Good morning all,

Israel Update – Day 5 of the War.   This will be very brief. According to the IDF, there are more than 1,200 killed and fallen since the beginning of the war. At least 2,900 were wounded. It is estimated that more than 200 were taken captive by Hamas.

Israel continued to pound areas in the Gaza Strip during the night and some relatives of the head of the military wing of Hamas were killed. There is ongoing missile attacks from Gaza into Israeli territory, with over 4,500 rockets launched since last Saturday.

The opening volleys of a second front in the north occurred yesterday after the Hezbollah fired 15 rockets into Israel from Lebanon. Syria joined the fray with mortars launched at the Golan Heights. Israel responded to both incidents with artillery fire.

In a televised speech yesterday, U.S. President Biden related to the “sheer evil” of Hamas and pledge that the U.S. would ensure that Israel will receive whatever it needs to respond to the terrorism. He expressed what ever leader of every government should state publicly: “This is not some distant tragedy” and added “It is personal for so many American families who are feeling the pain of this attack was well as the scars inflicted through millennia of antisemitism and persecution of Jewish people.”

The Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav. Gallant, spoke with soldiers in the field, as he toured the Gaza border region yesterday, telling them, “I have lifted all restrictions; we have taken control of the sector and are moving to a full-scale attack. Hamas wanted a change in Gaza, you will have the honor to turn the tables on its head…You stood bravely on the front line, struck many terrorists, and saved lives. You saw firsthand what we are fighting against – human beasts – the Islamic State of Gaza. Thanks to your heroic action in this defense mission, you will have the honor of changing the reality here. You saw the costs, and you will witness the turnaround.”

More later.

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.

Marvin