Day 225 Swords of Iron – “Light Affliction VS Eternity”
Chaim starts by talking about all the work that he and his comrades in the IDF are doing to try and find the remaining Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip. He says it’s difficult and dangerous, as there’s a lot of opposition coming from the terrorist groups.
Chaim talks about the recent retrieval of the bodies of some of the hostages who were kidnapped on October 7th, and he says that operations like this one will continue as the IDF stands in the gap to protect Israeli civilians and the entire civilized world.
The IDF is also moving Gazan civilians out of Rafah and into nearby refugee centers with tents for them to live in and food, water and medicine for them to use, just as they said they would. Chaim mentions that the US resisted the idea of an operation in Rafah because they said it would be impossible to do it without large numbers of civilian casualties, but the operation is proceeding and the large numbers of civilian casualties haven’t happened.
Chaim also mentions the increased volume of rocket attacks into Israel’s north from the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization in Lebanon. The situation on Israel’s northern border is certainly heating up.
Chaim also talks about his participation in IDF operations in Rafah and Jabalya, which have included some very violent combat in which several IDF soldiers have been killed in action while others have been wounded.
He also mentions the large number of tunnels, at least 700, found to be running underneath Rafah. 50 of them run under the border into Egypt and are used for smuggling weapons, narcotics, people, money and other contraband. Chaim says that the work of the combat engineers to destroy these tunnels is complicated and dangerous, but it’s also very important to achieving victory. It’s also very satisfying for him to know he’s doing something important for the future of his country and his own children.
In this context, he quotes the Apostle Paul, speaking in II Corinthians 4:17-18; For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.
