Shalom all,

Without question, the events of this past week have demonstrated Israel’s resilience, in rebounding from the failures of October 7th, and returning to be the Israel, the Mossad, and the IDF, that was able to enter the lion’s den and leave many of the lions dead, lame and wounded. 

Last week, I reported on planned proposal that the safe return of the northern residents to their homes would become an official war goal. This week that goal apparently began to take effect. Fighting a war of attrition with the Hezbollah terrorist organization had been the unstated policy of Israel for a long time. This is most certainly true from October 8, 2023, the day following the infiltration into the communities along the Gaza envelope by Hamas, the Islamic Jihad, and so-called unaffiliated Gazan riff-raff, who pillaged, raped, brutalized, killed and burned alive men, women and children, and took 251 hostages into the Hamas infested tunnel infrastructures that criss-crossed throughout Gaza’s underground world. Hezbollah has consistently maintained that it is assisting the efforts of Hamas and has launched thousands upon thousands of missiles, including anti-tank missiles, mortars and armed drones into Israel terrority. This has resulted in the displacement of over 60,000 northern residents from their homes (according to official reports), deaths of 22 members of the IDF and 26 civilians, massive destruction of property, fields, agriculture and farms and effectively caused an economic disaster throughout the northern areas affected by the displacement. A full eleven months after the beginning of the war that was begun by Hamas and supported by Hezbollah and others, including the main puppeteer, Iran, Israel has had enough and proclaimed, as mentioned above, the return of the northern residents as an official goal of the undeclared, but nevertheless existing, war with Hezbollah. 

Then, interestingly, on Tuesday of this past week, pagers that were used extensively by Hezbollah operatives and carried as general equipment exploded simultaneously after they beeped, leaving about a dozen killed, most members of the Hezbollah, and thousands of others wounded, including Hezbollah commanders.

The following day, Wednesday, similar explosions took place on tactical communication devices held by Hezbollah personnel throughout Lebanon. Another approximately two dozen deaths resulted from this second explosion, along with hundreds more being injured. All told, some 37 members of the Hezbollah were killed with thousands of others being wounded.

In addition to the large number of people who were killed and injured in the pager-beeper and tactical communication devices incidents, those events constituted a HUGE humiliation for the Hezbollah. They directly affected their communication system and, therefore, the terror organization’s ability to operate. Still, Hezbollah was able to respond by intensifying its missile attacks into Israeli territory, which resulted in the deaths of two members of the IDF and about a dozen other people being wounded.

The Secretary General of the Hezbollah, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, blamed Israel for the explosions of the communication devices, even though Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement. Nevertheless, in a public address, Nasrallah said, in part: “We undoubtedly suffered a major security and humanitarian blow, unprecedented in the conflict and maybe in the history of mankind…We were hit hard, but that’s the situation in war. We understand that the enemy has technological supremacy. Especially since it is supported by the US and the West… When we are in conflict, we bet on Jihad, on attrition. We had many victories until now… We will be ready to overcome all of the threats and attempts in the future…Israel crossed all the red lines by detonating thousands of pagers. This could be called a declaration of war… This is an act of terror, massacre, genocide.”

One has to stop for a moment and reflect on Nasrallah’s statement that Israel’s attack was a “declaration of war, an act terror, massacre, genocide”. For the past eleven months, Hezbollah bombarded Israel with multitudes of deadly projectiles, slowly increasing the number until it began to average over a hundred missiles per day. It is acting in solidarity with another terrorist organization, Hamas, that began a war against Israel on October 7th, perpertrating egregious acts of terrorism, massacring 1,200 people under an ideology that seeks to carry out the elimination of Israel, an act commonly referred to as genocide. Hezbollah was prepared to launch thousands of missiles against Israel all at one time, but its plans were frustrated due to the pre-emptive attack by the Israeli Air Force that destroyed thousands of missile launchers only a few short weeks ago. It was also planning to carry out an October 7th-style invasion of Israel from the north and still has the temerity to say that Israel’s action amounted to a declaration of war! A clear example of the pot calling the kettle “black”.

Then there was the third event, Israel’s action against the Lebanese terrorist organization that took place in the Hezbollah’s back yard, in the heart of Beirut. The bold air strike by the Israeli Air Force killed at least 2 senior commanders and another dozen members of the Hezbollah terrorist organization, including Ibrahim Aqil, the head of Hezbollah’s military operations, acting commander of the elite Radwan Force, who also headed up a plan to attack the northern territory of Israel, which plan was labeled: “The Plan to Conquer the Galilee”.  Also killed in the Israeli strike was Ahmed Wahbi, a former commander of the Radwan Force and the head of Hezbollah’s training unit. The meeting of the senior commanders of the Radwan Force met under a residential building, using civilians as human shields, while coordinating terrorist activities against Israeli civilians. Prior to the A.I.F. strike on the building, the Hezbollah had already launched some 200 missiles into Israel

A point worth noting is that Aqil was on the “most wanted” of the United States for his involvement in the 1983 bombings of the American Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, which killed 63 people, and the US Marines barracks in Beirut that killed 241 people. A bounty of $7 million was placed on Aqil’s head by the United States. I wonder if Israel will make a claim for the bounty.

In the meantime, various media reported that some 500 Hezbollah members lost their eyesight following the explosions of the communication devices. We need to keep in mind that everything relating to Israel needs to be considered from a spiritual perspective. So, it is not surprising that the promise to Abraham (Gen. 12:3) remains in effect today. Hezbollah has attacked “the apple of God’s eye” (Zechariah 2:8) and it should not appear to us as strange that its members would be blinded.

The newspaper The Australian notes, in brief: “Hezbollah’s and Hamas’s masters in Iran should be clear-eyed about the meaning of what appears to have been the latest display of modern technological warfare by a nation fighting for its survival.” 

Amjad Taha, United Arab Emirates expert in Strategic Political Affairs (Middle East), and blogger, posted the following, clear statement on September 18th: 

“You dared to strike at a smart and courageous nation on October 7th—committing genocide, kidnapping their children, and violating their women. You thought they would fall, but they rose again, returning after 11 months to correct what had only momentarily slipped—their intelligence. Now, they will send you back 1,000 years, to a time without technology, where a ringtone feels like a death knell and a beep is a nightmare. You will be haunted by your own shadow, too afraid to use any technology, cut off from the advanced world. And they will defeat you—not with bullets or tanks, but through the unbreakable will of brave, intelligent people. Over a simple cup of coffee, with one decisive click, they will seal your fate, and the fate of anyone who dares harm their children. This is a nation the world respects. Lebanon—#Hezbollah‘s pager attacks and today’s V82 strike are not merely military victories; they represent a triumph for the Middle East over radicalism—a victory not only for #Israel but for all who stand against terror.”

Should we have anything to say about the post on X of Belgium’s Deputy Prime Minister Petra De Sutter, who described the of pager explosions as a “terror attack [that requires an] international investigation” and that “silence is not an option” regarding the matter? Her comments drew widespread condemnation across social media, one of which was from National Security and Foreign Policy researcher Khaled Hassan: “NOT A SINGLE TWEET condemning Hamas, Hezbollah or the Houthis, and NOW THIS???!!!! With people like you in power in Europe, we don’t even need enemies. Might as well invite Hamas to Europe and beg them to rape and murder all of us.” Need more be said?

So much for striking at the heart of a terrorist organization. But, what is the possibility that the Hezbollah will retaliate in some manner? And if so, how? It could, of course, wait for American mediation efforts to succeed where all prior efforts for the last 11 months have failed. Or, it can continue to launch missiles as a declarative effort to say that it is continuing its war of attrition against Israel that will force Israel’s hand to undertake a ground offensive into Lebanon. Or, it can launch, alone or together with Iran or one or more of the other Iranian proxies, an all-out offensive against Israel. Or even worse: Hezbollah might decide to carry out its threat to attack Haifa and, possibly, points further to the south of us. It hardly needs be mentioned that Hezbollah will not voluntarily agree to move north of the Litani River, giving effect to Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the Second Lebanon War in 2006. As of this writing, the IDF is attacking multitudes of missile launchers in Lebanon. The IDF Spokesman just added Haifa as an area in the “line of fire” of Hezbollah rockets.

It will take a little while for Hezbollah to re-organize. However, until then, we can continue to expect missile barrages of dozens, if not hundreds, of missiles on an ongoing basis, until the situation completely explodes. Israeli war planes have been flying overhead for the past 2 hours heading towards Lebanon. The ensuing news is not expected to be good.

And how should we respond to the explosions of the pagers and electronic devices? What do you say? There is no lack of responses, some rejoicing, others being a bit more reserved.

There are, of course, the related consequences of cyber warfare that can affect various aspects of life, including, for example, airline travel, where increased security efforts can affect the use of in-flight electrone devices. 

I did not enter into speculation how the pagers and electronic devices were able to be exploded, nor did I deal with the timing of the explosions. Most of the “chatter” are various forms of speculation, some more reasoned than others, but still falling into the realm of “maybe this or maybe that”. At some point, everything will become more clear. For now, we should be thankful that many that have planned the destruction of Israel have been eliminated.

There is a new hostage proposal on the table, offered by Israel: all hostages to return at the same time; Israel will cease military activities in Gaza; Yehya Sinwar (the head of Hamas who organized the massacre of October 7th) will be given a free pass out of Gaza. The decision is now up to Hamas. There are no great expectations.

I am aware that my blog posts reach a multitude of people with widely differing opinions, some of whom have strong opinions concerning the Gaza War and the looming prospects of a regional war. So be it. Israel has extended her hands in peace to her neighbors, time and time again. Some not only slap it away, but also try to cut our hands off. We look forward to the time when our swords shall be beaten into plowshare and our spears into pruning hooks – when “nation will not lift up sword against nation and never again will they learn war” (Isaiah 2:4). Until then, we continue to keep our eyes on Him, Who is invisible.

For now, please pray: For wisdom for the government to know what to do, when to do, and how to do; for the IDF for wisdom, strength, boldness, precision and that every soldier, irrespective of rank, will go out in peace and return in peace; for the hostages who are still alive, that they would be kept alive and return alive and well; for the wounded, that those rendering medical care to them will do so with skill, knowledge and compassion; for the families who lost loved ones and who are waiting for their loved ones to return, comfort and faith that the God of Israel reigns and is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond anything they can ask or think; for the citizens of Israel, that all would call out to Him.

Despite everything that happened and is happening, remember: Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.

Marvin