How much longer?
By Robin Benson
By day 163 of Israel’s war with Hamas and its Iranian-sponsored Islamist terror allies, 248 IDF servicemen (and women) had lost their lives in the Gaza enclave after the barbarity of the 7 October invasion and massacre by terrorists pouring out of the Gaza Strip.
A further 13 had perished on the Israel-Lebanon border and several thousand were wounded – hundreds of them severely. But it is impossible to accurately report the number of lives lost among the people of Gaza.
Hamas releases figures on a daily basis stating multiple thousands of fatalities: all of which it claims are “civilians”. But as the terror group has full control over the health system (such as it is), none of these totals – currently claimed to be in the region of 30,000 – can be independently corroborated.
Amid all the death and destruction, one has to ask, “How much longer?”
Since Hamas — and its Islamist allies — are the military manifestation of an ideology whose main aim as the complete destruction of Israel and Jewish people, is it even possible to completely and utterly destroy it?
How much longer will it take the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) to completely destroy Hamas’ stranglehold over the Gazans? Listening to various “experts”, it could be several months up to a couple of years. Since Hamas – and its Islamist allies – are the military manifestation of an ideology whose main aim is the complete destruction of Israel and Jewish people, is it even possible to completely and utterly destroy it?
How much longer must the relatives and friends of these hostages wait to see these Israelis freed?
Closely connected to that stated aim of the current Israeli coalition government is obviously another major goal: the rescue and return of all the remaining hostages held somewhere in Gaza. Since Hamas and its allies are using them as both human shields, and as bargaining chips in any negotiations to bring this conflict to an end, how much longer must the relatives and friends of these hostages wait to see these Israelis freed? And how much longer can the government of Israel sustain the balancing act between these two opposing aims?
How much longer can Israel withstand the external pressure from the USA, UN, EU, UK, and many other nations to give in to calls for some sort of ceasefire in Gaza that will allow the growing humanitarian crisis to be addressed? Yet the Israeli government must not ignore the calls from the majority of its own people not to give in, but to finish the job in Gaza. They know they risk the whole 7 October debacle happening all over again if Hamas is allowed to survive and regroup (as it has sworn to do).
How much longer can the massive internal divisions, that were so glaringly evident in Israel before 7 October, gain even greater momentum as they coalesce around several “hot” issues. These are the demands for the return of the hostages, no matter what the cost; the anger over the tens of thousands of Haredi/Ultra-Orthodox men who refuse to serve in the IDF; and the increasingly strident calls for fresh elections.
How much longer before the tens of thousands of inhabitants evacuated from their towns, villages, kibbutzim and moshavim along the Israel-Lebanese border can return home?
How much longer before the tens of thousands of internally displaced evacuees from towns, villages, kibbutzim and moshavim along the Israel-Lebanese border can return to their almost deserted communities? And how much longer can Israel sustain the dozens of daily projectile attacks by Hezbollah and its Islamist allies in southern Lebanon? How much longer must Israel accede to pressure from the USA, in particular, with minimal retaliatory strikes, instead of doing what has needed to be done for a very long time in Lebanon to destroy Hezbollah’s stranglehold on that once prosperous nation?
How much longer before the significant maritime and air power of the USA-led international naval force in the Red Sea is brought to bear with full force against the Islamist Houthis rebels in Yemen? How much longer are these terrorists going to be permitted – with very little retribution – to disrupt international maritime trade, and further damage major undersea fibre-optic international internet communications?
How much longer before the Iranian Shi’ite regime in Tehran, the real, true power behind all of this death and destruction, is brought to book and held to account?
There are probably many more questions like these that could be included. But there is one more multi-threaded question that must be asked.
How much longer before the current USA administration admits that it cannot buy Iran’s compliance to any sort of agreement to limit, or even curtail to any degree at all, the mullahs’ and Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ relentless drive to develop tactical nuclear weapons? How much longer before President Biden, along with our own Lord David Cameron and many others of Israel’s so-called “friends”, understand that any idea of an imposed “Two state solution” is a non-starter? This notion, with its creation of an Islamist terrorist monster called “Palestine” is a non-starter both in Israel, and even more so among the Arab populations of Gaza, Judea, and Samaria, and even those who live in Israel itself?
How much longer before the current White House – and many in Israel’s upper echelons too – realise that the Oslo Accords are a dead, rotting corpse that need to be buried once and for all?
And, finally – how much longer before Israel understands that none of these “friends” can be trusted to have Israel’s back?
Prayer points:
Pray for the physical rescue of the approximately 136 Israelis (including babies) kidnapped by Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the PFLP/PLO back on 7 October 2023. At this moment some hostages are being tortured, raped and starved (this from the testimonies of recently released hostages). Hamas is also holding onto many corpses as bargaining chips.
Robin Benson has reported on current events in Israel for many years and appears regularly on Revelation TV’s ‘Politics Today’ and ‘Middle East Report’. He also hosts online prayer meetings for Israel (currently Monday and Wednesday evenings) and issues weekly prayer bulletins. Contact: shekinahlegacyprayer@icloud.com