed by silence. However, when Israel attacked terrorists near the same base back on October 10, the collective heads of the international community exploded. Hezbollah conducted a direct attack on UNIFIL; Israel conducted an adjacent attack that didn’t touch UNIFIL. But are we surprised at the responses? Absolutely not. As we all know – no Jews, no news.
Amir Tsarfati is a fmr Deputy Governor of Jericho, Israeli tour guide, author, and the Founder and President of Behold Israel.
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