Rumble
Spoils of War
8/2/24 – By Tim Buck
FOTET.ORG
Count up the plunder that was taken; of man and beast; you and Eleazar the priest and the chief fathers of the congregation; and divide the plunder into two parts, between those who took part in the war, who went out to battle, and all the congregation…”
Numbers 31
Israel and the Middle East are bracing for turbulent days.
Israel’s enemies are somewhat plagued with confusion and fear due to Israel’s successful policy of (and miraculous) eliminations of senior terrorists, most recently in the very heart of Beirut and Tehran. They know that Israel’s long arm can reach anyone, anywhere.
Hezbollah’s Chief of Staff was killed last week by Israeli precision missiles while he was visiting his lover in their secret apartment in Beirut. He is the man responsible for the massacre of the Israeli-Druze children from the Golan Heights last week, and for the murder of hundreds of American Marines in Beirut in 1983. In addition Hamas’ leader and billionaire, Ismail Haniyeh, was blown to smithereens in his VIP Iranian hospitality apartment. How embarrassing for our enemies.
Consequently, Iran and her “terror branches” (Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, and radical militias all over the Middle East) are surrounding little Israel with tens of thousands of missiles, rockets, and explosive drones. They are drunk with insanity, jealousy, and hatred, and are promising a harsh retaliation to save face.
What has been considered so far as a “limited war,” can change at any moment and erupt into a regional armed conflict where Israel may have to take strong and even extreme measures to push the enemy back.
Please keep Israel in prayer and let the Spirit of God guide your prayers accordingly. How encouraging and comforting to know that the God of Israel neither slumbers or sleeps.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
GAZA WINDING DOWN
Three hundred days have passed since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct.7 and for all practical purposes, the war in Gaza is winding down as far as major military operations are concerned as Hamas has lost most of its capabilities. Sadly, more than 115 hostages are still unaccounted for, and efforts are ongoing toward their returning home, whether dead or alive.
Globally, the media coverage and hype concerning the Gaza situation has subsided, and many people have lost interest. IDF surgical operations continue to eliminate scattered Hamas operatives, while the security belt around the entire Gaza Strip (including the Philadelphia zone on the Egyptian border) is wisely being broadened and further fortified. Most of the Gaza “uninvolved civilians” have been relocated to the humanitarian zone by now, and the remaining scattered population will eventually end up there as well.
It seems likely, Gaza will remain a RUINOUS MEMORIAL to the evil people who reveled and passed around candies at the beheading of the young men, the raping of women, the torture of children, and the burning of babies. With no foreseeable and acceptable agency emerging that will be able and willing to administer the Gaza region, it seems the IDF will remain the boss for the foreseeable future. This war’s main effort is nearly over. The IDF is preparing for the next war.
USA ENGAGED
Dangers are mounting in the Middle East, many international carriers cancelled their flights into Israel, and American forces in the region are increasingly under Iranian Militias’ attacks.
Consequently, the US has deployed 12 warships to the area, including the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier, amphibious combat teams, and more than 4,000 Marines. Should regional hostilities erupt, America needs to be prepared to defend its Middle East interests which include Saudi Arabia and the moderate Emirates.
NORTHERN FRONT
The overall situation is intensifying, and roughly 80,000 Israeli civilians are still evacuated from their homes in Northern Galilee and relocated in temporary shelters throughout Israel for 300 days. The IDF may have to take decisive action soon since (in violation of UN Resolution 1701) the Hezbollah terror army who never moved away from Israel’s northern border is now a clear and present danger. Barring a political or a miraculous breakthrough, Israel will have to do the following:
- Invade Lebanon, push Hezbollah’s forces north beyond the Litani River, and restore the security zone which Israel used to control until Israel handed it over to Lebanon as part of the 1701 UN Resolution in 2006. Since Lebanon could not / would not control Hezbollah, the region became a security hazard for Northern Galilee. Israel, once again, will now need to control it.
- Israel must also invade Syria and restore the security territory (including the top elevation of Mt. Hermon) which was handed over to the Syrian regime in 1975 as part of the cease fire agreement. This territory is sheltering Iranian funded terror militias who are a constant threat to Israel, and since Syria cannot not / would not handle them, Israel has too.
- Israel will not only need to capture these territories, but also to annex them as a permanent part of a greater Israel. Without it, Israel will not be able to hold on to the Galilee or be ready to house hundreds of thousands of Israelis and new immigrants who will be moving in during the coming years.
HAMAS HUMILIATED
Hamas cannot respond to or avenge the recent elimination of its leader (Ismail Haniyeh). It cannot even bring him to a respectable burial in ruined Gaza, his “make believe dream nation.” Haniyeh, who’s blown up corpse was cremated in Tehran yesterday, will be buried hurriedly as an exile in Qatar, not far from the Six Star luxury hotel where he lived and worked while amassing his estimated $4 Billion personal wealth.
Since Haniyeh is viewed as nothing but a “despised” Sunni Muslim, the Shia Iranian Mullahs will never bury him in Iranian soil, but rather, as soon as the funeral show was over, shipped his corpse to Qatar, the Capital City of Islamic Sunni terror, for burial. They hate each other, and only their greater hatred of Israel brings them together.
Seeing some of his siblings, children, and grandchildren killed while battling Israel, Haniyeh, whose dream was to slaughter the Jews and drive them away from the land, has now become a message and an example for the entire Middle East. Every enemy that dreams about repeating the October 7th massacre will end up like Haniyeh; blown to smithereens and buried in exile.
GROWING ISOLATION
If you think that the Islamic world and the global powers are upset at Israel today, brace yourself for the greater level of hostility that will be reflected after this coming war is over. Consider what may be the reasons to cause the acute global isolation that is described in Zechariah 12:1-3, saying,
“The burden of the word of the LORD against Israel. Thus says the LORD, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him: ‘Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it…’”
More than ever, Israel will need friends and prayer partners in the coming days. The most reliable souls that will possess the strength, courage, and inspiration to be that friend Israel needs will be those born again by God’s Spirit.
How about you?
