The Gaza war continues; Houthis target Israelis; no hostage deal yet
This week, a missile fired by the Iranian-backed Houthi terror group was intercepted over central Israel. In response the Israeli Air Force struck Houthi targets in Yemen. Times of Israel reports that “no one was injured by the ballistic missile, which the Israel Defense Forces said was partially intercepted outside Israeli airspace by the long-range Arrow air defense system. However, the warhead didn’t explode in the air and crashed into an empty school building in the city of Ramat Gan, with nobody hurt. It was the second missile from Yemen fired this week, along with a drone attack.”
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari confirmed that among the targets hit by Israel in the “precise strikes” were “ports and energy infrastructure,” which he accused the Houthis of harnessing for “their military actions.”
“With their attacks on international shipping vessels and routes in the Red Sea and other places, the Houthis have become a global threat. Who is behind the Houthis? Iran,” he said in an English-language video statement. He vowed the military “will act against anyone in the Middle East” who threatens Israel.
“Negotiations continue for a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas including release of hostages.”
Negotiations continue for a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas including release of hostages. According to Israel’s Foreign Minister Katz “we are the closest to a hostage deal since the last one.”
Unwavering military action against Hamas in Gaza is creating the conditions for the return of the captives held by the terrorist group, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said on Wednesday. “We are exerting pressure on Hamas daily, driving it into greater distress, to ensure the return of the 100 hostages—hopefully alive, and for those who are not, to provide them a proper burial in Israel,” Halevi said during a situational assessment and inspection tour in the Rafah area of southern Gaza.
Let us pray that an agreement can be reached under which the conflict can be brought to an end, and the hostages will be protected and released from the hell of the Hamas tunnels.
The Weekly Update will be away for two weeks.
Our next update will be send in week 2 of 2025.
The Failed Concepts That Brought Israel to October 7
Shany Mor at Mosaic: How four interlocking ways of thinking combined to leave the Jewish state at the mercy of its enemies.
> Read more..
IDF hits Houthi targets in Yemen after missile fired at central Israel
The strikes were carried out by 14 fighter jets in two waves, and targeted sites in Yemen’s capital and coastal area.
> Read more..
As missile fired at Israel, IDF pounds Yemen, believes it paralyzed all 3 Houthi ports
Houthi missile partially intercepted, but warhead hits empty Ramat Gan school, building collapses; 9 said killed as Israeli strikes hit power stations in Sana’a, Red Sea oil terminal.
> Read more..
Good Things and Bad Things in Syria
Robert Nicholson at Providence: “Watching the fall of Bashar al-Assad from Jerusalem, I couldn’t help but rejoice with the people of Syria. Decades of confinement, torture, and murder have ended. The Syrian people are free. But the collapse of the Ba’ath regime holds wider significance for those interested in the trajectory of this ever-changing region—and not all of it good.”
> Read more..
Iran Threatens Jordan
Lawrence A. Franklin at Gatestone: “Iran appears determined to destabilize Jordan, and is thus trying to drag the kingdom into its regional maelstrom by manipulating Jordanian national and terrorist substate entities to do its bidding.”
> Read more..
The conflict that started as a war between Israel and Hamas in southern Israel is expanding. Drawing in Lebanon, Yemen, and potentially Iran and Syria. What do the prophets say about the turmoil we witness today. Where can we find hope in these turbulent and uncertain times? Rev. Willem Glashouwer shares his insights from God’s Word.
SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK:
Isaiah 19:19-25
19 In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the Lord at its border. 20 It will be a sign and witness to the Lord Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and he will rescue them. 21 So the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge the Lord. They will worship with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the Lord and keep them. 22 The Lord will strike Egypt with a plague; he will strike them and heal them. They will turn to the Lord, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them.23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. 24 In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. 25 The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.”
