Shalom all,

The steady increase in the number of IDF deaths since the beginning of the ground offensive has now reached 175. The total number of IDF deaths since October 7th stands at 508.

Despite Israel’s efforts to remain vague regarding yesterday’s assassination of Saleh al-Arouri, it is highly doubtful that any thinking person would have any doubts about who carried it out. Likud party MK, Danny Danon, made this very clear when he tweeted: “I congratulate the IDF, the Shin Bet, the Mossad, and the security forces for killing senior Hamas official Saleh Al-Arouri in Beirut. Anyone who was involved in the October 7 massacre should know that we will reach out to them and close an account with them.” 

Al-Arouri is said to be one of the planners of the terrorist invasion of the communities in the “Gaza Envelope”, designated by Hamas as the “Al Aqsa Flood”. In prior speeches and communications, he indicated that Israel would stunned by contemplated actions of Hamas. He became second in command after Hamas political bureau chief, Ismail Haniyeh, after having served 15 years in an Israeli prison and was deported after his release in 2010, shortly before the deal the following year, which saw Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit released by Hamas in exchange for the release of 1,027 prisoners from Israeli jails, one of which was Yahya Sinwar, the present leader of Hamas. Al-Arouri was responsible for Hamas’s terrorism in Judea and Samaria (= the “West Bank”), as well as the abduction and murder of three Israeli youths in 2014 – an event that led to another war between Israel and Hamas that lasted for 51 days. According to Ynetnews, al-Arouri said in a recent interview: “I feel like I have lived too long and exceeded my life expectancy. I praise a martyr’s death.”  I don’t know what everyone is upset about. He knew that he was a marked man and that Israel would probably get to him one day, particularly after October 7th. He wanted to die a martyr’s death and he got his wish.

Obviously, the big question is what will be the response of Hezbollah to the assassination of this senior-level member of Hamas, which took place in Beirut, Lebanon. Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of the Hezbollah said that it is not afraid to get involved in another war with Israel and that if Israel launches a war against Lebanon, the Hezbollah will respond with “no ceilings” and “no rules”. If anything is, or should be, clear, it is that Israel will not start a war with Lebanon. But, that doesn’t mean that there will not be a Hezbollah response to the assassination of al-Arouri. Hezbollah is not a simple terrorist organization any longer, but a trained militia of tens of thousands of members. Still, Nasrallah’s threats might be clouds without water, as the memories of the Second Lebanon War of 2006 are still fairly fresh, as is the chemical explosion in the port of Beirut that took place in 2020, the responsibility for which was placed at the feet and on the shoulders of Hezbollah. Israel’s threats made earlier in the Gaza War of turning Beirut into a second Gaza are probably also going through Nasarallah’s mind. So, while it would be reasonable to expect a response, it probably would not be an all-out frontal attack. Isra

Germany thinks that the Gaza War will spill over to Lebanon, as a result of al-Arouri’s assassination. The German foreign ministry urged its citizens to leave Lebanon quickly. As it wrote on “X” (formerly known as Twitter): “All German citizens, who are still in Lebanon, are asked to register on the ELEFAND crisis preparedness list and to leave the country as quickly as possible…A further deterioration of the situation and expansion of the conflict cannot be ruled out, especially given the killing of Saleh al-Arouri...This applies above all to the southern part of Lebanon, up to and including the southern urban areas of Beirut.”  It would be interesting to see whether other countries follow Germany’s lead and request their citizens to leave Lebanon in anticipation of a war with Israel.

The ceremony marking the anniversary of the 2020 assassination by the U.S. of the Iranian General, Qassem Soleimani, was marred by two explosions, resulting in a death toll of over 200 people and scores of other people were wounded. At first, reports from Iran claimed that “several gas canisters exploded on the road leading to the cemetery”. But, the deputy governor of Kerman, where the explosions took place, claimed it was a “terrorist attack.”  Let’s wait and see how long it will take for Iran to blame Israel for the explosions. Obviously, the last thing that Israel would plan on doing would be to upset a memorial service in the heart of Iran. But, if Iran is really looking for a war with Israel, it would not be beyond the realm of reason if the event was planned by the Ayatollahs, as an excuse to blame Israel.

Following this post, I am planning to return to the original intention of writing about The Week That Was, rather than The Day That Was. My thanks to all who have written and encouraged and prayed for the daily reports.

Please remember to pray for the leadership in Israel, for the members of the IDF, for the families of those who lost loved ones since October 7th, for the hostages and their families and for the thousands of war wounded, along with their families.

When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. (Proverbs 16:7).

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.

Marvin