Day 343 Swords of Iron – “Stay the Course”

Chaim is dressed in civilian clothes, and he starts the video by telling his viewers that he’s on leave from the IDF to spend some time with his family at the beach.

He asks his viewers to continue praying for Israel because there’s a renewal of terrorism in Judea and Samaria on top of the ongoing fighting in the Gaza Strip and the escalation of rocket attacks from Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

He also mentions the extensive network of tunnels Mohammed Sinwar, brother of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, built all over Gaza with help from specialists from North Korea and Iran. Chaim has been in many of these tunnels in his capacity as an IDF combat engineer and he makes some professional comments about the work that must have been necessary to build them. As impressive as some of that work is, Chaim declares that Hamas is losing and Israel is winning.

However, there is some bad news as well.

The Hamas supporters see victory even in the small setbacks that Israel and the West suffer. As the anniversary of the terror attacks of September 11th 2001 just passed, Chaim mentions that there is a picture circulating online of some of Yahya Sinwar’s children posing by a painting that celebrates that event. There are many other anecdotes that point to this attitude among Hamas and its fellow travellers that they believe they’re winning, that it’s a long battle and in the end they’ll be the last one’s standing.

But Chaim says there’s other anecdotes which show they know they’re losing. He points to a letter recently discovered by IDF troops in Gaza and publicized by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. It was written by one of the most senior Hamas commanders to Sinwar, dated several weeks ago, and saying that Hamas has lost over half its fighting men and most of its rocket-launching capacity.

But, Chaim says, the battle is far from over. He reiterates his belief that all the countries in the Free World need to stand strong against terrorism, to push back against Iran and its proxies in the Middle East, as well as other parts of the world. He mentions the deployment of US Navy ships to different places to effect that pushback.

But he also says he’s made a personal decision not to be afraid of the terrorists. In this context, he quotes Psalms 91:5-7; You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you.

Chaim asks his viewers to put that into practice, to not be afraid to share the truth.

In this context, he quotes Isaiah 46: 1-3; God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling.

The video then concludes with a montage of images of Chaim and his friends on a boat off the coast of Tel Aviv.