(Day 779) Swords of Iron – “Things Are Heating Up”

Chaim starts by saying that he is usually a pretty optimistic person but even he is having a hard time believing that Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis in Yemen and Iran’s IRGC are just going to give up on their goal of destroying Israel because they failed so miserably over the last two years. Hamas in particular has used the breathing room they got over the last few weeks of “ceasefire” to rearm and regroup and are now back to probing the Yellow Line and otherwise seeing what they can get away with.

In the midst of all this, Al Jazeera is reporting that Palestinian Islamic Jihad claims to have retrieved the remains of a hostage in central Gaza, but it’s not clear when or even if they will hand these remains over to Israel.

But in general, Hamas is violating the ceasefire, not paying much attention to the details of the “Trump 21 Point Plan” that they agreed to, and the IDF is doing its best to push them back. Chaim says that the IDF is very good at what it does when it is not constrained by political considerations or diplomatic pressure. But there’s pleny of both slowing things down, and that’s costing Israel in many ways, not least of which is financial.

But another thing that’s slowing everything down is that the International Stabalization Force is not really coming together because no one has much stomach to go into Gaza and forcefully disarm Hamas. So Chaim says it’s going to be up to the IDF and soldiers like him.

Meanwhile, Chaim says that there is growing Anti-Semitism in the world, and he sees it as a manifestation of people’s rebellion against God and their rejection of His authority. However, Chaim knows that Israel will have total victory because God will have total victory and Israel is His instument in this world.

But that doesn’t mean it’ll be easy.

In London, there are protests outside almost every synagogue. Chaim says this is like a pre-Holocaust scenario. But again, it just motivates Chaim to stand strong, to stand tall and not be intimidated by the gathering darkness. Israel is also preparing to welcome home more new immigrants from many countries around the world, including India.

In this context, Chaim concludes by quoting Psalm 5:12; For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield.