Shalom all,
Israel Update – Day 23 of the War.
The IDF Spokesman reported tonight that the number of hostages now stands at 239, up 9 from last night, with some 30 of them children.

The IDF destroyed anti-tank positions of Hamas; but rockets continued It can reasonably be said that a second front has opened in the north, but it is on a low fire at this point. The Hezbollah launched six rockets towards the northern city of Kiryat Shmona, causing damage to two buildings. The IDF returned pin-point fire to the launch locations and Hezbollah terror cells.

Central Israel came under heavy rocket attack around Noon, while rockets were launched from Gaza at various Israeli towns and cities throughout the course of the day. Fragments of intercepted rockets fell in residential areas, with one landing in a schoolyard in a suburb of Tel Aviv. 

Israel denies claims made by aid agencies in the Gaza Strip that Israel warned humanitarian aid groups to immediately evacuate al-Quds Hospital, a major hospital in Gaza City. Take the announcements coming out of Gaza with a grain of salt.

The day has been filled with political problems and a seeming disunity among members of the War Cabinet over comments made by P.M. Netanyahu over social media, which he eventually deleted, even expressing an apology for his actions. Hopefully, the mini-crisis is over and everyone will start to work together to get the job done that needs to be done.

In the midst of Israel’s heavy press against Hamas and the Jihadis in Gaza, U.S. President Biden is pressuring Israel to significantly increase the humanitarian aid that is being given to the citizens of Gaza. Either he doesn’t understand, or is willfully ignoring, the fact that Israel has been providing humanitarian aid by dozens of truckloads every day, including today. But, most of the aid is being diverted by Hamas for Hamas. Citizens of northern Gaza were urged by the IDF to move south towards Khan Yunis, but Hamas is forcefully preventing them from complying, wanting to keep the citizens in harm’s way so that Hamas can gain public sympathy because of the number of casualties resulting from the present war. What should be clear to everyone by now, Hamas is willing to sacrifice the citizens of Gaza to win a public relations war against Israel.

And, as if we didn’t have enough to deal with from the Jihadis in Gaza and the Hezbollah in Lebanon, several missiles were fried into Israeli territory from Syria, who up to this point has remained relatively quiet. The IDF responded with artillery fire at the source of the launch. 

Pro-“Palestinian” – Anti-Israel incitement and demonstrations increased significantly in different countries, some being very violent. Local law enforcement is having a difficult time restraining certain mobs.

In this last regard, the big story of the evening is the pro-“Palestinian”, Muslim riot that took place and is still ongoing in the airport in Makhachkala, the capital of the Russian Republic of Dagestan, against the flight that was due to arrive there from Israel. The pilots were made aware if the riots and the plane was re-routed to another airport. The rioters arrived at the other airport as well and were seen rampaging through the airport, breaking through locked doors and even trying to climb into the plane from the outside. According to reports coming out of Russia, the rioters were chanting “Allah Akbar” and were seeking to harm the Israelis who were on the flight. Passengers were told to remain on board the plane for the time being. There are conflicting reports regarding the passengers, with some asserting that all of the passengers were found to possess Russian passports, which were checked by the protesters. Other reports indicate that the passengers were returned to the plane, where the flight crew locked all exits from the plane, while the area was closed off by security forces. The Israelis and Jews are being secured at the airport until they will be evacuated to Moscow. Both the office of the Israeli Prime Minister, as well as the Foreign Ministry, are calling upon the Russian government to protect Israeli citizens. Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian President, whose country is fighting its own war with Russia, said that the attack of the plane “is not an isolated incident in Makhachkala, but rather a part of Russian’s broader culture of hostility toward other countries, propagated by state television, critics and authorities. The Russian foreign minister has made a series of antisemitic remarks in the past year. The Russian president, too, has used antisemitic slurs.”<https://www.ynetnews.com/article/byvmumhza#autoplay>

In addition to the riot at the airport, another violent protest took place outside of the Flamingo Hotel in the city, where some 500 demonstrators demanded the removal of Israelis from the hotel and put up a sign at the entrance to the hotel, that said “Entry for Israeli citizens is strictly prohibited.” <https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-770738>

Last thought: Yahya Sinwar, the head of the Hamas terrorist organization, said yesterday that Hamas was ready for an “immediate” swap of all Israeli hostages for all “Palestinian” prisoners. <https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hjv5rrqz6> Again, no information was forthcoming about the hostages taken to Gaza. The IDF is pushing forward in its ground action into the Gaza enclave. The pressure against Hamas is increasing and even the citizens of Gaza are saying that they are being sacrificed by Hamas. The Spokesman for the IDF said two hours ago, “We’ll pursue Hamas’s Sinwar until we reach him.” It should be noted that Sinwar was one of the multitude of Israeli prisoners who was freed in the swap for the soldier, Gilad Shalit a few years ago. Releasing all of the prisoners in Israeli jails should be rejected out of hand. But, the families of the hostages are pressuring P.M. Netanyahu to make the “All for all” hostage trade-off. The decision is not in the hands of Netanyahu alone. There is a War Cabinet and it needs to decide what to do. May God grant them and us wisdom to learn from our mistakes and not make another “Shalit Deal”.

It would be interesting to know how much of “our news” makes it to “your news”.

“If an army encamps against me, my heart will not fear; If war arises against me, in spite of this I am confident.” (Psalm 27:3)

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.
Marvin