BIDEN GOV DRONE CONSPIRACY THEORY-DRONES ARE MAPPING OUT THE AREAS WERE THEY ARE.

JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)

 BIDEN GOV DRONE CONSPIRACY THEORY-DRONES ARE MAPPING OUT THE AREAS WERE THEY ARE.

LONG EXPLANATION OF AMERICAS DESTRUCTION (NEW YORK POLITICAL BABYLON OF REVELATION CHAPTER 18)(REVELATION CHAPTER 17 IS THE DESTRUCTION OF THE RELIOUS BABYLON THE VATICAN IN ROME)

JEREMIAH 51:29-32
29  And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon,(AMERICA-NEW YORK) to make the land of Babylon (NEW YORK) a desolation without an inhabitant.
30  The mighty men of Babylon (AMERICA) have forborn to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.
31  One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of Babylon (NEW YORK) that his city is taken at one end,
32  And that the passages are stopped,(THE WAR COMPUTERS HACKED OR EMP'D) and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.(DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO)

LEVITICUS 26:30-34 (NY IS BUILT ON A GARBAGE DUMP)
30  And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my (GODS) soul shall abhor you.
31  And I will make your cities waste,(GARBAGE-DESTROYED) and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours.
32  And I will bring the land into desolation:(RUIN) and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it.
33  And I will scatter you among the heathen,(ENEMY NATIONS) and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.
34  Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths.

2 KINGS 19:25
25  Hast thou not heard long ago how I have done it, and of ancient times that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste fenced cities into ruinous heaps.

ISAIAH 34:10
10  It (NEW YORK-POLITICAL BABYLON) shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.

EZEKIEL 39:21
21 And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.

ISAIAH 18:1-2
1 Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia:
2 That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled!(AMERICA)

JEREMIAH 50:11,37,12
11 Because ye were glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye destroyers of mine heritage,(ISRAEL) because ye are grown fat as the heifer at grass, and bellow as bulls;(BACKSLIDERS)
37 A sword is upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her; and they shall become as women: a sword is upon her treasures; and they shall be robbed.(A NATION OF MINGLED PEOPLE)
12 Your mother (england) shall be sore confounded; she that bare you shall be ashamed:(MOTHER ENGLAND) behold, the hindermost of the nations shall be a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.

JEREMIAH 51:13,7,53
13 O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness.
7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.
53 Though Babylon (NEW YORK) should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the LORD.

REVELATION 18:3,5,7
3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

JEREMIAH 50:3,24
3 For out of the north (RUSSIA) there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.
24 I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon,(NEW YORK) and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the LORD. (RUSSIA A SNEAK ATTACK ON NEW YORK)

REVELATION 18:9-11,15-21
9 And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,(NUKE ATTACK I BELIEVE FROM RUSSIA)
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
15 The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
16 And saying, Alas, alas that great city,  (NEW YORK) that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
18 And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! (NEW YORK)
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.(1 HOUR NEW YORK IS GONE)
20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon (NEW YORK) be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.
THE CRAZY WORLD IS STILL TRYING TO POKE GOD IN THE EYE WITH THIS USELESS WASTE OF TIME ISRAEL HATE CEASEFIRE.he continued.“When the locals realized that the elephant population was dwindling, they gradually shifted their focus to fallow deer. Identifying the deer’s plentiful source, they began to develop the unique scrapers in the same place. This is the earliest instance of a phenomenon that later spread throughout the world,” Litov said.The Mount Gerizim location, near Nablus, is especially important because numerous fallow deer bones were found there at an ancient altar site. As Gerizim is associated with the Israelite’s entry into the Land of Israel and is considered a sacred site by the local Samaritan community, “apparently, the Mountains of Samaria gained a prominent, or even sacred status as early as the Paleolithic period, and retained their unique cultural position for hundreds of thousands of years,” the researchers said.

I STILL SAY THE DRONES WERE LOOKING FOR HIDDEN NUKES AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS.AND HERES WHY I SAID I BELIEVE RUSSIA IS THE CULPRET.AND NEW YORK WILL BE THE VICTIM.

Joe Rogan left stunned as Navy pilot reveals secret tech powering drones over New Jersey'By STACY LIBERATORE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM-Published: 15:16 EST, 19 December 2024

A former Navy pilot has weighed in on the drone sightings in New Jersey as the mystery rages on. Ryan Graves, a former lieutenant, appeared on the Joe Rogan Podcast where he discussed possible technologies powering the drones, which would allow them to avoid detection.He told Rogan that law enforcement has been unable to pick up the objects with their infrared systems, suggesting the drones are using 'some type of signature management' to reduce heat emissions.'We do this in fighter jets... where we cover the engine to essentially make it harder to see, but to have zero ability to detect or lock onto these objects is not the technology I'm familiar with,' said Graves.The pilot pointed how the objects are not behaving like normal aircraft, such as their High-G force maneuvers that include sharp turns, climbs and dives.'Then they remain in the area for another five or six or seven hours and still have the battery life or whatever's propelling them to then go over the ocean to a point where they're untrackable again. I'm not really familiar with that type of capability,' he said.Graves became a household name in the UAP world in 2023 when he became the first active-duty pilot to come forward publicly about regular sightings of UAP.He testified in front of Congress that year, claiming to have had firsthand encounters or knowledge about secret government programs involving technology that is 'non-human.''The word on the street is that these objects appear to be coming from over the ocean, said Graves during the podcast. 'There's senior congressmen, Coast Guard personnel, law enforcement [who are] seeing a large number of these come from somewhere over the ocean.'I don't know if that means necessarily they're popping out of the water physically or if they're coming from some unknown location in the water and then proceeding over the coast.''They are flying very low, in some cases they seem to be operating as a group in the vicinity of each other. They are emitting energy or not so you know like radio communications or their own.'It's unknown I've poked on that front and best I can tell the government doesn't know either.'The sightings began mid-November with the first sightings over Picatinny Arsenal in Rockaway.Rogan said that 'it is so weird' that the drones are a mystery to the White House.Graves offered some explanations, suggesting that the drones might be using cameras to measure their surroundings instead of radar, which is more easily detectable. He told Joe Rogan that the drones are able to manage their heat signatures, allowing them to go undetected by the government'They could have a self-contained navigational system with their onboard maps and they're using cameras to map where they are,' he said.Rogan asked if the technology would make them completely autonomous, to which Graves said: 'Exactly.''I could imagine a fully self-contained autonomous drone system that is doing something potentially with passive sensors that allows it to operate without emissions, which is going to make it harder to track,' he said.Rogan asked why the powers of be have not put a stop to the drones, and the former pilot said it all comes down to the laws in the US.While the White House has yet to provide the public with answer, it has been holding classified briefings on the matter.'Because of that they essentially need a warrant in order to wiretap these,' Graves said, explaining that is the feedback he has received.'[They need a warrant] to even intercept these signals that they may or may not even be emitting to be able to determine where they're going.'He explained that base commanders have to submit a request to the Secretary of Defense, making it 'a super politically charged situation.''If they take action and shoot one of these down even with this the Secretary of Defense's permission you know they're on the hook if that thing takes out a school bus or otherwise damages someone's property kill somebody,' said Graves.Rogan began the Tuesday podcast by discussing the different narratives surrounding the mysterious sightings.'The scariest one that I've heard is that their drones are looking for gamma radiation because there's a missing nuke. Let's address that one first please,' he said.Rogan had been quiet about the New Jersey drones until John Ferguson, who runs Saxon Unmanned, posted a TikTok video claiming the craft was looking for either a gas leak of 'radioactive material.'Graves told the podcaster that he has interacted with individuals who work on weapons of mass destruction and they told him that 'there's not a loose nuke or other type of weapon of mass destruction that these objects are pursuing right now.''Otherwise they'd be working in a skiff nonstop to make that go away,' he added.The response, however, did not hit home with Rogan who questioned if Graves' sources were being truthful.'How [did] they persuade you? Just by saying 'that's not the case' or have they given you any information that leads to this conclusion,' Rogan asked.Graves replied that the people he spoke to would be the ones responsible for finding the nuke or weapon of mass destruction.The mayor of Belleville, Michael Melham, had said on Fox TV's 'Good Day New York' Tuesday that the drones may be looking for radioactive material.'It was a shipment. It arrived at its destination. The container was damaged, and it was empty,' Melham said.The mayor was referring to an alert from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that said a piece of medical equipment used for cancer scans went missing on December 2 during transit through the state.The device, known as a 'pin source,' contained a small amount of Germanium-68 (Ge-68)used to calibrate a medical scanner's accuracy.The pin source contained about 0.267 millicuries (mCi) of Ge-68, which is a very small amount that would only cause harm during close and prolonged exposure.The material emits low-energy gamma radiation, making it useful for calibration purposes in medical equipment.

Officials push back on online rumors, say mystery drones are not tracking radioactive material By Emma Li-December 19, 2024 / 7:13 PM EST / CBS News

New Jersey officials have debunked claims that drones were deployed to search for missing radioactive material from a shipping container, following social media speculation linked to reports of mystery drone sightings.The shipment was a piece of medical equipment called a pin source, which contains a radioactive component commonly used to calibrate PET scanners. The pin source has since been recovered.The rumor gained traction online and was echoed by Belleville Mayor Michael Melham during a Tuesday interview, when he suggested the drones, which have been spotted over several eastern states in recent weeks, might be involved in a search."In my opinion, they're looking for something," Melham said. "There is an alert that's out right now that radioactive material in New Jersey has gone missing on Dec. 2. There was a shipment that arrived at its destination. The container was damaged and was empty."Melham told CBS News he used the instance as an example of what the drones may be looking for. "My point is, they are flying in a grid-like pattern, in my opinion, sniffing for something," he said.A spokesperson for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection told CBS News that the material in question has been recovered and drones were not part of the recovery operation.The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday issued a notice restricting drone flights over nearly two dozen towns in New Jersey until Jan. 17. Claims of missing radioactive material in New Jersey-The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission released a report on Dec. 13 that said medical equipment from Nazha Cancer Center in southern New Jersey had been "lost in transit on December 2" after the shipping container "arrived at its destination damaged and empty."Kalman Rosenfeld, a radiation site manager at Nazha Cancer Center, told CBS News that the equipment has arrived at a disposal facility in Knoxville, Tennessee.The shipment contained trace amounts of Germanium-68, a "very low-level radiation source" permitted to be shipped through common carriers, according to the NJDEP. The department said the device was misplaced at a FedEx shipping facility before it was located on Dec. 10, repackaged and sent back to the manufacturer.How the theory spread online-On Dec. 14, John Ferguson, the CEO of an unmanned aircraft systems manufacturer based in Kansas, posted a TikTok video that suggested the drones may be detecting gas leaks or radioactive material on the ground.Podcast host Joe Rogan reposted the video and said, "This is the first video about these drones that has got me genuinely concerned."Ferguson's video has circulated widely across social media, amassing more than 30 million views on X and thousands of users' engagement, with some users linking it to the missing shipment. However, Ferguson does not mention the shipping container, and he told CBS News he did not know about the shipment until after he made the video. "I have heard about the medical equipment that came up missing in a shipping container," Ferguson said. "I do not know much about it, but I do know that that is not a part of my video or anything that I have done to date."Government response to nuclear emergencies-A spokesperson from the National Nuclear Security Administration, an agency under the Department of Energy that works with the nuclear stockpile, told CBS News that the administration is not engaged in any operations involving radiological or nuclear threats. Additionally, their specialized Nuclear Emergency Support Team uses aircraft rather than drones to detect nuclear or radiological substances.Researchers from the federal energy department's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory found that drones have the potential to conduct detection of low levels of radiation across survey sites, but more studies are needed before the devices are approved for use in decommissioning.The FBI has received more than 5,000 tips about drone sightings in recent weeks, according to a joint statement released on Tuesday by the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the FAA and the Department of Defense.

Space Force must grow to counter China and Russia, lawmaker says-By Courtney Albon- Tuesday, Dec 17, 2024

The leader of the House Armed Services Committee said Tuesday the Space Force needs to grow in size to overcome increasing threats from China and Russia.Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., was a key player in establishing the Space Force five years ago. At the time, he and others in Congress advocated for a small, agile force that could quickly establish the processes and organizations needed to get the service up and running.“We’ve come a long way since those early tasks,” Rogers said Tuesday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “Now, it’s time to increase the size of the Space Force to meet growing threats.”Rogers didn’t specify to what extent he thinks the service needs to expand.Acknowledging that many lawmakers do not support a major increase in overhead, he noted that he’s not calling for a “wholesale” end strength increase. Yes, Congress should approve more general officers, he said, but the Air Force and the defense secretary should also transfer billets to the service.“If we want the [branch] capable of doing what the nation expects, it has to have enough people — and the right people [to] carry out its mission,” Rogers said.Along with manpower growth, Rogers also advocated for more development opportunities for guardians across career fields, particularly technical and acquisition roles.He and the committee’s Ranking Member Adam Smith, D-Wash., elaborated on these concerns on Tuesday in a letter to Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman.In the letter, obtained by Defense News, the lawmakers suggest the Space Force may be placing too much emphasis on its operational community to the detriment of its acquisition, training and testing workforce.“We believe this is needed to not only be successful in developing the next generation space warfighter, but also to ensure that the service will have the skillset and workforce to design, develop, and acquire systems that guardians are going to need in the future,” the letter states. “We fear a divide that elevates operators at the detriment to other core functions of the Space Force will have negative impacts, potentially not immediately, but as we look to 2030 and beyond.”For its part, the Space Force over the last few years has been working to better align its acquisition and operator communities. Last year, the Saltzman announced a pilot program to create integrated Mission Deltas as a way to better coordinate responsibility, authority and resources within mission areas.The pilot was widely viewed as successful in its first two mission areas — positioning, navigation and timing and electronic warfare. In April, the Space Force expanded the pilot to include space domain awareness and missile warning and tracking. The service now plans to expand the concept to additional Mission Deltas over the next year.Rogers and Smith said in their letter they want more detail on how those integrated deltas will be staffed with additional acquisition personnel in the coming years. They also asked for a breakdown of the Space Force’s officer selection boards by rank between 2021 and 2024.Further, the committee leaders ask for more information on how acquisition training personnel are developed through the Space Force’s force generation model, known as SPAFORGEN, and what specific recruiting, training and retention efforts are in place.In his speech Tuesday, Rogers noted that his concerns about operator emphasis within the service are linked to the Air Force’s tendency to promote fighter pilots over airmen in other career fields. He said he’ll be watching closely to ensure the Space Force doesn’t follow similar patterns.“The Space Force has to be led by more than just operators,” he said. “It must represent the contributions of all career services if it’s to be successful. A deep understanding and connection with technology is at the core of the Space Force. Operators, acquisition, intel and cyber professionals all must be on equal footing.”

INVENTION OF THE ATOMIC BOMB.

2 PETER 3:10-11
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements (NUKES) shall melt with fervent heat,(BLAST) the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.(BUT ITS NO END OF THE WORLD HOGWASH)
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved,(BY NUKES INCLUDING 3 BILLION PEOPLE) what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

NUCLEAR WEAPONS WILL BE USED.

JESUS SHED HIS BLOOD FOR US THAT WE CAN BE SAVED FOREVER.AND DURING WW3 PEOPLES BLOOD WILL BE SHED AS A JUDGEMENT FOR HATING HIM AND ISRAEL.GOD IS NOT MOCKED.

ZEPHANIAH 1:2-3
2  I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD.
3  I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.

PSALMS 97:3
3 A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about.

EZEKIEL 5:15-17
15  So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the (ARAB/MUSLIM) nations that are round about thee,(ISRAEL) when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I the LORD have spoken it.
16  When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:
17  So will I send upon you famine and evil beasts,(WHEN RUSSIA/MUSLIMS GET DEFEATED THIER BODIES GET EATEN BY BIRDS,ANIMALS IN ISRAEL MIGRATION SEASON) and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee;(NUKES) and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the LORD have spoken it.

REVELATION 14:18-20
18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden without the city,(JERUSALEM) and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.(200 MILES) (THE SIZE OF ISRAEL)

ISAIAH 66:15-18
15 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire,(NUKES) and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.
17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.
18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.

ISAIAH 26:21
21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity:(GOD/ISRAEL HATE AND BRAKING OF HIS COMMANDMENTS) the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.(WW3,1/2 earths population die - 3 BILLION).

ISAIAH 13:6-13 KJV
6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:(FROM FRIGHT)
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

ISAIAH 24:17-23 KJV
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.

2 TIMOTHY 3:1
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.

JOEL 2:3,30

ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)

EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.

ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

REVELATION 9:18
18 By these three was the third part of men killed,(2 BILLION) by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(ATOMIC BOMBS)(RUSSIA CHINA DESTROYED BY ISRAELS ATOMIC BOMBS)

REVELATION 16:12-16
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates;(WERE WW3 STARTS IN IRAQ OR SYRIA OR TURKEY) and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon,(SATAN) and out of the mouth of the beast,(WORLD DICTATOR) and out of the mouth of the false prophet.(FALSE POPE)
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.(WERE 2 BILLION DIE FROM NUKE WAR)
15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.

PROOF HALF ON EARTH DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD (8 BILLION ON EARTH)

REVELATION 6:7-8 (8 BILLION- 2 BILLION = 6 BILLION)
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth,(2 BILLION) to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).

REVELATION 9:15,18 (6 BILLION - 2 BILLION = 4 BILLION)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,
18 By these three was the third part of men killed,(2 BILLION) by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMBS)

HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)

LUKE 17:34-37 (8 TOTAL BILLION - 4 BILLION DEAD IN TRIB = 4 BILLION TO JESUS KINGDOM) (HALF DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD JUST LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS)(GOD DOES NOT LIE)(AND NOTICE MOST DIE IN WAR AND DISEASES-NOT COMETS-ASTEROIDS-QUAKES OR TSUNAMIS)
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other shall be left.(half earths population 4 billion die in the 7 yr trib)
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten by the birds).THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES.BECAUSE NOT HALF OF PEOPLE ON EARTH ARE CHRISTIANS.AND THE CONTEXT IN LUKE 17 IS THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION OR 7 YR TREATY PERIOD.WHICH IS JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH.NOT 50% RAPTURED TO HEAVEN.

MATTHEW 24:37-42 (THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-SURE NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
42 Watch therefore:(FOR THE LAST DAYS SIGNS HAPPENING) for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

World War III is already underway.In Ukraine.Three years in, Russia’s invasion has drawn in dozens of countries.By EVA HARTOG-December 18, 2024 4:00 am CET

If you had walked the front lines in the early weeks of the war in Ukraine, you might have heard shouts in Ukrainian and Russian, perhaps mingled with voices speaking regional languages such as Buryat and Chechen.Today, troops on either side of the line of conflict communicate in Spanish, Nepali, Hindi, Somali, Serbian and Korean.Foreign tongues spoken in muddy trenches are just one sign of how the conflict has taken on an increasingly international dimension.In the sky above the battlefield, an Iranian Shahed drone might be intercepted by an American air defense system, while on the ground, German-made artillery whizzes past North Korean shells. Almost three years in, even the most dogged isolationists would have a hard time selling the war as a “regional conflict” between Russia and Ukraine. What began in February 2022 as the biggest European land war since World War II, now competes for the title of the most global conflict since the Cold War, with dozens of countries directly or indirectly involved.That aspect of the conflict could ultimately seal its fate as Ukraine risks losing its biggest backer with the ascension in the United States of Donald Trump as president, even as Russia attracts increasing support from Washington’s other enemies, most notably North Korea.“The last time we saw anything like this would probably have been the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan,” said the prominent Cold War historian Sergey Radchenko. “When there was support for the mujahideen from the West and also from Pakistan, and everybody was having a go.”Proxy war-When Moscow launched its full-scale assault on Ukraine in February 2022, the Kremlin and its propagandists justified it as a necessary and defensive move against NATO. Opinions differ on whether Russian President Vladimir Putin genuinely intended to take on the so-called collective West, guns blazing. But there is a broad consensus that he expected the war to be over in a matter days — and that he, with reason, counted on the West to answer with the condemn-but-mostly-accept attitude that it had shown toward his earlier land grabs in Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. “It would have been a local conflict if it had ended quickly,” said Radchenko. “But it didn’t.”Ukrainians fought back tooth and nail, and Putin’s troops floundered just long enough for the West to snap to attention. Europe worried that its own security was on the line; the U.S. had an image to uphold as a backer of democracy and European security. Within days, Western weapons and intelligence poured in, helping Ukrainians beat back the Russian advance and internationalizing the conflict.With time, as both Ukraine and Russia have found themselves hamstrung by shell hunger and overstretched troops, that international dimension has become both more visible and more important.Today, both countries rely on outside help: Ukraine, to keep standing; Russia, to maintain its dominance in the sky and on the ground, while minimizing the effect of the war on its own population.As they have lobbied the world for more resources, both sides have made large, ideological claims. Ukraine says it is fighting for “democracy;” Russia says it is crusading against what it calls American hegemony and “the collective West.”Moscow’s sales pitch of a “multipolar world order,” as vaguely defined as it is, has been sufficiently convincing for Iran to provide it with Shahed drones and North Korea to ship it ballistic missiles, millions of shells and, more recently, thousands of troops.The so-called Global South, too, has tilted toward Putin under the umbrella of BRICS, a club of countries that, despite their stark differences, have found common ground in their shared grudge toward a system that has sidelined them from key institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.Moscow’s biggest lifeline is China, which has played a crucial role in buttressing the Russian economy from Western sanctions by providing a market for its oil and fertilizer, while also giving it access to much-needed technology. “India and others can trade with Russia and that’s significant. But nothing comes close to what China brings to the table,” said Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.Separately, Russia has continued and expanded upon its age-old practice of hybrid warfare, stirring up trouble and widening existing cleavages abroad.Unlike during the Cold War, however, there aren’t proxy conflicts where Moscow can strike at NATO. So “Russia is trying to look for tools to push back,” in other ways, said Gabuev. “Attach costs, inflict pain, avenge.”That has included interfering with elections, starting fires and other acts of sabotage, and providing support to various anti-Western actors and groups; from bankrolling a pro-Russian oligarch intent on derailing Moldova’s pro-EU course, to providing data to Yemen’s Houthis to help them strike Western ships in the Red Sea.Western assistance-Meanwhile, Russia’s adversaries haven’t been standing still.Kyiv’s pitch, telecast by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has won it more than $220 billion worth of aid from Europe and the U.S. NATO countries have delivered more and more powerful weapons: From howitzer artillery shells at the beginning of the war, to F-16 fighter jets and ATACMS long-range missiles today. In as clear a geopolitical warning shot to Moscow as Brussels is able to give, the European Union has progressed Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia’s bids to join the bloc.Without Western help, the war would not have survived its first year and would have ended in a “crushing defeat” for Ukraine, said Gabuev. But the West has also stuck to certain guardrails; choosing a strategy of cautious incrementalism over escalation. Much to Kyiv’s frustration, arms deliveries have come in phases, and with rules attached.  For almost three years, leaders in the U.S. and Europe played deaf to Kyiv’s increasingly desperate pleas for permission to use long-range weapons to strike targets inside Russia. On the other side, despite frequent threats from Moscow that it might nuke a Western city, the red button appears to be off-limits. And, notwithstanding alarm from countries on Europe’s eastern flank about an impending Russian invasion, Moscow’s troops have steered clear of NATO territory.China, too, has respected some of the West’s red lines, ensuring that it doesn’t directly violate Western sanctions (although doing so indirectly) and, for now, not providing Russia with any lethal weapons (although it has delivered individual parts and, according to recent reports, it is suspected of delivering drones.)On both sides, foreign troops on the ground seemed a no-go. While some voices, most notably French President Emmanuel Macron, have floated the possibility of putting Western boots on the ground, the idea has never gone beyond a quickly slapped down proposal. That’s not to say those red lines haven’t been tested. Ukraine invaded Russia’s Kursk region and used Western weapons to strike Russian targets, such as its Black Sea Fleet. North Korean troops traveled to Russia. And outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden finally green-lighted Ukraine’s use of ATACMS long-range weapons to be used against targets on Russian soil. Still, the problem with internationalized conflicts — as Ukraine has been finding out — is that external backers can be whimsical and their commitment only as deep as the next electoral campaign.Toward the end of 2024, the appetite for supporting a Ukrainian victory — defined as a return to Ukraine’s 1991 borders — has dwindled in Washington and Brussels.Even before Trump’s win, the idea that containment in the form of a deal that would freeze the conflict and involve Ukraine ceding territory appears to have gone from being taboo to lodestar. “It was clear from the beginning that if Ukraine didn’t win fast enough, America would drop out,” said Nina Khrushcheva, a professor of international affairs at the New School in New York and the great-granddaughter of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.“All of this was seen right from the beginning as a Hollywood series,” she said. Initially, she added, Ukraine’s backers thought it would be over after a single season. But then there was another. “And now there’s a third one, and so of course attention has faded,” she said. “We don’t want a fourth series, but it’s going to happen.” Radchenko, the historian, is more forgiving.  “For the United States, avoiding a nuclear war with Russia has always been the No. 1 priority in this conflict. The second is helping Ukraine win,” Radchenko said, adding, “Those two competing objectives somehow have to be reconciled.”Then there’s the fact that Ukraine’s backers, as opposed to Russia’s, have to deal with public opinion. A Pew Research Center poll in July showed Americans were evenly split on whether they thought their country had a responsibility to help Ukraine. The end of the war-As the conflict heads toward the start of its fourth year, neither side is getting all the help it wants. Meanwhile, the conflict looks more like a WWI war of attrition than a high-tech WWIII. “It would be logical to see thousands of Iranians and a compact army of Chinese fighting [for Russia] in Ukraine right now,” the ultranationalist Russian thinker Alexander Dugin, considered one of the ideologues of the Ukraine war, wrote in October. “It is logical that those who are against Western hegemony and in favor of a multipolar world would support Russia with actions. And Russia will then support them in their own anti-imperialist wars.” So far Russia’s pipe dream of global solidarity has produced nothing more than smoke. Russia is estimated to be hemorrhaging some 30,000 soldiers a month and recruiting only just as many to replace them. North Korea (for now) is not supplying enough troops to make a significant difference. Kyiv is in even more dire straits. Doubts over the depth of Western support are rising just as Ukrainians are facing another winter, weakened by low morale and suffering a deficit in pretty much everything. According to an estimate from the Pentagon, the country only has enough troops to last another six to twelve months before it runs into serious trouble. With both Russia and Ukraine struggling to mobilize enough of their own men, the two sides used as triage thousands of foreigners, mostly from impoverished countries, to join their fight.In addition to troops provided by Pyongyang, Moscow has recruited fighters from Cuba, India, Nepal, Syria, Serbia, Central African Republic and Libya with promises of generous salaries and Russian citizenship (a commitment that isn’t always kept, according to some who have enlisted).Meanwhile, Ukraine, on top of financial incentives, is offering foreigners the chance to be on the right side of history.“Together we defeated Hitler, and we will defeat Putin, too,” the country’s then-foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, wrote on the social media platform X in 2022.That has led to a situation where, more than three decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the supposed “end of history,” Colombians are battling Cubans, suffering shrapnel injuries and dying, thousands of kilometers away from home.“We are fighting for freedom whereas the Latin Americans on the other side are defending an oppressive regime of oppression,” said Jhoe Manuel Almanza Chica, a Colombian enlisted in the Ukrainian army’s 241st Brigade.He said there was no cause more noble to die for than freedom. “But if I remain alive, I want to be able to tell my children that I was part of history.” Ultimately, analysts said, the outcome of the war will likely depend on the decisions of the combatants’ primary backers: NATO and China. “If you withdraw NATO support to Ukraine, there will be no Ukraine,” said Gabuev.  “But if you withdraw Chinese support from the Russian war effort, it would force Moscow to limit its appetite and dampen its hopes that time is on its side.”Right now, China appears to be the main benefactor of the conflict, said Gabuev. The war has distracted Washington and helped Beijing tighten its hold over Russia — a weakened but, under Putin, reliable partner. That could change, however, if the involvement of North Korea in the conflict makes it spill over into the Indo-Pacific, which Beijing sees as its backyard, by drawing in South Korea and possibly NATO.Other factors could tip the balance; in the U.S., an unpredictable Trump. In the Middle East, Iran’s conflict with Israel. In Europe, a surge of popularity for far-right parties, some of which are skeptical of aiding Ukraine. In the meantime, there’s always the risk of further escalation, said Radchenko. “As long as the war continues, there is a danger that somebody else will join the fight.”

World War III has begun, West not prepared for it, says Ukraine’s former military commander-#DefeatRussia-November 26,2024

A third World War has started as Russia has involved its autocratic allies in the war against Ukraine, stated Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine’s ambassador to Great Britain and former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda.“I believe that in 2024, we can absolutely assume that World War III has begun,” he said.Ukraine is being attacked by missiles of North Korean origin and Iranian drones, while Russian weapons contain Chinese components, the former four-star general said.“The reason is that in 2024, Ukraine is no longer facing Russia. Ukraine is facing soldiers from North Korea. Let’s be honest. Iranian-made Shaheds [loitering munitions] are killing civilians in Ukraine quite openly,” Zaluzhnyi said.Thus, he said, the global community must prepare for the third world war that is unraveling. However, there is still time to stop it within Ukraine’s borders. Unfortunately, he noted, international partners have yet to fully grasp this reality.“What we’ve expected for so long has started. But I want to say that God himself is giving a chance, not only to Ukraine but to the whole world, to have time to draw the correct conclusions now,” Zaluzhnyi added.Russia is currently using a strategy of prolonged siege, which is aimed at “the attrition of Ukraine’s economic and moral conditions.”Zaluzhnyi noted that Ukraine’s survival depends on technology, but it is uncertain whether the country can win the war alone. Major breakthroughs on the frontlines are not possible yet due to a technical and evolutionary process that is expected to conclude by 2027, he explained.“When robots [drones] began to appear on the battlefield en masse, they made it impossible for soldiers to move. The inability to fight the robots led to a stupor. […] This situation is still the same,” Zaluzhnyi said.Meanwhile, Zaluzhnyi believes European countries are unprepared for a long war with Russia. From Ukraine’s experience, the number of enemy air targets is increasing, while the means to combat them are limited and prohibitively expensive.“Even by this number, I believe neither the UK nor European countries will be ready,” he said.Despite the availability of F-16 aircraft in many European countries – aircraft with “excellent air defense capabilities,” – Zaluzhnyi noted that air defense systems could be depleted within two to three months.“It is difficult to say whether they are engaged in alternative measures to learn how to deal with air targets. Most likely they’re not,” the general explained.Regarding short-term military actions, Zaluzhnyi believes that European countries are prepared. “But the real question is whether they are ready for a war of attrition,” he concluded.

Taiwan gets US Abrams tanks, hardening final defenses in an invasion-By Gordon Arthur- Friday, Dec 20, 2024

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — Taiwan, which ratified a record defense budget of $20.2 billion in August as it contemplates rising Chinese aggression, received a first batch of 38 M1A2T Abrams tanks on home shores this month.After being unloaded at Taipei’s port on Dec. 15, the tanks were transported to the Armor Training Command in Hsinchu County southwest of Taipei. Around ten will remain there for training purposes.The M1A2T is a customized M1A2 SEPv2 Abrams version, and these are the first new tanks Taiwan has received in nearly a quarter of a century. Taiwan previously received M60A3 TTS tanks from the U.S. between 1995 and 2001.Following this month’s first batch, 42 more Abrams tanks would be delivered next year, and the final 28 in 2026, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Taiwan had ordered them in 2019.Chen Kuoming, a Taipei-based military analyst, told Defense News the weapons are meant “most importantly” for defending the Taipei capital area. They will outfit an armored brigade in Linkou in Taipei, and another brigade in Hukou in Hsinchu.The Abrams represents a significant step up in terms of firepower and protection compared to the existing fleet of M60A3 and M48H/CM11 models, which are armed with a 105mm main gun.Chen said those tank types were too old and outdated, although 108 new Abrams “are just not enough” to cover replacements in central and southern Taiwan as well.No runways, no sorties: Chinese missiles threaten US airpower plans-American warplanes could be kept from joining the fray of a conflict with China for days or weeks, analysts have concluded.By Kelly A. Grieco and Hunter SlingbaumTanks essentially represent a final line of defense against any Chinese invasion. Taiwan’s earlier lines of defense against an amphibious assault include anti-ship missiles, artillery and rockets as well as attack helicopters.“From the Russia-Ukraine war, we’ve seen drones and loitering munitions attacking tanks,” Chen said. He therefore expressed a need for the new M1A2Ts to be upgraded against such aerial attacks.In that context, the analyst warned of diminishing returns for tank investments. Instead, he suggested the budget should be used on other equipment like small drones and loitering munitions, Javelin antitank missiles, Stinger air defense missiles or lighter armored vehicles.“I want to encourage army officers to think about future wars, so they’ll change their thoughts about buying heavier tanks,” he urged.Taiwan is also in receipt of an initial 11 of 29 M142 HIMARS rocket launchers. The defense ministry revealed that the first tranche arrived in October, with 18 more systems due before the end of 2026. These HIMARS were delivered to the 58th Artillery Command in Taichung, a city midway down Taiwan’s west coast.Taiwan’s army has received a first batch of an undisclosed number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) from the U.S. too. Fired from the HIMARS launchers, the ATACMS’s range of 186 miles (300km) puts mainland China within strike range.

New US Space Force jammers aim to disrupt China’s SATCOM signals-By Courtney Albon- Thursday, Dec 19, 2024

The U.S. Space Force is on track to field its first batch of a new ground-based satellite communications jammer in the coming months — designed to disrupt signals from enemy spacecraft.Space Operations Command just approved the Remote Modular Terminals for initial fielding, a spokesperson told Defense News Wednesday, adding that the jammers will be in the hands of military users imminently.The Space Force plans to field 11 systems as part of the first release, giving units a chance to use the system before it’s accepted for operations. The program has funding to build around 160, and the service expects to need as many as 200 in the coming years.The Space Rapid Capabilities Office, a fast-moving acquisition team based at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, is the lead for the RMT program. Space RCO Director Kelly Hammett told reporters last week the small, modular terminals are designed to block adversary communications from satellites that are surveilling U.S. and allies, particularly in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.“We want to be able to disrupt their comms and their kill chains and their targeting links,” Hammett said during a Dec. 11 media briefing at the Spacepower Conference in Orlando, Fla. “That’s what these systems are intended to do: to block reception going either from, say, sensors that are that are looking at our joint forces and reporting up to a satellite and back to a battle management node, or vice versa.”The U.S. is particularly concerned about surveillance satellites China has launched in recent years. The remote systems, called Yaogan, provide continuous, uninterrupted coverage of the Indo-Pacific theater to identify gaps in U.S. and allied forces. The latest version, Yaogan-41, launched to geostationary orbit late last year and can track car-sized objects, according to a January 2024 report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies.The RMT jammers will essentially “yell in their ear” so the radars can’t command other systems to attack U.S. assets, according to Hammett.Hammett declined to say where the first systems will be fielded, but said the initial locations have been identified. Speaking this fall at a separate Space Industry Days conference in Los Angeles, Hammett said operators will be able to control the systems from locations in the U.S. even as they’re deployed around the world.The Space RCO awarded contracts for the program just 18 months ago, working with a small, Virginia-based company called Northstrat. The firm partnered with a larger company, CACI, to leverage mostly off-the-shelf technology to build the terminals.The terminals themselves are small, Hammett said, and cost roughly $1.5 million each.“As far as space electronic warfare goes, you can’t get much better than that,” he said.

Three soldiers killed fighting in northern Gaza, airstrike hits Hamas security chief-Kfir Brigade’s Cpt. Ilay Gavriel Atedgi, 22, Staff Sgt. Netanel Pessach, 21, and Sgt. First Class (res.) Hillel Diener, 21, killed by explosive during operation in Beit Hanoun area-By Emanuel Fabian-and ToI Staff Today, 10:22 pm-DEC 23,24

Three Israeli soldiers were killed during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday, the military announced, as operations to combat the Hamas terror group’s regrouping efforts in the area continued.The slain troops were named as: Cpt. Ilay Gavriel Atedgi, 22, from Kiryat Motzkin; Staff Sgt. Netanel Pessach, 21, from Elazar; and Sgt. First Class (res.) Hillel Diener, 21, from Talmon.They all served in the Kfir Brigade’s Shimshon Battalion.According to an initial Israel Defense Forces probe, the soldiers were killed by an explosive device in the Beit Hanoun area.Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 391. The toll includes a police officer killed in a hostage rescue mission and a Defense Ministry civilian contractor.The Kfir Brigade had just wrapped up an operation against Hamas in nearby Beit Lahiya earlier this week.Troops advanced to the Beit Hanoun area “following intelligence information about the presence of terrorists and terror infrastructure in the area,” the IDF said on Sunday.The military and Shin Bet also announced Monday that a senior member of Hamas’s general security forces had been killed in a Sunday airstrike in Gaza City.According to the military, the target of the strike, Tharwat Muhammad Ahmad al-Bayk, served as the head of the security directorate in Hamas’s General Security Service.Al-Bayk was targeted while at a Hamas command center embedded within the Musa Ibn Nusayr school, in Gaza City’s Daraj neighborhood, the IDF said.The school was serving as a shelter for displaced Gazans, and Palestinian media reported at least eight dead in the strike.The IDF and Shin Bet said that the security directorate in the General Security Service is a Hamas body that is tasked with building an intelligence picture to help the terror group make decisions.The unit is also responsible for the protection of Hamas’s top officials, and has the job of providing shelters for the senior commanders and leaders to enable them to continue their military activity, the joint statement said.“Al-Bayk was considered one of the main links in the mechanism, and a significant factor in [Hamas’s] decision-making,” the statement continued.The IDF said it took steps to mitigate civilian harm in the strike, including by using a precision munition and aerial surveillance.Meanwhile, organized looting is increasingly threatening aid delivery in war-torn Gaza, with armed groups taking advantage of the chaos and lack of governance to steal basic items, The New York Times reported Monday.The paper said the phenomenon, which was once limited to desperate individuals, has now blossomed into systematic practices by armed groups in the enclave.The growing threat has led the UN and other aid groups to halt operations, contributing to rising hunger and leaving tens of thousands of people without critical supplies, the report said.The report said the Israeli military has tried to find alternate routes for aid that will bypass looters, but success has been only partial.It added that the IDF appears to increasingly be targeting armed looters with airstrikes to deter the practice.Israel has been at war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, when the terror group invaded southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages, amid acts of brutality and sexual assault.Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 391. The toll includes a police officer killed in a hostage rescue mission and a Defense Ministry civilian contractor.It is believed that 96 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF. Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.

Lebanese PM, UNIFIL call for Israel to withdraw troops faster than ceasefire demands-Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati urges US, France to pressure accelerated IDF pull-out from southern Lebanon, even as Israel continues to find Hezbollah weapons in border area-By AFP and ToI Staff Today, 11:17 pm-DEC 23,24

United Nations peacekeepers and Lebanon’s prime minister called on Monday for the Israel Defense Forces to speed up its withdrawal from the country, nearly a month into a fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Hezbollah terror group.“UNIFIL strongly urges accelerated progress in the IDF’s withdrawal from and the LAF’s (Lebanese army) deployment in south Lebanon,” the force said in a statement.It called on “all actors to cease and refrain from violations of (Security Council) Resolution 1701 and any actions that could jeopardize the fragile stability that currently prevails,” referring to the 2006 agreement that ended the Second Lebanon War and served as a basis for the more recent ceasefire deal in November.The UNIFIL statement came after Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the United States and France should put pressure on Israel to complete its withdrawal faster.The United States and France, along with Lebanon, Israel and UNIFIL, make up the committee tasked with maintaining communication between the parties to the ceasefire and ensuring any violations are identified and dealt with.As part of the truce agreement, the Lebanese army and peacekeepers will deploy in southern Lebanon, as the Israeli army pulls out over a period of 60 days.The IDF under the ceasefire agreement has until late January to withdraw from southern Lebanon, and, in the meantime, it continues to operate against and destroy Hezbollah infrastructure.“In order for the army to be able to fully accomplish its missions, the committee must… put pressure on the Israeli enemy to bring an end to all the violations” of the ceasefire, Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in the town of Khiam during a tour of the south.“It is necessary to put pressure on the parties to the ceasefire agreement, namely the French and the Americans, to accelerate the process before the expiration of the 60-day period,” he added, going on to accuse Israel of “dragging its feet.”On December 11, the Lebanese army reported that it had deployed around Khiam, five kilometers (3.1 miles) from the border, in coordination with UNIFIL, following the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the area.Accusations of violations-Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported on Monday that “the Israeli enemy continues its invasion and attacks on southern Lebanese territories,” where it has “raised the Israeli flag” on a hill between the towns of Bayada and Naqura.The NNA frequently reports instances of Israel dynamiting homes in border villages.For its part, the Israeli army stated on Monday that it was continuing its defensive activities in the south “in accordance with the agreement,” adding that it had “seized and dismantled various weapons and military equipment from a warehouse.”The truce in southern Lebanon went into force on November 27, after more than a year of cross-border hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah that began when the Iranian-backed terror group started attacking Israel with rockets and drones on October 8, 2023, a day after Hamas terrorists invaded Israel from Gaza, starting the ongoing multi-front war.Fearing a similar Hezbollah onslaught, Israel evacuated residents of border towns. Hezbollah’s persistent rocket fire prevented some 60,000 displaced northerners from returning home. In a bid to stop the rocket fire, Israel stepped up operations against Hezbollah in late September, all but decimating the terror group’s leadership.Mikati said that he wanted to resolve any questions over the Blue Line — the UN-demarcated boundary between Lebanon and Israel — “so there will be no justification for any Israeli occupation of our land.”He also said he was working with “the World Bank, the European Union, Arab countries, and our international partners to create a trust fund” for reconstruction efforts.The World Bank estimated in October that the fighting had caused physical damage amounting to “at least $3.4 billion” in Lebanon.

Gantz says Israel must directly target Iran to deter ongoing Houthi attacks-National Unity leader also calls for regional nations, US to partner with Israel to remove threat of nuclear Iranian regime-By Sam Sokol-and ToI Staff Today, 8:55 pm-DEC 23,24

Faced with Houthi attacks from Yemen and dangers posed by other Iranian proxies, Israel “must target Iran directly,” opposition politician Benny Gantz declared on Monday.Speaking with the press ahead of his National Unity party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset, Gantz stated that “the solution to putting an end to the attacks lies in Tehran.”“Today, we have the opportunity to catalyze a ‘strategic flip’ against Iran and its proxies. We must capitalize on the opportunity. It would be a strategic mistake of historic proportion not to,” said Gantz, a former defense minister and IDF chief.The security establishment apparently agrees with Gantz, according to a Channel 12 report Sunday that said the question of tackling Iran — a possible reference both to efforts to deter the Houthis and to target Iran’s nuclear facilities — has come up repeatedly in security cabinet meetings, even as the focus has been on finding ways to counter the upsurge in Houthi missile attacks.Channel 13, for its part, quoted Mossad chief David Barnea saying: “We need to go for the head [of the snake], for Iran — if we only hit the Houthis, it’s not certain we’ll manage to stop them.”Quoting unnamed Israeli political and military leaders, Channel 12 reported that Tehran’s leadership believes Israel may soon attack it, and is holding frenzied consultations to decide what to do in the event that it does.The report added that Iran believes Israel agreed to a ceasefire last month in its conflict with Hezbollah up north because it would free up forces to focus on a direct attack against the Islamic regime.In his statement, Gantz said that “the nations of the region together with the United States must work together with Israel to remove the threat of a nuclear Iranian regime,” adding that a comprehensive deal with Hamas covering all of the hostages held in Gaza was also needed, even if their release would be spread over a period of time.Negotiations for a hostage deal are ongoing with officials involved in the talks expressing cautious optimism in the last week that an agreement may be close. However, reports on the details of the deal say it would not include all the remaining hostages held captive in Gaza, but would only see 34 hostages released, including some bodies of hostages who have been killed.It is believed that 96 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 38 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military as they tried to escape their captors.Other than securing the release of the remaining hostages, Gantz said, “We must use this time to do what Netanyahu has refused to do for over a year: replace the Hamas government,” adding that while Hamas’s commanders have largely been eliminated and its infrastructure destroyed, Israel “continues to let it run the Strip.”“The State of Israel has not made a real decision to replace Hamas. It is not working with our friends in the world to establish an administration to run the Gaza Strip as I proposed a year ago. Such plans exist in the defense establishment, but this is something that can only be led by a determined political echelon, one that is not bound by messianic dreams and coalition needs,” he asserted.Even if a new government focused on de-radicalization is established, however, Hamas will not disappear overnight, requiring the IDF to continue operating in Gaza in the future and “ninth-grade children will still be fighting in Gaza” when they grow up and are conscripted.On the topic of enlistment, Gantz cited an internal Finance Ministry report slamming the government’s enlistment bill, stating that if it had accepted his proposal for a mobilization outline “we would already have thousands of young soldiers on the front lines.”“The conscription outline they want to pass is a car without an engine,” he added, calling on Likud lawmakers Yuli Edelstein and Yoav Gallant not to support the bill.According to an internal analysis of the economic impact of the legislation, the bill — which would enshrine the exemption of ultra-Orthodox men from military service — has “significant flaws” and would fail to ease the burden on Israel’s reservists.The Haredi religious and political leadership have fiercely resisted any effort to force members of the community to serve in the military. The community’s longstanding exemptions from the mandatory military draft were challenged in June, when the High Court of Justice ruled that there is no legal basis for their decades-long exemption.

Russia denies reports that Bashar al-Assad’s wife, Asma, filed for divorce-Kremlin also denies that UK-born ‘Desert Rose’ requested to leave Moscow, where the Assad family fled as rebels took Damascus-By Agencies Today, 7:06 pm-DEC 23,24

The Kremlin on Monday rejected Turkish media reports that suggested that Asma al-Assad, the British-born wife of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, sought a divorce and wanted to leave Russia.Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also rejected Turkish media reports that suggested that Assad had been confined to Moscow and had his property assets frozen.Asked on a conference call if the reports corresponded to reality, Peskov said: “No, they do not correspond to reality.”Turkish and Arabic media reported on Sunday that Asma al-Assad had filed for divorce in Russia, where the Assad family were granted asylum this month after rebels took control of Damascus following a lightning advance.Reports said she was unhappy with their diminished lifestyle and wanted to return to the UK, although it is unlikely she would be allowed back.Asma al-Assad was born in London in 1975 and has spent half her life in the UK, with her parents still living in the west of the capital city.She later graduated from London’s King’s College University with a degree in computer science and French literature before moving into finance, working at Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan.It was in this line of work that she met Bashar al-Assad in the late 1990s, and the couple married a few months after he succeeded his father, Hafez, as Syrian president in July 2000.Feted by the Western media for her looks and style, Asma became the toast of high society, hosting celebrities such as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie while enjoying a lavish reception overseas. Fashion bible Vogue called her the “Desert Rose.”But her reputation crumbled when she stood by her husband’s side as he cracked down on anti-government protests that erupted in 2011, turning into a full-scale civil war in June 2012.She had her UK assets frozen in March 2012 amid growing protests against her husband’s rule, as part of a European sanction program that London maintained after Brexit.She retains British citizenship, but foreign minister David Lammy said Monday that she was no longer welcome in the country, suggesting she may soon lose her UK passport.In 2020 the United States imposed sanctions on Asma al-Assad, her parents and two brothers, with then-secretary of state Mike Pompeo describing her as “one of Syria’s most notorious war profiteers.”Earlier this month, Syrian rebels took control of Damascus after a two-week offensive, ending 13 years of civil war against the Syrian government and over 50 years of Assad family rule.Bashar al-Assad himself fled Damascus on December 8, and was granted asylum in Russia where his wife and family were already waiting for him in Moscow, according to three former close aides and a senior regional official.

Jeremiah 6:14
14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

Isaiah 57:21
21 There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.

1 Thessalonians 5:3
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

Ephesians 2:2
2 Wherein in time

Netanyahu tells Knesset: ‘Some progress’ achieved in hostage deal talks with Hamas-PM doesn’t reveal details, but says negotiation efforts are ‘significant’; says those who think Arab-Israeli peace depends on Palestinians ‘have no idea’ what they’re talking about-By Lazar Berman-and ToI Staff Today, 10:48 pm-DEC 23,24

In a typically rowdy session in the Knesset plenum Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed cautious optimism about the chances for a hostage deal with Hamas.“I would like to tell you carefully,” he said, during a so-called 40 signatures debate which the opposition can call once a month, “there is some progress.”Clarifying reasons for the progress, Netanyahu said: “First, [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar is no longer with us.”“Hamas hoped that Hezbollah and Iran would come to their aid, but they are licking their wounds; and Hamas itself is also taking more and more blows. So there is progress. I don’t know how long it will take, but we are making efforts,” he said.Days before the Hanukkah holiday, Netanyahu said happiness cannot be complete “until we get all the hostages home.”“I cannot tell you all the things we are doing, but we are taking significant actions on all levels,” Netanyahu continued.“We will continue to act in every way, without respite, until we bring everyone home from enemy territory,” he promised.Gaps between Israel and the Hamas terror group over a possible Gaza hostage release and ceasefire deal have narrowed, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials’ remarks on Monday, though crucial differences have yet to be resolved, as fighting continues in the war-torn enclave.The war started with the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, in which terrorists killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 people to Gaza as hostages.It is believed that 96 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 38 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors.Shifting his speech to the wider region, Netanyahu said that Israel’s military feats are “changing the face of the Middle East.”“Our string of successes and victories inspires enormous appreciation in our region and throughout the world,” he said, adding that even Israel’s enemies recognize the scale of its achievements.“They see the enormous destruction that Hamas and Hezbollah have brought upon themselves with their own hands,” he said. “They are staring at the elimination of their leaders in the first, second, and third echelons. In the fourth echelon. There are no echelons left.”Netanyahu also blasted the opposition for mocking his insistence on total victory. “Reality is stronger than your contempt and mockery,” he said.Had Israel stopped the war before entering Gaza’s Rafah and taking control of the Philadelphi corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border, and before tackling Hezbollah, as many in the opposition had urged, said Netanyahu, that would have marked a victory for Iran and its axis of evil, and it “would not have freed anybody.”“Time and again, it has been proven who was right and who was wrong.”There are more challenges ahead of Israel, he warned. “We are not taking our eyes off Iran, which threatens to destroy us, and we are determined to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and other weapons that could threaten our cities and our homeland.”Turning to Yemen, Netanyahu said that Israel’s recent strikes on the Houthis “are not the first and I will tell you that will not be the last. We have destroyed significant terrorist assets that the Houthi have, that were used against us.”Netanyahu also said that it is possible to expand the circle of peace around Israel, and claimed that those who believe peace with Arab countries depends on peace with the Palestinians “have no idea what you are talking about.”“We brought about four historic peace agreements with the Abraham Accords. And now I am telling you there will be more agreements,” he said.“I’m not saying the Palestinian issue doesn’t make things hard for us,” but “there is a change,” he said. “And if you think that our Arab neighbors do not see the reality that many of you here, at least some of you, are trying to deny, the tectonic changes that are taking place here are not happening by themselves.”Israel’s success in the ongoing war “creates opportunities for expanding the circle of peace,” he claimed. “And the moderate Arab countries see Israel as a regional power and a possible ally for ensuring their security, the stability, and prosperity of the entire region. And I intend to fully exploit this opportunity, together with our American friends.”The wave of normalization in relations between Israel and neighboring Arab states has halted since the war in Gaza began, most notably in the case of Saudi Arabia, which has since said that it will not consider normalizing relations until Jerusalem commits to a “credible path” to a Palestinian state.

Arab diplomats flock to Damascus for meetings with new Syrian leader-Jordanian, Qatari, Saudi delegations meet Ahmed al-Sharaa, vowing cooperation against drug and weapons smuggling, support for rebuilding Syria; Iran reports ‘no direct contact’By Agencies Today, 7:06 pm-DEC 23,24

Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa held talks Monday with senior Arab diplomats in the latest high-profile visits since Bashar al-Assad’s overthrow.Sharaa, better known by his former nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Julani and whose Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) spearheaded the offensive that toppled Assad on December 8, has welcomed envoys from the Middle East and beyond in recent days.Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi expressed his country’s support for Syria’s reconstruction in a meeting with Sharaa in Damascus, in the first trip to Syria by a senior Jordanian official since Assad was toppled.“Our talks were clear that we in the Kingdom are ready to provide support,” Safadi said after the meeting, adding that the new Syrian administration must have the opportunity to develop its plans. “I focused on reconstruction efforts and Jordan will provide aid,” Safadi added.Safadi said he agreed with Sharaa on cooperating to counter the smuggling of drugs and weapons from Syria to Jordan — a problem for years under Assad.Safadi also noted that Islamic State, with which Sharaa’s group clashed earlier in the Syrian war, remained a threat.“Our brothers in Syria also realize that this is a threat. God willing, we will all cooperate, not just Jordan and Syria, but all Arab countries and the international community, in fighting this scourge that poses a threat to everyone,” he said.Images released by the foreign ministry showed the pair shaking hands, while Jordan’s official Al-Mamlaka TV reported that Safadi had discussed avenues of cooperation, including in the areas of trade, border management, aid and electricity connections, along with security.Safadi expressed support for “a government that represents all spectrums in Syria,” as well as for “the drafting of a new constitution,” according to Al-Mamlaka.“We agree to support the Syrian people in rebuilding their state,” he was quoted as saying, adding that “the Arab countries agree to support Syria at this stage without any external interference.”Qatari delegation-Also in Damascus on Monday was Qatar’s minister of state at the foreign ministry, Mohammed al-Khulaifi, leading the “first high-level Qatari delegation” to Damascus “after 13 years of diplomatic rupture,” his ministry said.“This visit reaffirms the strong fraternal ties” between Qatar and Syria, and underscored Doha’s “unwavering commitment to supporting and assisting the Syrian people in their quest for progress, while preserving Syria’s sovereignty,” the foreign ministry statement added.Syrian state news agency SANA published images of the meeting between Sharaa and the Qatari delegation.Khulaifi arrived in Damascus aboard “the first Qatar Airways plane to land at the Syrian airport” since Assad’s ouster, foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari wrote on X.A Qatari official told AFP that “a technical aviation team” accompanied the delegation “to assess the readiness of Damascus airport to resume operations.”“Qatar has offered to provide technical support for the resumption of commercial and cargo flights, as well as ensure the airport’s maintenance during the transitional phase,” the official added.Saudi talks-A source close to the Saudi government told AFP on Monday that a delegation from the kingdom had also met with Sharaa in Damascus a day earlier to discuss the “Syria situation and captagon,” an illegal amphetamine-like stimulant.The drug has flooded the region in recent years, and was Syria’s largest export under Assad, turning the country into one of the world’s biggest narco-states.Jordan in recent years has cracked down on the smuggling of weapons and drugs, including captagon, along its 375-kilometer (230-mile) border with Syria.Iran, meanwhile, said Monday that it had “no direct contact” with Syria’s new rulers since the fall of longtime Tehran ally Assad.Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei expressed support for Syria’s sovereignty, and said the country should not become “a haven for terrorism.”Sharaa’s HTS is rooted in al-Qaeda’s Syria branch, but has sought to moderate its image in recent years.At a summit in Jordan earlier this month, top Arab, Turkish, EU and US diplomats called for an inclusive and peaceful transition after years of civil war.

Israel still hasn’t received list of living hostages from Hamas, official says-Israeli official tells ToI gaps are narrowing in talks with terror group, but crucial issues — including length of ceasefire, Palestinian prisoners to be freed — still unresolved-By Lazar Berman and Agencies Today, 6:14 pm-DEC 23,24

Gaps between Israel and the Hamas terror group over a possible Gaza hostage release and ceasefire deal have narrowed, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials’ remarks on Monday, though crucial differences have yet to be resolved, as fighting continues in the war-torn enclave.Israel still has not received a list of living hostages from Hamas, an Israeli official with knowledge of the ongoing negotiations told The Times of Israel on Monday, saying, “We are waiting.”“It’s slow progress,” the official said. “We would want to see it move quicker, the entire process, but there is absolutely progress.”The official pointed to divisions within Hamas.“We understand that [Gaza-based senior official] Mohammed Sinwar is no less of an extremist and zealot than [his brother, slain Hamas leader] Yahya Sinwar,” the official continued, “and this is definitely causing delays.”Another factor slowing down talks is the time it takes for Hamas officials in Doha to communicate with those in Gaza, said the official.The official also alleged that Qatar, despite returning to its mediating role, was also getting in the way.“Qatar doesn’t stop playing games and trying to carry out psychological warfare on Israeli society with all kinds of reports, half-truths, all kinds of things that they try to launch, experimental balloons, all kinds of things that don’t contribute to the negotiations,” he said.The official explained that Israel is nevertheless willing to use Qatar as a mediator because it has excellent access to Hamas leaders.Ceasefire terms unresolved-The official also insisted that Israel will not leave the Philadelphi Corridor as part of any partial deal or in a first phase of a deal.“If we reach an end to the war, then maybe it will be possible,” said the official. “We’ll see what arrangements we reach, but I also find it hard to believe that we will withdraw.”“We are ready to thin out our forces and redeploy our forces on the ground,” the official conceded.Meanwhile, a Palestinian official familiar with the talks said that while some sticking points had been resolved, the identity of some of the Palestinian prisoners to be released by Israel in return for hostages had yet to be agreed on, along with the precise deployment of Israeli troops in Gaza.The remarks corresponded with comments by Israel’s Minister for Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli, who said both issues were still being negotiated. Nonetheless, he said, the sides were far closer to reaching agreement than they have been for months.“This ceasefire can last six months or it can last 10 years, it depends on the dynamics that will form on the ground,” Chikli told Israel’s Kan radio. Much hinged on what powers would be running and rehabilitating Gaza once fighting stopped, he said.The duration of the ceasefire has been a fundamental sticking point throughout several rounds of failed negotiations. Hamas wants an end to the war, while Israel wants an end to Hamas’s rule of Gaza first.“The issue of ending the war completely hasn’t yet been resolved,” said the Palestinian official.Minister Ze’ev Elkin, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet, told Israel’s Army Radio that the aim was to find an agreed-upon framework that would resolve that difference during a second stage of the ceasefire deal.Chikli said the first stage would be a humanitarian phase that would last 42 days and include a hostage release.It is believed that 96 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 38 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors.The war started with the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, in which terrorists killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 people to Gaza as hostages.Overnight strikes in Gaza-Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip overnight and during the day on Monday killed at least 20 people, Hamas-controlled Palestinian medics said.One of the strikes hit a tent camp in the al-Mawasi area, an Israel-declared humanitarian zone, killing eight people, including two children, according to Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, which received the bodies.The Israeli military says it only strikes terror operatives, accusing them of hiding among civilians. It said late Sunday that it had targeted a Hamas operative in the humanitarian zone.The strike was carried out in the Khan Younis area and the IDF said it took numerous steps to mitigate civilian harm in the strike.One of Gaza’s few still partially functioning hospitals, on the Strip’s northern edge, an area under intense Israeli military pressure for nearly three months, sought urgent help on Monday after claiming to be hit by Israeli fire.“We are facing a continuous daily threat,” said Hussam Abu Safiya, director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital. “The bombing continues from all directions, affecting the building, the departments, and the staff.”An Israeli military spokesman denied that the hospital was being targeted. “I am unaware of any strikes on Kamal Adwan Hospital,” he told AFP.Safiyeh reported that the hospital, which is currently treating 91 patients, had been targeted on Monday by Israeli drones.“This morning, drones dropped bombs in the hospital’s courtyards and on its roof,” said Safiyeh in a statement. “The shelling, which also destroyed nearby houses and buildings, did not stop throughout the night.”The shelling and bombardment have caused extensive damage to the hospital, Safiyeh added.“Bullets hit the intensive care unit, the maternity ward, and the specialized surgery department causing fear among patients,” he said, adding that a generator was also targeted.On Sunday, Safiyeh said he received orders to evacuate the hospital, but the IDF denied issuing such directives. It also said it was supplying fuel and food to the hospital and helping evacuate some patients and staff to safer areas.Palestinians accuse Israel of seeking to permanently depopulate northern Gaza to create a buffer zone, which Israel denies.The area has been the focus of an intense air and ground campaign by Israeli forces since October 6, aimed at preventing Hamas from regrouping.Israel says its operation around the three communities on the northern edge of the Gaza Strip — Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun, and Jabalia — is targeting Hamas terror operatives and is aimed at preventing them from regrouping.There are two functioning medical centers in the area, the Kamal Adwan and Al-Awda hospitals.Israeli officials have accused Hamas operatives of using the hospitals as command and control centers to plan attacks against the military.On Monday, the United Nations aid chief, Tom Fletcher, said Israeli forces had hampered efforts to deliver much-needed aid in northern Gaza.“North Gaza has been under a near-total siege for more than two months, raising the specter of famine,” he said. “South Gaza is extremely overcrowded, creating horrific living conditions and even greater humanitarian needs as winter sets in.”Pre-Christmas mass-Also Sunday, Latin Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa led a pre-Christmas Mass during a rare visit to Gaza that was coordinated with Israeli authorities.Footage shared on social media showed the event.GAZA-Cardinal Pizzaballa leads Mass with Catholics at Holy Family Parish.Pope Francis yesterday criticised Israel for stopping Pizzaballa from entering Gaza with Christmas presents for children. pic.twitter.com/AA1Zap0AkK — Catholic Arena (@CatholicArena) December 22, 2024-His visit to Holy Family in Gaza City, the Palestinian enclave’s only Catholic church, came a day after Pope Francis issued a series of condemnations of Israeli strikes during the ongoing war against Hamas, and said the attacks had prevented Pizzaballa from entering the Strip the day before.The pope’s comments prompted a sharp response from the Foreign Ministry, which said his comments were “particularly disappointing, as they are disconnected from the true and factual context of Israel’s fight against jihadist terrorism — a multi-front war that was forced upon it starting on October 7.”The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 45,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 18,000 combatants in battle as of November and another 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7, 2023.Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 388. The toll includes a police officer killed in a hostage rescue mission and a Defense Ministry civilian contractor.

Report suggests IDF logistics road in north Gaza may become new corridor, buffer zone-Israel says path cutting through urban areas is temporary, aimed at providing supplies and cutting area off from Gaza City terror operatives-By ToI Staff Today, 2:18 pm-DEC 24,24

The Washington Post published footage Tuesday showing progress on a road Israel has been carving out through urban parts of northern Gaza’s Jabalia, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya, dividing Gaza City from the cities to its north, in what the military has said is a temporary logistics and separation road.The outlet cited a researcher who argued that the pattern of construction and the destruction of buildings near the new east-west road resemble the process of establishing the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza and the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border in the south.It cited William Goodhind, an analyst at the Contested Ground military research project, as speculating that Israel may be establishing a third corridor that bisects Gaza from the Israeli border in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, as part of a plan to create a buffer zone in Gaza’s far north that will stay under Israeli military rule.The road “effectively segments Gaza so that more systematic clearance operations can begin while a de facto border locks down movement to the south,” he claimed.Rejecting that notion, former IDF Gaza division deputy commander Brig. Gen. (Res.) Amir Avivi told the Post that the pathway is aimed at providing “logistics channels” and doesn’t represent a “long-term policy.”Similarly, the IDF said in early November that northern Gaza’s towns had been disconnected from Gaza City amid the ongoing operation, whose goal the army said was to prevent Hamas operatives from escaping or, alternatively, from bringing in reinforcements from Gaza City, where thousands of terror operatives were thought to be.The BBC has also previously reported on the road under construction.The establishment of this corridor, the clearing of tracts of land on either side of it and the construction of square-shaped protected outposts resemble the IDF’s transformation of the Netzarim Corridor, a strategic Israeli military zone in the center of Gaza, analysts said. pic.twitter.com/lXZsgYdIhh— Imogen Piper (@imogen_piper) December 23, 2024The Post story also focused on testimonies of residents of northern Gaza who have been evacuated from the area amid the renewed operation, which has demolished most of the buildings there and prompted an outcry from international bodies and groups.Israel says much of the destruction in Gaza is a result of Hamas using the Strip’s infrastructure for terror purposes, but the widespread destruction has fueled accusations of excessive force and collective punishment.The vast majority of Gaza’s population has been staying in an Israel-designated humanitarian zone near the coast in southern Gaza. The IDF estimates that only thousands of people remain in the northern areas where it is currently operating. Israel denies the displacement is permanent or that it is planning to establish an open-ended military rule, though some in the far-right flank of the government have been calling for this.On Monday, Channel 12 aired satellite footage from Hebrew University GIS specialist Adi Ben Nun that it said showed 100 percent of the 19,000 buildings in the northern Gaza city of Jabalia had been destroyed.Similar footage from July — before the IDF launched its third counter-terrorism operation in the city since the start of the war — showed 54% of Jabalia’s buildings destroyed, the network said.The satellite footage also indicated that the IDF has completed demolishing all 4,000 buildings in Gaza that were within one kilometer of the border with Israel. Channel 12 said the military believes it has completed its goal of creating a buffer zone in that border area.Israel has been at war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, when the terror group invaded southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, amid acts of brutality and sexual assault.Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 391. The toll includes a police officer killed in a hostage rescue mission and a Defense Ministry civilian contractor.It is believed that 96 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF. Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 45,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 18,000 combatants in battle as of November and another 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools and mosques.

Airline pilots, crews voice concerns about Middle East routes-Safety debate about flying over Mideast — a key air corridor to Asia — is playing out in Europe, where pilots are protected by unions, unlike in other parts of the world-By Joanna Plucinska and Lisa Barrington Today, 5:40 am-DEC 24,24

LONDON (Reuters) — In late September, an experienced pilot at low-cost European airline Wizz Air felt anxious after learning his plane would fly over Iraq at night amid mounting tensions between nearby Iran and Israel.He decided to query the decision since just a week earlier the airline had deemed the route unsafe. In response, Wizz Air’s flight operations team told him the airway was now considered secure and he had to fly it, without giving further explanation, the pilot said.“I wasn’t really happy with it,” the pilot, who requested anonymity from fear he could lose his job, told Reuters. Days later, Iraq closed its airspace when Iran fired missiles on October 1 at Israel. “It confirmed my suspicion that it wasn’t safe.”In response to Reuters’ queries, Wizz Air said the safety of crew and passengers was its utmost priority and would not be compromised “in any circumstances,” adding its decisions on where to fly are based on stringent risk assessments in collaboration with third party intelligence specialists.“Our aircraft and crews will only fly in airspace that has been deemed safe and we would never take any risks in this respect,” Wizz Air also said in a statement.The airline said it had conducted a thorough risk assessment before deciding to fly over Iraqi airspace in November and followed guidance from the European Commission and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which had deemed it safe on July 31.It also said it was rerouting some flights following EASA recommendations and its own risk assessment review. It did not give further details on which routes and flights were affected.The airline has suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv until Jan. 14.Reuters spoke to four pilots, three cabin crew members, three flight security experts and two airline executives about growing safety concerns in the European air industry due to escalating tensions in the Middle East following Hamas’s October 7 onslaught on Israel that prompted the war in Gaza.The Middle East is a key air corridor for planes heading to India, Southeast Asia and Australia and last year was crisscrossed daily by 1,400 flights to and from Europe, Eurocontrol data show.The safety debate about flying over the region is playing out in Europe largely because pilots there are protected by unions, unlike other parts of the world.Reuters reviewed nine unpublished letters from four European unions representing pilots and crews that expressed worries about air safety over Middle Eastern countries. The letters were sent to Wizz Air, Ryanair, airBaltic, the European Commission and EASA between June and August.“No one should be forced to work in such a hazardous environment and no commercial interests should outweigh the safety and well-being of those on board,” read a letter, addressed to EASA and the European Commission from the Romanian flight crew union FPU Romania, dated Aug. 26.In other letters, staff called on airlines to be more transparent about their decisions on routes and demanded the right to refuse to fly a dangerous route.There have been no fatalities or accidents impacting commercial aviation tied to the escalation of tensions in the Middle East since the war in Gaza erupted last year.Air France opened an internal investigation after one of its commercial planes flew over Iraq on October 1 during Tehran’s missile attack on Israel. On that occasion, airlines scrambled to divert dozens of planes heading toward the affected areas in the Middle East.The ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran and the abrupt ousting of president Bashar al-Assad by Syrian rebels this month have raised concerns of further insecurity in the region.The use of missiles in the region has revived memories of the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014 and of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 en route from Tehran in 2020.Being accidentally shot down in the chaos of war is the top worry, three pilots and two aviation safety experts told Reuters, along with the risk of an emergency landing.While airlines including Lufthansa and KLM no longer fly over Iran, carriers including Etihad, flydubai, Aeroflot and Wizz Air were still crossing the country’s airspace as recently as Dec. 2, data from tracking service FlightRadar24 show.Some European airlines including Lufthansa and KLM allow crew to opt out of routes they don’t feel are safe, but others such as Wizz Air, Ryanair and airBaltic don’t.AirBaltic CEO Martin Gauss said his airline meets an international safety standard that doesn’t need to be adjusted.“If we start a right of refusal, then where do we stop? [When] the next person feels unhappy overflying Iraqi airspace because there’s tension there?” he told Reuters on Dec. 2 in response to queries about airBaltic flight safety talks with unions.Ryanair, which intermittently flew to Jordan and Israel until September, said it makes security decisions based on EASA guidance.“If EASA says it’s safe, then, frankly, thank you, we’re not interested in what the unions or some pilot think,” Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary told Reuters in October, when asked about staff security concerns.EASA said it has been involved in a number of exchanges with pilots and airlines on route safety in recent months concerning the Middle East, adding that disciplining staff for raising safety concerns would run counter to a “just culture” where employees can voice worries.Insufficient reassurances-One Abu Dhabi-based Wizz Air pilot told Reuters he was comfortable flying over the conflict-torn region as he believes the industry has a very high safety standard.Wizz Air said it has a safety, security and operational compliance committee which assists the board by overseeing policies and their implementation.“We always strive to be transparent and to keep our crew well informed,” it said, referring to the internal safety reporting system and regular updates to staff.For some pilots and crew members working at budget airlines, the reassurances of the companies are insufficient.They told Reuters pilots should have more choice in refusing flights over potentially dangerous airspace and requested more information about airline security assessments.“The fact that Wizz Air sends emails asserting that it’s safe is irrelevant to commercial employees,” read a letter from FPU Romania to Chief Operating Officer Diarmuid O’Conghaile, dated August 12. “Flights into these conflict areas, even if they are rescue missions, should be carried out by military personnel and aircraft, not by commercial crews.”Mircea Constantin, a former cabin crew member who represents FPU Romania, said Wizz Air never gave a formal response to this letter and similar ones sent earlier this year but did send security guidance and updates to staff.A pilot and a cabin crew member, who declined to be named for fear of retaliatory action, said they got warnings from their employers for refusing to fly on Middle Eastern routes or calling in sick.Congested skies-Last month, 165 missiles were launched in Middle Eastern conflict zones versus just 33 in November 2023, according to the latest available data from Osprey Flight Solutions.But airspace can only be enforceably restricted if a country chooses to shut it down, as in the case of Ukraine after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.Several airlines have opted to briefly suspend flights to places like Israel when tension rises. Lufthansa and British Airways did so after Iran bombarded Israel on April 13.But this limits the airspace in use in the already congested Middle Eastern skies.Choosing to fly over Central Asia or Egypt and Saudi Arabia to avoid Middle Eastern hot spots is also more costly as planes burn more fuel and some countries charge higher overflight fees.Flying a commercial plane from Singapore to London-Heathrow through Afghanistan and Central Asia, for instance, cost an airline $4,760 in overflight fees, about 50% more than a route through the Middle East, according to two August 31 flight plans reviewed by Reuters.Reuters could not name the airline as the flight plans are not public.Some private jets are avoiding the most critical areas.“At the moment, my no-go areas would be the hotspot points: Libya, Israel, Iran, simply because they’re sort of caught up in it all,” said Andy Spencer, a Singapore-based pilot who flies private jets and who previously worked as an airline pilot.Spencer, who has two decades of experience and flies through the Middle East regularly, said that on a recent flight from Manila to Cuba, he flew from Dubai over Egypt and north through Malta before refueling in Morocco to circumvent Libyan and Israeli airspace.EASA, regarded by industry experts as the strictest regional safety regulator, issues public bulletins on how to fly safely over conflict zones.But these aren’t mandatory and every airline decides where to travel based on a patchwork of government notices, third-party security advisors, inhouse security teams and information sharing between carriers, leading to divergent policies.Such intelligence is not usually shared with staff.The opacity has sown fear and mistrust among pilots, cabin crew and passengers as they question whether their airline has missed something carriers in other countries are aware of, said Otjan de Bruijn, a former head of European pilots union the European Cockpit Association and a pilot for KLM.“The more information you make available to pilots, the more informed a decision they can make,” said Spencer, who is also an operations specialist at flight advisory body OPSGROUP, which offers independent operational advice to the aviation industry.When Gulf players like Etihad, Emirates or flydubai suddenly stop flying over Iran or Iraq, the industry sees it as a reliable indicator of risk, pilots and security sources said, as these airlines can have access to detailed intelligence from their governments.Flydubai told Reuters it operates within airspace and airways in the region that are approved by Dubai’s General Civil Aviation Authority. Emirates said it continuously monitors all routings, adjusting as required and would never operate a flight unless it was safe to do so. Etihad said it only operates through approved airspace.Passenger rights groups are also asking for travelers to receive more information.“If passengers decline to take flights over conflict zones, airlines would be disinclined to continue such flights,” said Paul Hudson, the head of US-based passenger group Flyers Rights. “And passengers who take such flights would do so informed of the risks.”

25 treated for injuries from racing for safety or acute anxiety-Israel intercepts Houthi missile as sirens wail across central Israel-No reports of injuries due to falling fragments, though woman in serious condition after falling while running to shelter; Houthis say attacks will continue until Gaza war ends By ToI Staff and Emanuel Fabian-Today, 4:52 am-DEC 24,24

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels fired another ballistic missile at Israel early Tuesday morning, triggering sirens across the center of the country as well as in southern Israel, for the third time in less than a week.The Israel Defense Forces said it managed to intercept the missile before it entered Israeli airspace.According to a military source, the projectile was shot down using the long-range Arrow air defense system, which is designed to take out ballistic missiles outside of the atmosphere.Sirens were triggered across central Israel — between Herzliya and Ashdod — as well as in several towns east of Beersheba, as a precaution due to the possibility of fragments landing inside Israeli territory following the interception, the military said.The Magen David Adom emergency medical service said it did not receive any reports of injuries due to fallen missile or interceptor fragments.However, a 60-year-old woman fell while running to a shelter in Tel Aviv and was taken to the city’s Ichilov Hospital in serious condition, MDA said.At least 25 people were treated for minor injuries after falling while running to the shelter or due to anxiety attacks caused by the missile sirens, MDA added.Shortly after the launch, senior Houthi official Hezam al-Asad tweeted that such attacks would continue “until the aggression against our people in Gaza stops.” Hezbollah made similar pledges to continue firing rockets and drones at Israel until a ceasefire was reached in Gaza but caved last month after two months of Israeli attacks that decimated the Lebanese terror group’s capabilities.Hours earlier, the Houthis claimed responsibility for launching drones at Israel on Monday afternoon.The IDF said that the air force shot down one drone outside of Israeli airspace.The Houthis claimed to have launched two drones, at targets in Ashkelon and the Tel Aviv area. There were no reports of impacts in either city on Monday.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Sunday that Israel would act against the Houthis in Yemen with the same force it used against Iran’s other “terrorist arms,” appearing to indicate the start of a stepped-up campaign against the Islamic Republic’s proxy group after a ballistic missile crashed into a Tel Aviv playground overnight Friday.On Thursday, a multistory school building in Ramat Gan collapsed after it was hit by the warhead from a partially intercepted ballistic missile fired at Israel by Houthi rebels.????Sirens sounding across central and southern Israel following a projectile launched from Yemen???? pic.twitter.com/X0nnsDASGR— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) December 23, 2024-Israel and the US have carried out strikes against Houthi targets throughout Yemen in recent days but they don’t seem to have deterred the rebel group.Senior opposition politician Benny Gantz argued Monday that Israel “must target Iran directly” over the attacks.Israel’s security establishment apparently agrees with Gantz, with Channel 12 reporting Sunday that the question of tackling Iran — a possible reference both to efforts to deter the Houthis and to target Iran’s nuclear facilities — has come up repeatedly in security cabinet meetings, even as the focus has been on finding ways to counter the upsurge in Houthi attacks.The Houthis have launched more than 200 missiles and 170 drones at Israel in the past year. According to the IDF, the vast majority did not reach Israel or were intercepted by the military and Israeli allies in the region.Israel has carried out airstrikes against Houthi targets only three times in response to the group’s attacks, the latest on Thursday.The Iran-backed group has also carried out repeated missile and drone attacks on some 100 merchant vessels attempting to traverse the Red Sea, forcing many carriers to avoid the key waterway and hamstringing global shipping.

Lebanese PM, UNIFIL call for Israel to withdraw troops faster than ceasefire demands-Prime Minister Mikati urges US, France to push for accelerated IDF pull-out from southern Lebanon, even as Israel continues to find Hezbollah weapons in border area-By AFP and ToI Staff 23 December 2024, 11:17 pm

United Nations peacekeepers and Lebanon’s prime minister called on Monday for the Israel Defense Forces to speed up its withdrawal from the country, nearly a month into a fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Hezbollah terror group.“UNIFIL strongly urges accelerated progress in the IDF’s withdrawal from and the LAF’s (Lebanese army) deployment in south Lebanon,” the force said in a statement.It called on “all actors to cease and refrain from violations of (Security Council) Resolution 1701 and any actions that could jeopardize the fragile stability that currently prevails,” referring to the 2006 agreement that ended the Second Lebanon War and served as a basis for the more recent ceasefire deal in November.The UNIFIL statement came after Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the United States and France should put pressure on Israel to complete its withdrawal faster.The United States and France, along with Lebanon, Israel and UNIFIL, make up the committee tasked with maintaining communication between the parties to the ceasefire and ensuring any violations are identified and dealt with.As part of the truce agreement, the Lebanese army and peacekeepers will deploy in southern Lebanon, as the Israeli army pulls out over a period of 60 days.The IDF under the ceasefire agreement has until late January to withdraw from southern Lebanon, and, in the meantime, it continues to operate against and destroy Hezbollah infrastructure.“In order for the army to be able to fully accomplish its missions, the committee must… put pressure on the Israeli enemy to bring an end to all the violations” of the ceasefire, Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in the town of Khiam during a tour of the south.“It is necessary to put pressure on the parties to the ceasefire agreement, namely the French and the Americans, to accelerate the process before the expiration of the 60-day period,” he added, going on to accuse Israel of “dragging its feet.”On December 11, the Lebanese army reported that it had deployed around Khiam, five kilometers (3.1 miles) from the border, in coordination with UNIFIL, following the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the area.Accusations of violations-Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported on Monday that “the Israeli enemy continues its invasion and attacks on southern Lebanese territories,” where it has “raised the Israeli flag” on a hill between the towns of Bayada and Naqura.The NNA frequently reports instances of Israel dynamiting homes in border villages.For its part, the Israeli army stated on Monday that it was continuing its defensive activities in the south “in accordance with the agreement,” adding that it had “seized and dismantled various weapons and military equipment from a warehouse.”The truce in southern Lebanon went into force on November 27, after more than a year of cross-border hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah that began when the Iranian-backed terror group started attacking Israel with rockets and drones on October 8, 2023, a day after Hamas terrorists invaded Israel from Gaza, starting the ongoing multi-front war.Fearing a similar Hezbollah onslaught, Israel evacuated residents of border towns. Hezbollah’s persistent rocket fire prevented some 60,000 displaced northerners from returning home. In a bid to stop the rocket fire, Israel stepped up operations against Hezbollah in late September, all but decimating the terror group’s leadership.Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas all seek to destroy Israel.Mikati said that he wanted to resolve any questions over the Blue Line — the UN-demarcated boundary between Lebanon and Israel — “so there will be no justification for any Israeli occupation of our land.”He also said he was working with “the World Bank, the European Union, Arab countries, and our international partners to create a trust fund” for reconstruction efforts.The World Bank estimated in October that the fighting had caused physical damage amounting to “at least $3.4 billion” in Lebanon.

A FALSE PROPHET COMES FROM THE VATICAN ALSO AT THIS TIME.

ISAIAH 23:15-17
15  And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot.
16  Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
17  And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.(COULD THIS BE 70 YEARS AFTER ISRAEL BECAME A NATION IN 1948)(IF SO THIS SATANIC ONE WORLD WHORE CHURCH WILL MINGLE TOGETHER BY 2018)(AND NOW ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY AND ALL RELIGIONS ARE MINGLING AS ONE PEACE-LOVE-JOY-GET ALONG RELIGION LEAD BY THE VATICAN RIGHT NOW 4 YEARS FROM THE 70 YEAR TIME WHEN ISRAEL BECAME A NATION).AND IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM.

REVELATION 13:11-18
11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth;(FALSE VATICAN POPE) and he had two horns like a lamb,(JESUS IS THE LAMB OF GOD) and he spake as a dragon.(HES SATANICALLY INSPIRED,HES A CHRISTIAN DEFECTOR FROM THE FAITH)
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him,(WORLD DICTATOR) and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.(THE WORLD DICTATOR CREATES A FALSE RESURRECTION AND IS CROWNED LEADER OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER).
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM

REVELATION 17:1-18
1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication,(VATICAN IN POLITICS) and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4 And the woman (FALSE CHURCH) was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour,(VATICAN COLOURS)(ANOTHER REASON WE KNOW THE FALSE POPE COMES FROM THE VATICAN) and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:(THE VATICAN GOES AGAINST A PRIEST MARRING A WOMAN-LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS-AND WHATS AN ABOMINATION AGAINST GOD-HOMOSEXUALITY AND PEDOPHILIA JUST LIKE THIS SCRIPTURE SAYS-FORNICATION IS THE SINGLE HOMOSEXUAL PRIESTS IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH HAVING UNMARRIED FORNICATION OR SEX WITH SINGLES-IN THIS CASE ITS SEX WITH CHILDREN OR PEDOPHILIA)
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.(THE VATICAN IS BUILT ON 7 HILLS OR MOUNTAINS)
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen,(1-ASSYRIA,2-EGYPT,3-BABYLON,4-MEDO-PERSIA,5-GREECE) and one is,(IN POWER IN JOHNS AND JESUS DAY-6-ROME) and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.(7TH-REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE OR THE EUROPEAN UNION TODAY AND THE SHORT SPACE IS-THE EUROPEAN UNION WILL HAVE WORLD CONTROL FOR THE LAST 3 1/2 YEARS.BUT WILL HAVE ITS MIGHTY WORLD POWER FOR THE FULL 7 YEARS OF THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD.AND THE WORLD DICTATOR WILL BE THE BEAST FROM THE EU.AND THE VATICAN POPE WILL BE THE WHORE THAT RIDES THE EUROPEAN UNION TO POWER.AND THE 2 EUROPEAN UNION POWER FREAKS WILL CONTROL AND DECIEVE THE WHOLE EARTH INTO THEIR DESTRUCTION.IF YOU ARE NOT SAVED BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS.YOU WILL BE DECIEVED BY THESE TWO.THE WORLD POLITICIAN-THE EUROPEAN UNION DICTATOR.AND THE FALSE PROPHET THAT DEFECTS CHRISTIANITY-THE FALSE VATICAN POPE.
11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.(VATICAN-CATHOLICS ALL AROUND THE WORLD OVER 1 BILLION)
16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast,(WORLD DICTATOR) these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.(GOD HIMSELF GIVES THE OK TO NUKE THE VATICAN)
17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.(VATICAN)

Latin patriarch visits Catholic community in Gaza for second time since war’s start-Pierbattista Pizzaballa visits Holy Family parish in Gaza City, home to some 400 sheltering Christians, for an early Christmas Mass; reports worse conditions than he saw in May-By ToI Staff Today, 2:38 pm-DEC 24,24

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa was in the Gaza Strip on Sunday for a Christmas season visit with the war-torn enclave’s Christians, some 400 of whom are sheltering on the premises of the Holy Family parish in Gaza City.“We are living in a time filled with darkness, and there is no need to elaborate because you know it well,” the cardinal told parishioners, in remarks quoted by the Washington-based Catholic Standard. He urged Gaza’s Christians — who number some 1,000 — to keep the faith, expressing support on behalf of the entire world.“The war will end, and we will rebuild again, but we must guard our hearts to be capable of rebuilding. We love you, so never fear and never give up,” he said.Pizzaballa, a cardinal who originally hails from Italy, entered Gaza through the Erez Crossing at dawn, accompanied by an Israel Defense Forces escort.“Entering Gaza is never easy — it is complicated with many issues, such as protocol and security, among others. However, there were also people who helped overcome the obstacles. This is what matters,” the patriarch said during a press conference following his visit, according to the Catholic News Agency.It was his second time in the Strip since war broke out on October 7, 2023, when the Hamas terror group invaded southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.#PALESTINA ????????Luego de las palabras del Papa #Francisco ????????sobre el asesinato de niños en #Gaza y la prohibición israelí del ingreso del arzobispo católico Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Patriarca Latino de #Jerusalén y perteneciente a la orden franciscana a la Franja de Gaza, #ISRAEL… pic.twitter.com/UOZvM6T8M8— Koldo News (@Koldo_News) December 24, 2024-The deterioration in living conditions since his previous visit, in May, was evident, Pizzaballa said: “The hygiene, the smell, all the context of life is much more harsh, more terrible than before.”His entrance to the territory came some 24 hours after Pope Francis publicly accused Israel of preventing the cardinal from visiting the community, amid remarks accusing the Jewish state of “cruelty,” to which the Foreign Ministry responded sharply online.During his visit, the patriarch chose “to stay for a few hours, to be with them, visit where they are living, their conditions, how they live, what they need,” he said.“I never heard a word of anger. Never. Everything is destroyed in Gaza, but they are not destroyed. They are tired, but you can perceive life,” he added.According to writeups of the visit in the Catholic press, Pizzaballa celebrated an early Christmas Mass, during which three children received their first communion, and three received the sacrament of confirmation.Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa visited the graves of Naheda Anton and her daughter, Samar Anton, who were killed by an Israeli sniper on December 16, 2023, at the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza.Turn on the sound to hear the incessant buzz of Israeli army drones—this is… pic.twitter.com/ctqnslOqHR— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) December 24, 2024-Video circulating online also purported to show the cardinal visiting the graves of Nahida Khalil Anton, an elderly Christian woman, and her daughter Samar, who were killed during fighting on the grounds of the church last December, for which the patriarchate blamed the IDF.The military denied responsibility for the women’s deaths, saying that Hamas operatives had launched a rocket-propelled grenade at troops from the vicinity of the church, and that reports on the deaths did not match the conclusions of an initial review of what happened.Pizzaballa’s visit came at a time of increased tension between Israel and the Catholic Church, following a series of comments by Pope Francis about the ongoing war, including a call that Israel’s campaign against Hamas be investigated as a potential genocide — a charge Israel strenuously denies, pointing to its efforts to avoid civilian casualties and to Hamas’s use of human shields.The patriarch is expected to enter Bethlehem, in the West Bank, on Tuesday night, for Christmas Eve Mass in St. Catherine’s Church, next to the Church of the Nativity.