Round three of the hostage-for-ceasefire deal: Nine children and five adults, all Israelis, were freed this evening by the terrorist organization, Hamas, in the third of the four agreed-upon exchanges (civilian hostages for terrorist prisoners). Avigail Idan, age 4, who holds dual US-Israeli citizenships, was included in today’s exchange. Her parents were murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7th. Three Thai citizens were released, together with the Israelis.

The released hostages were reunited with members of their families in emotional, tear-filled moments, the memories of which will last for a lifetime. But, in his report to the nation this evening, IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said that one of the hostages, an 84-year-old-woman was returned in serious condition and was evacuated by IDF troops, while still inside Gaza, and taken by helicopter to a hospital in Beer Sheva. 

According to a broadcast from a major television news station this evening, after today’s release, an estimated 177 hostages still remain in the hands of Hamas, the “Palestinian” Islamic Jihad and other, non-affiliated Gazan citizens. They include 18 children (10 boys and 8 girls), as well as 43 women (of whom 9 are over the age over 60). The other 116 are men (16 of whom are over the age of 60).

And in accordance with the exchange between Hamas and Israel, the Israel Prison Service is releasing 39 “Palestinian” terror convicts. <https://www.timesofisrael.com/14-israelis-9-of-them-children-freed-by-hamas-on-3rd-day-of-hostages-for-truce-deal/?utm>

Since the beginning of the ceasefire, efforts were, and continue to be, under way to extend the present ceasefire and some heads of state want the ceasefire to become permanent. That is not part of Israel’s program – at least not for now.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the IDF troops in the Gaza Strip, being the first Israeli head of state to travel Gaza in more than 20 years. After being shown Hamas tunnels, Netanyahu stated: “We continue until the end – until victory…We will make every effort to return our captives, and eventually we will return them all…We have three goals for this war: eliminate Hamas, return all our captives, and ensure that Gaza does not become a threat to the State of Israel again.” He added, “Nothing will stop us. We are convinced that we have the power, the strength, the will, and the determination to achieve all the war’s goals, and we will.” <https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-775242?utm> 

“We, we, we!” Netanyahu held Bible studies in his home. He claims to know the Scriptures and the history of the Jewish people. He should know that Israel’s victories were brought about by the intervention of the God of Israel: “‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of armies.” (Zechariah 4:6). “The LORD your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes.” (Deuteronomy 1:30)

Should we prepare for war? Yes! Should we fight? Yes! But, we also need to remember: “The horse is prepared for the day of battle, But the victory belongs to the LORD.” (Proverbs 21:31) It is the LORD, Who trains our hands for war and our fingers for battle. It is He Who subdues people under us (Psalm 144:1-2)

After the Six-Day War, the nation openly proclaimed that the God of Israel fought for us. One retired Colonel in the IDF told me, back in 1974, that God worked over time for the nation of Israel, performing miracles. When we took control of Jerusalem, we gave God the credit and acknowledged that it was His hand that gave us the victory. The Colonel then added that with time, the people began to take credit for the successes of that war, claiming, among other things, that Israel achieved that incredible victory because we had a trained, skillful and powerful army and because we had excellent military intelligence. And before too much longer, we experienced the early defeats and losses of the Yom Kippur War. He lamented: “We forgot that the Six-Day War wasn’t a victory that we achieved. It was a victory that God achieved for us.” 

So, when I hear our leaders, even our well-intentioned leaders, make statements like: “we have the power, the strength, the will, and the determination to achieve all the war’s goals, and we will“, I cringe and pray that their pride will not be to our loss.

Our leaders need to rephrase the promises that they make to the nation. They shouldn’t promise what they can’t accomplish. Today’s news revealed an important factor that was part of yesterday’s delay in completing the “hostage/prisoner exchange”. Hamas admitted that two of the hostages who were supposed to be released yesterday could not be located by Hamas. There are several possibilities to explain the statement of Hamas: (1) that it is lying; (2) that those particular hostages – one adult and one 18-year-old, both males, were killed while in the hands of Hamas; (3) they were captured by the “Palestinian” Islamic Jihad, who refused to participate in the exchange and also refused to turn over hostages under its control; (4) that they were taken hostage by Gazan citizens not affiliated with either terrorist group (which is least likely) <https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-775173#>. If that murderous, lying terrorist organization that organized the kidnapping of the hostages could not locate two of them, how can our government officials state with certainty that we will return All of the hostages and that nothing will stop us? 

Through you we will push back our adversaries. Through your name we will trample down those who rise up against us. (Psalm 44:5)

Please continue to pray. While we may have a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, at least for one more day, we continue to fight against terrorists in Lebanon, in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and even the Houthis from Yemen.

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.

Marvin