Shalom from under the missile-less, rocket-free, siren-silenced skies of the Jezreel Valley! What a blessing it is to be able to drive to work in the morning without having to keep one eye on the road and one eye looking up. It’s true, we are not officially at peace. There is still fighting going on in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank. However, for the most part the action is taking place outside our borders with very few aerial or ground terrorist attacks.
I can’t say that it is back to how it was before the black day of October 7, 2023. It can never again be how it used to be. In some ways we are better off now than we were then. In others, we are worse. One positive is that we have a buffer zone in both the north and the south. No longer can terrorists simply pour over the border. We’ve ensured there are enough cameras, kilometers, and guns to mow down any attempt at a Hamas-style redux coming from Lebanon, Syria, or Gaza. We’ve also decimated the manpower, weaponry (both ground and aerial), and leadership of Hamas and Hezbollah so we have nothing to fear from them anymore. Assad, too, is gone from Syria, and we’ve made sure that the massive store of weapons that he left behind is less than usable for any rebel groups who have rushed in to fill the leadership vacuum. It’s true that the Houthis still like to lob a missile at us every now and then just so they can feel relevant, but the sand is quickly running out of their hourglass. Payback is coming soon – in fact, you’ll see in breaking news below, it has already begun. Vengeance is coming to the Houthis and it will destroy once and for all the last bent spoke of Iran’s axis of evil.
All of that helps me to look at this coming season of Hanukkah and Christmas with true hope. With both holidays, we celebrate God’s provision coming at just the right time. Many will unite with their loved ones to rejoice over the birth of the Messiah, while those of us here in Israel will gather together as families to celebrate our festival of lights. But for many of us Israelis, the celebration will be different than it once was.
Think of a child who receives a Hanukkah gift or a Christmas present. There is joy, exuberance. They may shout and dance and maybe even run around the house. With each passing year, however, the celebration calms incrementally. Often, a grandfather’s delight is expressed with a smile, a hug, and a thank you, all from the comfort of his favorite chair. Part of that mellowing is age and maturity. Much of it, though, is life experience. Suffering and struggle often quiet the soul. This Hanukkah, there will be joy, but it will be tempered. As a people, we Israelis have aged over these last 14 months. Our gladness is moderated by both a very deep sorrow at what so many of our people have suffered and a greater perspective which recognizes that we have survived this fire but the global flames of antisemitism still burn.
Don’t get me wrong, there will be laughter and joy in my house as we celebrate. However, we will take time out to remember the hostages, to pray for the families who have lost loved ones, and to ask God’s healing for our soldiers who have been wounded and contentment for those who will spend this Hanukkah away from home. We will beseech the Lord to keep His hand of protection on Israel and we will pray for the peace of Jerusalem. From Behold Israel, we ask that you join us in these prayers.
MidEast Connect
If you missed “MidEast Update: Escalating Tensions, Strategic Shifts, and Prophetic Implications” from Tuesday, please take time to watch it. In much the same way this newsletter does, that video will walk you through what’s happening in Yemen, Lebanon, Gaza, Judea and Samaria, and Syria, but at a much deeper level. Also, I included some very interesting quotes from leaders of the region. It’s well worth the time. And while you’re there, make sure you are subscribed to the channel. We are nearing one million YouTube subscribers, a milestone which will open up many new connection benefits on the channel. If you already are subscribed, don’t be afraid to share us with a few friends.
One more reminder is to subscribe to my Telegram channel. The YouTube updates and the newsletter are compilations of the steady stream of information that I post every day. If you want the blow-by-blow as it happens, Telegram is the place for you!
Yemen
Why is Yemen shooting missiles at Israel? Why are they even in this fight? In the past, it was solely because of Iran. When Iran said to shoot a missile, the Houthis asked, “How high?” But now that Iran’s terrorist axis has broken down with the fall of Syria, the fact that this group shot another ballistic rocket at Israel on Monday makes no sense. That’s more than a half-dozen ballistic missiles and five drones just since the beginning of November. It’s like the enemy soldier who knows that his side has lost but refuses to stop fighting. Because of his stubborn stupidity, a bullet will eventually take him out. Those bullets are already coming Yemen’s way. On Monday, U.S. CENTCOM conducted a precision airstrike against a command-and-control facility in the Yemeni capital of Sana’a. It was from this facility that plans were made to attack U.S. navy warships and merchant vessels.
Then, in breaking news from last night, the Houthis fired yet another missile at Israel, as well as sent a drone. Little did they know that Israeli F-16s were already on their way to Yemen’s capital. Once the Houthi ballistic missile reached Israeli airspace, it was brought down by an Arrow 3 interceptor. The Arrow 3 is a sophisticated, non-explosive interceptor that destroys enemy projectiles through kinetic contact which causes the missile’s warhead to explode. Not having a warhead itself makes the Arrow 3 lighter and faster but also requires it to be super-accurate. This interceptor broke the Houthi’s missile into pieces but didn’t set off its warhead which eventually detonated when it struck the ground at an empty school in Ramat Gan. No one was injured. The drone was also taken out.
The Yemeni rebels did not get off quite so easily. Fourteen IDF fighter jets raced into Yemen dropping dozens of bombs on targets in the ports of Hodeidah, Ras Issa, and Al-Salif. In the capital city of Sana’a, fuel and oil tanks, along with a power station, were hit. This coordinated strike is the first time that Israel has struck the capital city. All the F-16s accomplished their missions, and all returned home safely. As Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said following the strike, “Whoever raises a hand against the State of Israel, his hand will be cut off. Whoever harms us will be harmed sevenfold.”
Lebanon
We are in the third week of the ceasefire, and Israel continues to strike targets in Lebanon. “But, Amir, doesn’t that mean that Israel is breaking its word?” No, it doesn’t. We committed to not pushing any farther into Lebanon, and to even pull back. However, we also said that we would continue to destroy any offensive weapons that could be used against us by Hezbollah. These “cleaning” operations are continuing all over the south. In fact, if you have already read my new thriller, The Sick Man’s Rage, you’ll recognize the towns of Metula, Israel, and Kfarkela, Lebanon, as the area that Nir Tavor and his team crossed the border in an underground tunnel. On Monday, I posted a picture on Telegram of a decimated Kfarkela and, rising above it, a strong, intact Metula. That one shot tells the whole story of the battle between Israel and Hezbollah’s Lebanon.
Gaza
Will there be a hostage deal before Donald Trump returns to the presidency? It’s hard to say. Trump has promised action when he is in power, but that’s still a month away. Even though Hamas is 95% destroyed, they are still attempting to maintain political power. As of now, their greatest asset is humanitarian aid and public opinion. They say that their people are starving, and that Israel is the reason why. By inflating the casualty numbers and deflating the huge number of humanitarian trucks Israel has sent into Gaza, they sway the gullible, liberal masses to their side. Antisemitic bastions like the United Nations and the World Food Bank have all condemned Israel for having a siege mentality toward the Gazans. The truth is that Hamas is stealing the supplies sent in, keeping what they want for themselves, then selling the rest to civilians at inflated prices.
Because their leadership is pretty much gone, Hamas is now operating more as a criminal gang than a terrorist organization. There is no long-range thinking. Their plan is to steal all they can and fight to the very last human shield. Then they hope to scurry away. The problem is that the IDF has blocked all their avenues of escape, and even if they did get away there is no country that would take them. They are pariahs, even among Muslim countries. The United Nations loves them, as long as they stay where they are. But they certainly don’t want them within their borders, because they’d be the obnoxious freeloaders who drive the golf carts into the pool down at the club. The best course of action for Hamas is to surrender now, while they still have workable lungs. Then they can pray that enough mercy is extended to them to allow them to spend the rest of their lives in a prison cell.
Judea and Samaria
There is one more setting for an Iranian attack against Israel, and that is in the West Bank and Samaria. Tehran is trying to stir up the Arab population in order to set them loose on the Israeli population. This has led the IDF to deploy Rafael’s Sentry Tech surveillance system, complete with a remote-controlled machine gun on top. In addition, there are regular military operations into the West Bank to weed out members of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). These raids, however, aren’t the only thing that the terrorists need to watch out for. Now that all has fallen apart down in Gaza, these two primary groups in the West Bank have begun fighting each other. That works for us. Let the terrorists fight the terrorists, then the IDF can just follow the sound of the gunfire and take them all into custody.
Syria
For as long as I can remember, Syria has been our most bitter enemy. At any time, the Assad regime, along with Russia or Iran or whoever was their partner du jour, could decide to attack us and push down through northern Israel. But now Assad is gone, and so is his government. In fact, he is so gone that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood on Syrian Mount Hermon Tuesday and promised that Israel will remain within Syria’s borders at least until the end of 2025. For those of you in other parts of the world, that may not sound like a huge deal. But for me, my mind is absolutely blown!
When Assad fled, he ran with just his wallet which happened to be loaded with hundreds of millions of dollars. Unfortunately, his military’s equipment was too extensive to fit into his overhead bin, so he left it all behind for the rebels. That was not good news for Israel. But rather than sit and wring our hands worrying what would happen if this weapon fell into the hands of this group and that weapon fell into the hands of that group, Netanyahu and his government made a decision. Best just to destroy it all. And that’s what they’ve been doing for the last week.
What’s amazing is how quiet it has been. There is no public outcry from the United Nations or the European countries. Even the other Arab nations have been silent. Why? Because if those weapons got into the wrong hands, they could end up within their borders. So the world watched and scowled, then went behind closed doors and high-fived each other. All those planes, naval ships, missiles, guns, and chemical weapons wouldn’t be bothering any other country anymore. The only ones who were upset were the Russians and the Iranians who saw their financial and materiel investments going up in flames. Not even the rebels who took over Syria made a big stink about it. They’re too busy figuring out how to make Iran pay for the tens of thousands of lives lost in the war to worry about picking what they know would be a losing fight with Israel. Once we finish our work in Syria, we need to turn our attention to destroying the Iraqi militias and obliterating Iran’s nuclear program that is getting so close to obtaining its coveted weapon.
Meanwhile, Ahmed al-Sharaa is the interim leader of Syria, and the prime minister of his rebel group has taken over a matching role in the nation. Despite al-Sharaa’s history with al-Qaeda and ISIS, he is presenting a moderate persona, even dropping his nom de guerre, Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, to go back to his birth name. On Monday, when a British delegation visited him, not only did he appear without a head covering, but he allowed himself to be photographed with a female member of the delegation who was also not wearing anything on her head. If the al-Qaeda or ISIS rebel groups had reached Damascus first, a picture like that would never have been allowed. It will be interesting to watch the direction Syria takes, especially after its first elections which are scheduled for spring 2025.
There are still some concerning areas of Syria. In the north, Turkey is amassing soldiers with the goal of wiping out the Kurds. Because the Kurds have traditionally been somewhat allies of the U.S. and Israel, it is likely that Turkey’s President Erdoğan is in a rush to attack before Trump gets into office. There are also radical pockets throughout the country made up of extremists like al-Qaeda and ISIS.
Iran
The Islamic regime in Tehran is crashing. Decades of work and hundreds of millions of dollars spent building up their terror network have all collapsed into the sand. Other than a mediocre militia here and there, their vast terrorist web has been blown away. Even if they had the heart or inclination to attempt a new network, they don’t have the money. Ever since Trump was elected, the Iranian rial has been in freefall. It’s lost about 10% of its value in the last month, trading at 777 rials to one U.S. dollar.
There is no place in the Middle East for Iran to plot and scheme on an international level anymore. So, they are now looking to Africa. Tehran is holding talks with Sudan about establishing a military port in Port Sudan. Interestingly, Russia is working on the same thing. Let’s see, Russia, Iran, and Sudan…it’s starting to smell a bit like Ezekiel 38 round these parts.
The Ministry
Thank you for helping make The Sick Man’s Rage a bestseller on Amazon and in Publishers Weekly! Steve and I have been so blessed and encouraged by the incredible reviews we’ve been reading online. If you order your copy through Amazon today, most places can still get delivery before Christmas. Or, you can just walk into your local bookstore and pick up a copy. And, if you’ve already read The Sick Man’s Rage, but somehow missed the first three in the series, you can order a special bundle through the Behold Israel store. All three books for only $12 total. What a deal!
If you missed “CONNECT Round Table: The Prophetic Landscape Heading Into 2025” on Monday, it’s worth checking out. I was joined by Jan Markell, Pastor Barry Stagner, and Pastor Mike Golay to discuss where we are now in God’s prophetic timeline and what we can expect in the year ahead. Then, as I mentioned above, be sure to watch “Mideast Update: Escalating Tensions, Strategic Shifts, and Prophetic Implications” from Tuesday to get the full scoop of everything I talked about above.
As 2024 approaches an end, we want you to know how much we appreciate your support and sacrifices to advance the truth. If you sense God’s leading to provide a year-end gift, our donation link can be found HERE. All donations are tax deductible in the USA and Canada.
Next week, there will be no newsletter due to Hannukah and Christmas, but we’ll be back to ring in the new year the week after. Until then, thank you for your prayers and your support. May you have a blessed celebration with friends and family!
Awaiting His Return,
