Shalom all,

This is third day since the terrorist infiltration and attack in the south of Israel. The event is being nicknamed in some circles as “Israel’s 9/11”. Yesterday, the number of deaths was reported at over 600 with some estimates that the death toll would reach 1,000. Throughout the course of the day, this number stood at 700 and less than 15 minutes before this writing, the number of those killed jumped to “at least 900”. The number of wounded has increased to more than 2,500. We were notified today of the deaths of two soldiers, a young man and a young woman, members of the Messianic community, who were killed during the terrorist invasion in the south.

There are still a few terrorists in southern communities who have not been eliminated. The IDF did an admirable job in killing over 400 terrorists on this side of Gaza and hundreds more in the Gaza Strip. The Minister of Defense said that Gaza is being cut off – no one in or out. No supply of electricity and no supply of water. The Air Force is pounding specific Hamas targets and strongholds and our military is making every effort not to cause collateral damage to civilians. Striking Hamas targets may have some impact, but what needs to be done is to strike Hamas itself and its leadership. We need to cut off the head of the snake and bury it deep. Less than two and a half years ago, during May, 2021, there was another severe missile attack in the south. The IDF pounded the Gaza Strip and the government announced that it had destroyed the Hamas infrastructure so that it will take them years to regroup. And lo and behold, not only did they regroup and rebuild, they planned and executed an attack on Israel the likes of which we have not seen since the Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) War in October, 1973. The taking of captives, men, women and children, young and old, civilian and military, and abusing them and even executing some of the captives (which has already happened), cannot be tolerated without an Israeli response that will end the threat from Gaza once and for all. 
This morning, a spokesman for Hamas said that there will be no negotiation regarding the hostages. Later in the day, they demanded the release of all so-called “Palestinians” from all Israeli prisons, in exchange for Israeli women and children who are being held hostage by Hamas and islamic Jihad. Different countries are attempting to “negotiate a deal” for the return of the women and children. Pursuing this line will be considered a victory for terrorists, not only in the Gaza Strip, but wherever they exist. In this area of the world, “face” is everything. If you do not suffer defeat, you are deemed to be victorious. I have many thoughts regarding the actions that Israel needs to pursue, not the least of which is to notify the residents of Gaza to vacate their homes on very short notice and to systematically eliminate entire areas of the Gaza Strip. Terrorists need money to operate. The flow of money into Gaza needs to immediately stop. The 5-star hotels in Gaza City need to be flattened. The ability to communicate by email, WhatsApp and various types of social media needs to be blocked and antennas destroyed. They need to be kept totally in the dark and absolutely isolated from the rest of the world. No more victory signs and dancing in the streets and on roof tops, no more boasting, no more showing prisoners being humiliated, abused and executed, no more making demands from Israel.  We need to remember that we cannot lose any war and certainly not one initiated by one or more terrorist organizations.
We need to keep in prayer. This war is far from over. Missiles and mortar shells continue to be sent into areas of Israel, not only in the south. The Greater Jerusalem area was hit today, as well. The north of Israel is not immune from the actions of Iranian puppets. Hezbollah has been flexing its muscles during these days and the situation in the north is heating up and could easily explode. If that happens, the whole region could become engulfed in armed conflict. There was minor terrorist infiltration from Lebanon today, which was promptly dealt with. And even as this was being written, some missiles were fired into Israel from Lebanon.
Added to the present concerns is the instructions of the Civil Command that all citizens should store supplies (food, water, medicine and other essentials, including a certain amount of cash) that will last for at least 72 hours. This will undoubtedly result in some panic buying from supermarkets. Welcome to Day 3 of Israel’s 9/11. 
Your prayers are truly solicited and greatly appreciated. We are thankful for all who have written to encourage us during these difficult days.
Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.
Marvin