(Day 579) Swords of Iron – “Inseparable”

Chaim starts by mentioning that US President Donald Trump has announced a truce with the Houthis, who have agreed to stop attacking international shipping. But they have not agreed to stop firing at Israel, and this is an obvious attempt to drive a wedge in between the two allies.

Trump has also said there are only 21 hostages still alive, which forced Netanyahu to admit that there are 21 who are “definitely” still alive, while there are three others whose fate is unclear

Trump is also skipping Israel on his upcoming Middle East tour, but Chaim says he’s not worried about any real fissure developing between Israel and the US.

He then switches to talking about the increasingly violent clashes between India and Pakistan. It’s something Israel is keeping a close eye on, as India is a strategic ally of Israel while Pakistan is an ally of many of Israel’s enemies.

Next Chaim mentions the ongoing efforts against Hezbollah in Lebanon and the fact that an increasing number of Palestinians are seeking assistance from Israel to leave the Gaza Strip, but there’s not many countries which are willing to take them

Chaim also mentions some statistics from a recent survey of Gazans, talking about how they feel about Israel, Hamas, the protests against Hamas, and other issues. Chaim says it’s interesting but the situation is still very unclear.

Meanwhile, the Aliyah Return Center is continuing to send humanitarian assistance to the Druze, Christian and Kurdish communities in southern Syria who are under massive pressure from the jihadist groups that form the power base of the regime that is currently ruling in Damascus.  Chaim says this is a humanitarian imperative but he also believes it serves Israel’s long term interests to have non-hostile neighbors on the border.

In this context, he quotes Psalms 60:12, Through God we will do valiantly, for it is He who shall tread down our enemies.