ISRAEL DOES NOT GIVE SATANIC DEATH CULT THEIR 600 FREED TERRORIST-MURDERERS.

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)

  ISRAEL DOES NOT GIVE SATANIC DEATH CULT THEIR 600 FREED TERRORIST-MURDERERS.

HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER

JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

REVELATION 18:10,17,19
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.(IN 1 HR THE STOCK MARKETS WORLDWIDE WILL CRASH)
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,
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.

EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed:(CONFISCATED) their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.

MARK OF THE BEAST (engraved microchip in your hand or forehead)

REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, (SLAVE) 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 16:1-2
1 And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
2 And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.

I KNOW THIS MARK WILL BE A MICROCHIP IMPLANT UNDER THE SKIN. LETS LOOK UP WHAT THE WORD MARK SAYS IN REVELATION 13:16-18, 14:9,11, 15:2, 16:2, 19:20, 20:4-ALL THESE VERSES FROM THE BOOK OF REVELATION SPEAK OF THIS DICTATORS MARK. NOW LETS SEE WHAT IT MEANS FROM STRONGS EXAUSTIVE CONCORDANCE OF THE BIBLE. UNDER MARK PAGE 684.MARK UNDER MARK. THE OLD TESTAMENT IS UNDER HEBREW AND THE NEW TESTAMENT IS UNDER GREEK. SO WHEN WE LOOK UNDER REVELATION 13:16-17 WE SEE IT IS UNDER GREEK, SO WE GO TO GREEK IN THE BACK SECTION AND GO TO 5480 TO SEE WHAT IT SAYS THIS MARK WOULD BE. SO LETS GET TO IT.MARK IN STRONGS GREEK 5480 XAPAYUA CHARAGMA, KHAR-AG-MAH: FROM THE SAME AS 5482: A SCRATCH OR ETCHING, I.E STAMP (AS A BADGE OF SERVITUDE), OR SCULPTURED FIGURE-(STATUE):-GRAVEN, MARK FROM 5482 XAPAE CHARAX, KHAR-AX; FROM XAPAOOW CHARASSO (TO SHARPEN TO A POINT; AKIN TO 1125 THROUGH THE IDEA OF SCRATCHING); A STAKE, I.E (BYIMPL.) A PALISADE OR RAMPART (MILITARY MOUND FOR CIRCUMVALLATION IN A SIEGE): - TRENCH FROM 1125 YPAPOE GRAPHO, GRAF-0; A PRIM. VERB; TO "GRAVE", ESPEC. TO WRITE; FIG. TO DESCRIBE:-DESCRIBE, WRITE (-ING, -TEN).G5516-GO TO G4742-666 - STRONGS NT 4742: στίγμα - στίγμα, στιγματος, τό (from στίζω to prick; (cf. Latinstimulus, etc.; German stechen, English stick, sting, etc.; Curtius, § 226)), a mark pricked in or branded upon the body. According to ancient oriental usage, slaves and soldiers bore the name or stamp of their master or commander branded or pricked (cut) into their bodies to indicate what master or general they belonged to, and there were even some devotees who stamped themselves in this way with the token of their gods (cf. Deyling, Observations, iii., p. 423ff); hence, τά στίγματα τοῦ (κυρίου so Rec.) Ἰησοῦ, the marks of (the Lord) Jesus, which Paul in Galatians 6:17 says he bears branded on his body, are the traces left there by the perils, hardships, imprisonments, scourgings, endured by him for the cause of Christ, and which mark him as Christ's faithful and approved votary, servant, soldier (see Lightfoots Commentary on Galatians, the passage cited). (Herodotus 7, 233; Aristotle, Aelian, Plutarch, Lcian, others.)

THE INVENTOR OF THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT-CARL SANDERS MICROCHIP ENGINEER LEADER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgH9D6n4ZWo

THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT IN YOUR RIGHT HAND OR FOREHEAD.

LEVETICUS 19.28
Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.

FAMINE

EZEKIEL 5:16
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:

REVELATION 6:5-6
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.(A DAYS WAGES FOR A LOAF OF BREAD)

MATTHEW 24:7-8
7For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

DEUTORONOMY 28:24
24  The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.

LOCUSTS (DEMONIC) TORTURES SINNERS 5 MONTHS
REVELATION 9:1-6
1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
3 And there came out of the smoke (DEMONIC) locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

Mastercard integrates Feedzai behavioral biometrics for fraud protection-Singapore banks see more fraud, UK PSR opportunity in mobile wallets-Feb 21, 2025, 1:18 pm EST    | Lu-Hai Liang

Mastercard is partnering with Feedzai to make it easier for more banks to identify and stop scams.Scams cost more than $1 trillion last year, according to the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA) in collaboration with Feedzai, with more than 50 percent of consumers saying that they encounter a scam at least once a week (Global State of Scams Report 2024).In light of this, Feedzai and Mastercard say they will expedite the deployment of the latter’s Consumer Fraud Risk (CFR) solution to customers. The CFR, in account-to-account payments, provides both the sending and the receiving financial institution with intelligence to help detect and prevent scams in real time. Since going live in the UK in 2023, data from the country’s Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) indicated that the value of authorized push payment (APP) scams went down by more than 12 percent.Feedzai’s platform analyzes digital transactions, integrating device intelligence, network data, and behavioral biometrics to identify suspicious activity to prevent fraud in real time.“In the face of [rising scams], financial institutions should consider third party data as an essential part of their strategy for fraud defense,” commented Julie Conroy, chief insights officer, Datos Insights. “By building on Mastercard’s proven CFR score and extending it globally, this partnership delivers a powerful combination – Mastercard’s global data expertise and Feedzai’s purpose-built risk scoring capabilities,” she continued.Mastercard already offers behavioral biometrics as part of its Scam Protect service, and joined GASA last year.Singapore banks add additional verification measure as mobile wallet scams grow-In response to an increase in scams involving mobile wallets, the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) says major card-issuing banks will adjust their fraud surveillance measures.Phishing scams involving fraudulent provisioning of debit and credit cards into mobile wallets, such as Apple Pay or Google Pay. The adjustment in fraud surveillance measures have prevented $53.9 million of losses in Q4 2024, the ABS said in a statement, as quoted in The Straits Times.By July banks will require additional verification via in-app controls or digital token authentication, to provision cards onto mobile wallets. Banks will also be more proactive in removing their cards from mobile wallets if there are indications of fraudulent activity.In these scams, victims are fooled into providing their card details on a phishing website. They are also tricked into giving out their SMS one-time password which the scammers use to authenticate the provisioning of the card onto a mobile wallet on the scammer’s device. Once this has been done the scammer can use the mobile wallet to make unauthorized transactions.UK PSR supports digital wallets-The UK’s Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) along with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have engaged the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) invitation to comment on its investigations in relation to Apple and Google’s mobile ecosystems.They found that in feedback from respondents, digital wallets represent a “significant opportunity” for consumers. The majority of stakeholders highlighted that wallet users benefit from a “more seamless and efficient consumer journey.” This included enhanced authentication security measures and greater financial accessibility for underserved or excluded groups.In addition, the proportion of card transactions using a digital wallet increased from eight percent in 2019 to 29 percent in 2023, with a higher proportion at in-store terminals.The research highlighted the key role that digital wallets “are likely to play in future innovation and growth in the UK payments sector” as well as on wider financial services. The CMA will continue its investigation. The full letter can be read here.

Equipped with top-tier biometric tech, Florida police asked to sub for ICE-IDEMIA ABIS, BI2 IRIS, new fingerprint scanners in the toolbox-Feb 21, 2025, 10:52 am EST    | Joel R. McConvey

A recent webinar from Idemia looks at how its cloud-native automated biometric identification system (ABIS) has impacted law enforcement in Florida, where the Volusia Sheriff’s Office has implemented it to enable latent fingerprint searches of country, state and federal databases from a single application. Meanwhile, biometrics are figuring into state politics and policy changes, as its leaders fall in line with the Trump administration on immigration.Idemia Storm ABIS enables multiple examiners to work at one time-In a webinar presented by Forensic, Eric Ray, a technical project leader for Idemia Public Security, introduces Storm ABIS, the biometric SaaS product launched in 2021 and currently deployed in Volusia and Washington County, Oregon. Ray says interest has been high, and Idemia expects to deploy the ABIS in three to six more agencies throughout the year.“The idea with Storm is that Idemia wanted to provide a simple, cloud-native ABIS solution with all the tools that agencies are used to, that’s always up to date, at an affordable price,” he says. Idema’s tested algorithms, which power the FBI’s Next Generation Identification (NGI) iris service, remain at the core of the product.The benefits of the system are its accessibility for remote logins – it’s available on any browser with a web connection – and “that it breaks away from this old model that we’ve been working under for a long time, where the AFIS computer is in a different room and everyone has to share it. Storm is on your computer, and everyone can get on at the same time. You don’t have to move files around. And searches come back really fast.”The reconfiguration, says Ray, makes it easier and more natural for forensics examiners to use. And it comes with features including automatic encoding, colour quality maps, custom outputs, manual quality control, and so on.Storm ABIS built by examiners, for examiners, says sheriff’s office-For the Volusia Sheriff’s Office (VSO), located in DeLand, Florida near Daytona Beach, adopting Storm ABIS has meant the capability to search local, state and federal biometric databases from one system for more efficient examination, as well as seamless security integration and a more intuitive user experience. VSO began its engagement with Storm in 2022 and went live with Storm ABIS in November of 2023, but its relationship with Idemia goes back much longer – a preexisting link that made the decision to adopt Storm “a no-brainer.”“With Storm, we’re able to access it anywhere, meaning we don’t have to transfer files, we don’t have to share workstations, we can mark all the features at once with the auto-encode feature,” says Lindsay Jones, latent print supervisor for the VSO. “In the first two months we saw a 44 percent increase in our latent print searches. We also saw more completed cases.”The ABIS allowed the VSO latent print unit to work through reductions in staff in tandem with increases in case workload. Now, a few months in, it intends to continue working with Storm and hopes its feedback might help refine subsequent updates.Florida police, correctional officials apply force with iris, fingerprint biometrics-In Flagler County, the sheriff’s office is now utilizing the Inmate Recognition and Identification System, (IRIS) at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility. WFTV says IRIS, a product of Massachusetts-based BI2 Technologies, “uses advanced biometric technology to capture over 265 characteristics of the human eye, which are unique to every individual.”Sheriff Rick Staly says “the implementation of IRIS aligns with our commitment to using the best available tools to apprehend criminals. This technology is the ‘new fingerprint technology’ and is already being used by the FBI. Dirtbags, be aware. We have another tool to identify you and capture you!”DeSantis enables ICE to train state agents, officers for mass deportations-Since “dirtbag” has no formal legal definition, it’s not hard to see how politicians, law enforcement agencies or crazed would-be monarchs might adopt one that is politically popular. Florida Politics has an article about the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) and the 25 new fingerprint readers it’s set to receive at the behest of Kevin Carrico, vice president of the Jacksonville City Council.Carrico has put forward a bill that would fund the biometric technology, on the grounds that it is necessary to “accurately and efficiently identify and process illegals subject to new laws passed by the Florida Legislature.” He believes the money will help JSO “identify and remove individuals who have violated immigration laws and ensure our city remains a safe place for law-abiding residents.”Not content to institutionalize cutthroat immigration policies on a local level, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has directed Florida law enforcement to enter into additional Memoranda of Agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on its 287(g) program, enabling local law enforcement officers to perform “functions of immigration enforcement.”A release from the governor’s office says that “by allowing our state agents and law enforcement officers to be trained and approved by ICE, Florida will now have more enforcement personnel deputized to assist federal partners. That means deportations can be carried out more efficiently, making our communities safer as illegal aliens are removed.”The agreement leverages the so-called “Jail Enforcement Model,” designed to “identify and process removable aliens – with criminal or pending criminal charges – who are arrested by state or local law enforcement agencies.”The moves align with the Trump regime’s promise to enact mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. While during his presidential campaign he promised to declare a national emergency at the southern border and deploy the military to achieve it, there is apparently an appetite to recruit local law enforcement to the cause first.

St. Petersburg plans to introduce ethnicity recognition to monitor migrants-Feb 21, 2025, 10:44 am EST    | Masha Borak

The Russian city of St. Petersburg plans to equip 8,000 cameras with ethnicity recognition capabilities to monitor its migrant population, city authorities announced this week.The controversial software was purchased from an unidentified vendor for 38.4 million rubles (US$434,000) from an unidentified vendor as part of the Safe City project.The system is being introduced due to generally negative attitudes toward migrants in the wake of the terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall, according to Oleg Kapitanov, head of the Committee on Interethnic Relations and Implementation of Migration Policy. The March 2024 attack on the Moscow music venue left 145 people dead and was reportedly committed by Tajik nationals.The Committee’s solution is to track the movement of migrants using surveillance cameras, Kapitanov added. St. Petersburg currently has 102,000 cameras, most of them located at entrances to multi-story buildings and public spaces, news outlet Kommersant reports.The move comes amid tightening control over migrant workers, most of which hail from Central Asia. Although the exact figures are hard to come by, the country hosts an estimated 6.1 million foreign citizens.In November last year, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin announced the introduction of electronic ID cards for migrants containing biometric data to control the influx of illegal migrants. Foreigners will also be obliged to provide biometric data when purchasing a SIM card in the Russian Federation.The introduction of ethnic recognition-powered video surveillance, however, has raised concerns over rights violations. Questions also remain about how well the ethnic recognition will work given Russia’s diversity — the country has more than 180 ethnic identities.“This announcement is a mistake, it only sows tension and ethnic strife. Ethically, it raises serious questions about the competence of people in government positions.” Valery Fadeyev, Chairman of the Human Rights Council, told Kommersant.Chinese camera makers Hikvision and Dahua have developed software targeting ethnic minorities, implicating themselves in the Chinese government’s campaign to repress Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

Maldives to expel migrant workers without biometric identification from April-Feb 21, 2025, 9:09 am EST    | Ayang Macdonald

The government of Maldives says migrant workers in the country who have not submitted their biometrics for a mandatory registration exercise will face deportation any time after April 20.This latest directive has been given by the Ministry of Homeland Security, the country’s official media PMS News has reported.Earlier this year, the government mentioned March 15 as deadline for compliance with the directive, with the Homeland Security Ministry urging all those dragging their feet to hasten up and fulfil the condition so as to guarantee their continuous stay in the country.Since May last year, Maldives has undertaken a nationwide initiative labelled Operation Kurangi to biometrically identify all foreigners in the country and to ensure that those working are doing so under legal conditions permitted by the laws in force.At the last count, the government said just over 52,000 foreign workers had submitted their face and fingerprint biometrics for identification. Per the latest census figures, 132,371 expatriates live in Maldives, with a majority of them undocumented.The government says the biometric identification move is part of a broader plan, which will run till 20207, and aims at streamlining the entry of foreigners into the country, thereby reducing the number of immigrants without legal papers.Operation Kurangi is unfolded in three phases. The totality of the process entails identifying the nationality and employment status of foreigners living in the country, collecting their biometric data and issuing them photo ID cards, as well as liaising with the relevant embassies and consular services to verifies identities and send out al those who have not met the government obligation.The government says the biometric data collected will be compiled into a centralized biometric data repository.It would be recalled that Maldives government officials have in the past cracked down on illegal migrant workers, with more than 3,000 of them expelled last year.Maldives, a small South Asian country located in the Indian Ocean, faces a major problem of illegal migrant workers.According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), migrant workers constitute a huge portion of the country’s estimated population of about 500,000 people. Many of the workers serve in sectors such as education, tourism, healthcare, and construction.The migrant workers are said to come principally from countries of neighbouring Southeast Asia, as well as from Bangladesh Egypt, Philippines and Iran.

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.

NAHUM 3:13
13 Behold, your troops are women in your midst. The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire has devoured your bars.

IDF strikes in Lebanon, says it targeted Hezbollah rocket launchers and weapons-Ceasefire agreement permits Israel to respond to ‘imminent threats’; strikes come as Lebanon prepares for mass funeral of Nasrallah in Beirut By Emanuel Fabian-Today-FEB 23,25

Israel carried out a series of airstrikes in Lebanon on Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces said, as the country prepared for the mass funeral of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.According to Lebanese reports, the strikes occurred near the towns of Qlaileh and Zebqine, close to the coastal city of Tyre; near the village of Brissa in the Hermel District of northern Lebanon; near the town of Bodai in the Baalbek District; and near al-Ahmadiya in southern Lebanon.The IDF later confirmed the strikes, saying they targeted Hezbollah sites containing rocket launchers and other weapons, and additional rocket launchers threatening-Israeli civiliansThe strikes were carried out after the military said it identified Hezbollah activity at the sites, which it said was a “violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon, and is a threat to the State of Israel and its citizens.”The strikes came ahead of the joint funeral for Nasrallah, who was eliminated by Israel in September, and his intended successor Hashem Safieddine, whom Israel killed in October.Tens of thousands were expected attending the proceedings in Beirut, including officials from dozens of countries.A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was implemented in late November after over a year of skirmishes that were punctuated by two months of all-out war.While the ceasefire has largely seen hostilities cease, Israeli forces remain in five strategic locations within Lebanese territory despite the agreement calling for an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon within 60 days of its implementation.Israel has justified its continued presence in Lebanon on Hezbollah not withdrawing from southern Lebanon as the agreement requires.Israel and Hezbollah have repeatedly accused each other of violating the agreement, which gives Israel the right to act against imminent threats by the Iran-backed terror group.Israel invaded Lebanon in September in a bid to stem the terror group’s persistent rocket fire, which had displaced some 60,000 Israeli civilians in the north of the country. Hezbollah’s near-daily attacks began, unprovoked, on October 8, 2023 — a day after fellow Iran-backed terror group Hamas stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel since October 2023 have resulted in the deaths of 46 civilians. In addition, 80 IDF soldiers and reservists have died in cross-border skirmishes, attacks on Israel, and in the ensuing ground operation.The IDF estimates that some 3,500 Hezbollah operatives have been killed in the conflict. Around 100 members of other terror groups, along with hundreds of civilians, have also been reported killed in Lebanon.Agencies contributed to this report.

Bank for first time since 2002, sending 3 to Jenin as it expands op-Defense minister says he instructed army to stay ‘for coming year’ in West Bank refugee camps and not allow 40,000 displaced Palestinians home By Emanuel Fabian-Today, 1:35 pm-FEB 23,25

Israeli tanks deployed to the West Bank on Sunday morning for the first time in over 20 years, as the Israel Defense Forces said it was expanding an ongoing counter-terrorism operation in the north of the territory.Defense Minister Israel Katz, meanwhile, said he had instructed the IDF to stay for at least the next year in West Bank refugee camps that have been cleared of terror operatives and civilians, and not allow some 40,000 displaced Palestinians to return.Palestinian media outlets published images showing three Merkava tanks near the West Bank city of Jenin.The IDF confirmed the reports a short while later, saying that a platoon from the 188th Armored Brigade was preparing to operate in Jenin “as part of the offensive effort.” An Armored Corps platoon normally consists of two or three tanks.It marked the first time since the 2002 Operation Defensive Shield that IDF tanks were operating in the West Bank.The military said the tank deployment came as it expanded its ongoing major offensive in the northern West Bank, dubbed Operation Iron Wall, which was launched on January 21.As part of the expanded activity, troops of the Nahal Infantry Brigade and the Duvdevan Commando Unit began operations in several villages near Jenin, the military said.The deployment of tanks and expanded operations come after three empty buses exploded in quick succession in parking lots in the Tel Aviv suburbs of Bat Yam and Holon on Thursday night and the discovery of two more unexploded devices on additional buses in Holon. No casualties were reported as a result of the explosions. According to officials, the botched attack originated from the West Bank.In a written statement Sunday, Katz said: “40,000 Palestinians have so far evacuated from the Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps, and are now empty of residents. UNRWA activity in the camps has also been stopped.”He said the IDF was clearing “nests of terror” and destroying infrastructure and weapons “on an extensive scale.”“I instructed the IDF to prepare for a long stay in the camps that were cleared, for the coming year, and not allow residents to return and the terror to return and grow,” Katz said.“We will not return to the reality that was in the past. We will continue to clear refugee camps and other terror centers to dismantle the battalions and terror infrastructure of the extreme Islam that was built, armed, funded, and supported by the Iranian evil axis, in an attempt to establish an eastern terror front,” he added.The IDF’s crackdown on terror groups began days after a ceasefire agreement was reached in the Gaza Strip, and following recent activity against the groups by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority.The operation began in the terror hotbed of Jenin, which has seen dozens of raids since the Hamas October 7, 2023, invasion of southern Israel from Gaza, which sparked the ongoing war in that territory, as well as a renewed effort to combat terror groups in the West Bank. Israeli forces have since pushed into several other nearby towns, including Tulkarem.More than 40,100 Palestinians have left their homes since the launch of Operation Iron Wall, according to UNRWA.Humanitarian officials say they haven’t seen such displacement in the West Bank since the Six Day War, when Israel — under threat from Jordan, Egypt, Syria and other Arab countries — captured the West Bank, along with East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, displacing 300,000 Palestinians.Troops have killed more than 70 Palestinian terror operatives and detained some 300 amid the major ongoing counter-terrorism operation, according to the IDF.The IDF has acknowledged mistakenly killing several civilians during the operation, including a toddler and a pregnant woman.Agencies contributed to this report.

Nasrallah to be buried Sunday in Beirut, in Lebanon’s biggest funeral in decades-Hezbollah official says 800 personalities from 65 countries set to attend ceremony for terror chief, including Iranian foreign minister By AP and ToI Staff Today, 9:21 am-FEB 23,25

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Beirut early Sunday to attend the funeral of Hezbollah’s former leader, nearly five months after he was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a southern suburb of the Lebanese capital.

Hassan Nasrallah was killed when Israel’s air force dropped more than 80 bombs on the terror group’s main operations room. His death was a major blow for the Iran-backed group that the late leader transformed into a potent force in the Middle East.Nasrallah was the group’s leader for more than 30 years and one of its founders. He enjoyed wide influence among Iran-backed groups in the region and was widely respected in the so-called Iran-led axis of resistance that included Iraqi, Yemeni and Palestinian factions.Officials from around the region including Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were expected to attend the funeral at the Lebanese capital’s main sports stadium. Lebanese officials, including the parliament speaker and representatives of the president and prime minister, were expected to attend the funeral believed to be Lebanon’s largest in two decades.Senior Hezbollah official Ali Daamoush told reporters Saturday that about 800 personalities from 65 countries will attend the funeral, in addition to thousands of individuals and activists who came from around the world.“Come from every home, village and city so that we tell the enemy that this resistance will stay and is ready in the field,” Daamoush said, referring to Israel.Nasrallah will be laid to rest later Sunday in Beirut while his cousin and successor Hashem Safieddine, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a Beirut suburb a few days later, will be laid to rest in his hometown in southern Lebanon. The two had temporarily been buried in secret locations. Hezbollah earlier this month announced plans for their official funerals.Hezbollah has been calling on its supporters to attend the funeral in large numbers in what appears to be a move to show that the group remains powerful after suffering major blows during a 14-month war with Israel that left many of its senior political and military officials dead.Another blow for Hezbollah was the fall in early December of the five-decade rule of the Assad family over Syria — a strong ally of the Lebanese group and a main route for the flow of weapons and money from Iran.As part of the US-brokered ceasefire deal that ended the war with Israel on November 27, Hezbollah is not supposed to have an armed presence in southern Lebanon, a condition Israel says the terror group has not fulfilled. Hezbollah’s rivals have been calling on the group to lay down its weapons all over Lebanon and become a political faction.Hezbollah prepared for Sunday’s funeral by setting up the stadium to host tens of thousands of people. Giant screens were placed along the airport road outside the stadium for people without space inside to watch the funeral. Tight security measures were taken, including the closure of major roads in the area of the funeral.Lebanese army and police forces were placed on alert and the army has banned the use of drones in Beirut and its suburbs during the day. Flights to and from Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport will stop for four hours starting at noon.Hezbollah has given a title to the funeral: “We are committed to the covenant.”

‘Disgraceful what’s going on there’: Trump pans Hamas treatment of hostages-US president says six captives released Saturday ‘not in great shape’ but others have been worse; Secretary of State Rubio slams ‘savagery’ in handling of hostages By Jacob Magid-and ToI Staff Today, 9:06 am-FEB 23,25

US President Donald Trump on Saturday called Hamas’s treatment of Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip “disgraceful,” and noted the poor health of those who have been returned under the current ceasefire deal.Trump’s remarks were echoed by his Secretary of State Mark Rubio, who said that the terror group’s behavior is “savagery,” while US Deputy Mideast Envoy Morgan Ortagus called Gaza a “depraved society.”Their comments came as six hostages were released from Hamas captivity. The six — Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, Eliya Cohen, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed — were the last living hostages expected to be freed under the ceasefire‘s first phase, which expires in a week. Talks on the ceasefire’s second phase are yet to start.The men all looked frail and many had noticeably suffered dramatic weight loss. Most of the 30 living hostages returned during the first stage have been gaunt and suffered from severe malnutrition. Some had injuries from physical abuse.Trump told reporters the six hostages released by Hamas are “not in great shape.”“We had a lot of news over the last 24 hours,” he said. “We had the hostages given back today — it’s disgraceful what’s going on there. They’re not in great shape, but we’ve also seen them in worse shape.”“What a terrible situation it is,” he added.Speaking earlier at the Conservative Political Action Committee in Washington, Trump noted many of the hostages are returning dead from Gaza, adding that it is important to get them back.Trump called out by name several survivors of Hamas captivity in the audience, including Noa Argamani and Ilana Gritzewsky.He then joined others in the audience in a round of applause for the pair.“What a beautiful group of people,” he said.Argamani has been a prominent advocate for the hostages on the world stage since she was rescued by Israeli forces in June last year. Gritzewsky was released on November 30, 2023, as part of an extension of a temporary ceasefire deal brokered by Qatar and the United States between Hamas and Israel. Her partner Matan Zangauker is still captive.Rubio said the terror group must free the remaining 63 hostages it is holding, or face its demise.“Hamas’s treatment of hostages, including its brutal murder of the Bibas family, further illustrates their savagery and is yet another reason why we are saying these terrorists must release all of the hostages immediately or be destroyed,” Rubio wrote on social media platform X, referring to Shiri Bibas and her two small children, Ariel and Kfir, who were kidnapped from their Nir Oz home on October 7.Israel says Ariel, 4 when he was abducted, and Kfir, who was 10 months old, were murdered by their captors in November 2023. Shiri Bibas was also killed, though her body was only returned to Israel late Friday after Hamas initially sent the remains of a Gaza woman instead. Husband and father Yarden Bibas was kidnapped separately and released alive earlier this month.Before their remains were returned on Thursday, Hamas put the Bibas boys’ coffins on a stage in Khan Younis in front of a giant poster of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a vampire, alongside the coffin of octogenarian peace activist Oded Lifshitz, also killed in captivity, as they paraded the victims before cheering crowds, drawing widespread revulsion.Pointing to the crowd of hundreds in Gaza that were seen “cheering” during the ceremony, Deputy Mideast Envoy Ortagus called Gaza a “depraved society.”“You have… a society that has to not only be demilitarized, but has to be deradicalized,” Ortagus told Fox News, also noting that Gazan civilians took part in October 7 atrocities, including abductions.“President Trump sent a very clear and strong signal about the deradicalization that has to happen to this population,” she said Saturday, apparently referring to remarks at a press conference with Netanyahu when Trump called for the US to take over Gaza and permanently remove its residents.“If you didn’t believe President Trump a few weeks ago, look at the image of the crowd clapping and cheering as babies go back in their coffins into Israel, without their mother,” Ortagus said.Israel said Saturday that it would delay the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners who had been slated to go free Saturday until Jerusalem receives assurances regarding the end of the “humiliating ceremonies” staged by Hamas when hostages are handed over.The prisoners were to be freed as part of the deal for the release of the six hostages freed by Hamas earlier in the day. But with Israelis fuming over the handling of the transfer of the bodies of Shiri Bibas and her two small children, and new anger sparked by a propaganda video showing hostages being brought to a ceremony where others were being freed, Netanyahu said Israel would demand an end to the gauche fanfare before resuming freeing prisoners.Israel’s announcement abruptly put the future of the truce into further doubt. The ceasefire had halted over 15 months of war triggered by the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians.Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 63 hostages, including 62 of the 251 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023. They include the bodies of at least 36 confirmed dead by the IDF.Hamas has so far released 30 hostages — 20 Israeli civilians, five soldiers and five Thai nationals; and the bodies of four slain Israeli captives — Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, and Oded Lifshitz — during the ceasefire that began in January.The terror group freed 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November 2023, and four hostages were released before that in the early weeks of the war.Eight hostages have been rescued from captivity by troops alive, and the bodies of 41 have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors, and the body of a soldier who was killed in 2014. The body of another soldier killed in 2014, Lt. Hadar Goldin, is still being held by Hamas, and is counted among the 63 hostages.

DANIEL 2:37-45
37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

DANIEL 7:17-26
17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.
18 But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
19 Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;
20 And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.
21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;
22 Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.

THE WORLD IN 10 WORLD TRADE BLOCS LEAD BY THE EUROPEAN UNION THE WORLD LEADER, NOT AMERICA.I PREDICT.

THE EUROPEAN UNION AND REVIVED ROMAN WORLD GOVERNMENT
DANIEL 2:31-33,36-43, DAN 7:3-8,17

First From Daniel Chapter 2

1 EGYPT
2 ASSYRIA
3 BABYLON (HEAD OF GOLD) DAN 2:31-32,36-38, DAN 1:1
4 MEDO-PERSIANS (CHEST & ARMS OF SILVER) DAN 2:32,39, DAN 9:1
5 GREECE (WAIST & HIPS OF BRONZE) DAN 2:32,39, DAN 11:2
6 ROME (2 LEGS OF IRON) DAN 2:33,40, ROM 1:6
7 REVIVED ROME (EU) (FEET IRON & CLAY) DAN 2:33,41-43,10 TOES

Now From Daniel Chapter 7

1 EGYPT
2 ASSYRIA
3 BABYLON (LION WITH EAGLES WINGS) DAN 7:4, DAN 1:1
4 MEDO-PERSIANS (BEAR ON HIND LEGS) DAN 7:5, DAN 9:1
5 GREECE (LEOPARD 4 WINGS, 4 HEADS) DAN 7:6, DAN 11:2
6 ROME (HUGE IRON TEETH) DAN 7:7 (10 HORNS), ROM 1:6
7 REVIVED ROME (EU) DAN 7:8,19-20,23-25 10 HORNS, 10 KINGS
REV 17:9,12, 10 HORNS, 10 KINGS, 7 HILLS ROME. REV 13:1 BEAST WITH 7 HEADS. THE E.U LEADER OF WORLD GOVERNMENT DAN 2:40-45, 7:7-8,23-25,27, 8:23, REV 13:3,7,8,12,14,16

REVELATION 17:10-12
10 And there are seven kings (7TH WORLD EMPIRE IN HISTORY) five are fallen, (EGYPT, ASSYRIA, BABYLON,:MEDO-PERSIAN,GREECE and one is,(IN POWER IN JOHNS DAY-ROME) and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh,(FUTURE-REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE-EUROPEAN UNION TODAY) he must continue a short space.(7 YEARS OF WORLD DOMINATION-BUT 3 1/2 YEARS OF NEW WORLD ORDER OR ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT)
12 And the ten horns (10 WORLD TRADE BLOCS OR REGIONS) which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

REVELATION 17:12-13
12 And the ten horns (10 WORLD TRADE BLOCS-NATIONS) 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,(WORLD SOCIALISM) and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

We shall have World Government, whether or not we like it. The only question is whether World Government will be achieved by conquest or consent.James Paul Warburg appearing before the Senate on 7th February 1950

Like a famous WWII Belgian General,Paul Henry Spock said in 1957:We need no commission, we have already too many. What we need is a man who is great enough to be able to keep all the people in subjection to himself and to lift us out of the economic bog into which we threaten to sink. Send us such a man. Be he a god or a devil, we will accept him.And today, sadly, the world is indeed ready for such a man.

DICK MORRIS-This truly creates a global economic system. From now on, don’t look to Washington for the rule making, look to Brussels.

THE CLUB OF ROME FOUNDER AURELIO PECCEI WANTS THE WORLD IN 10 REGIONAL TRADING BLOCKS

HERES WHAT THE WORLD WOULD LOOK LIKE (SINCE THERE WILL BE WORLD GOVERNMENT IN THE FUTURE)-UPDATED VERSION

01 CANADA, U.S.A, MEXICO
02 EUROPEAN UNION,WESTERN EUROPE
03 JAPAN
04 AUSTRALIA,NEW ZEALAND, S AFRICA, ISRAEL AND PACIFIC ISLANDS
05 EASTERN EUROPE
06 SOUTHERN, CENTRAL AND LATIN AMERICAS
07 NORTH AFRICA, AND MIDEAST (MOSLEMS)
08 CENTRAL AFRICA
09 SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIA
10 CENTRAL ASIA

THE CLUB OF ROME WANTS A WORLD CHARISMATIC DICTATOR (EITHER RELIGIOUS, POLITICAL OR SCIENTIFICAL) TO HEAD THIS WORLD GOVERNMENT. REV 13:3,7-8, DAN 7:23-24

WORLD POWERS IN THE END TIME

NORTH - RUSSIA EZEK 38:1-2, 39:1-2
SOUTH - EGYPT DAN 11:42
EAST - CHINA DAN 11:44,REV 16:12
WEST - EUROPEAN UNION DAN 7:23-24 (NOT THE U.S.A)
http://israel7777777.blogspot.ca/2012/03/10-world-trade-blocs-one-world.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2006/09/how-eu-takes-world-control.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2012/05/one-world-religion-crislam.html

As truce’s first stage winds down, families of hostages plead for more releases-Captive’s mother to Netanyahu: ‘Free all hostages, in one batch, now’; father of hostage who returned earlier in day says no one should be allowed to prevent freedom for others By Noam Lehmann and ToI Staff Today, 1:26 pm-FEB 23,25

Families of hostages held by terror groups in the Gaza Strip on Saturday urged the government to secure the freedom of all remaining captives as the last living hostages scheduled for release in the first stage of a troubled ceasefire deal with Hamas were set free.At the weekly hostage support rally in Tel Aviv, the focal event for demonstrations on behalf of the captives, hostage mother Einav Zangauker called on leaders to negotiate the release of all the captives in one tranche, while the father of a captive who returned to Israel earlier the same day added his voice to the urgency of freeing those still languishing in Gaza.Relatives of hostages panned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of being less concerned about the fate of the hostages than the Trump administration, and of putting the captives below his own political needs.The three-stage ceasefire agreement, reached last month, halted some 15 months of fighting triggered by the October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel, when Hamas-led terrorists killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.The deal requires the terror group to release all its hostages, Israel to release thousands of Palestinian security prisoners — including hundreds serving life sentences — and a halt to fighting in the Strip, followed by negotiations for a “sustainable calm” and IDF withdrawal from the enclave.Only 30 living hostages have been released during the first phase, including five Thai nationals along with the bodies of some others. On Thursday, Hamas is to hand over four bodies, concluding the first phase of the ceasefire.Talks on the second phase, which were supposed to begin earlier this month, have not yet started. Under the terms of the deal, the first stage formula of hostages released in batches can be continued if negotiations on the next stages are underway.Zangauker hailed the release of six hostages earlier in the day and said the hearts of all the hostage families are with the families of slain hostages Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, and Oded Lifshitz, whose bodies were returned — amid controversy — at the end of the week.Though highlighting the joy in Israel at the day’s releases she told the Tel Aviv protest: “It must not be that the deal is stopped and that we return to fighting.”Zangauker, whose son Matan is a hostage, noted that 63 hostages are still “in hell in Gaza.”Apparently referencing an ostensible Hamas proposal to release the rest of the hostages in one go in return for a complete end to the war, she said the Americans want all the hostages back at once and so does most of the Israeli public.“One batch, right away,” she urged.Zangauker denounced what she said is a “disconnected government” that is instead preparing for a return to the war. She charged that Netanyahu, who she said created the entire phased process, is “dragging his feet… trying to please his extremist coalition partners at the price of the blood of Matan and the rest of the hostages.“Hostages first… All of them now,” she urged Netanyahu. “It can’t be that [US President Donald] Trump and envoy Steve Witkoff want this more than the prime minister,” she said, referring to the US president’s special envoy to the region. “Netanyahu, these are your citizens, abandoned on your watch.”Trump has repeatedly spoken of returning “all the hostages” even at stages when only some were supposed to be set free under the terms of the deal, but without clarifying his intention. Other senior US officials have made similar remarks and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday posted to X that Hamas must free “all the hostages” or face its demise.Witkoff, Trump’s envoy, was slated to meet Saturday night with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, the Walla news site reported.Netanyahu has not committed to the second phase, which would see Israel withdraw from Gaza and Hamas return the remaining living hostages. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has threatened to topple the government should it withdraw from the Strip, instead pushing for renewing the war to completely eradicate the terror group.At Saturday’s Tel Aviv rally, held in what has been named Hostages Square, Gilad Korngold hailed the return from Hamas captivity of his son Tal Shoham that morning, “after 505 long days in which he breathed the air of hell.”He thanked the government, Trump and the Austrian chancellor for securing the release of his son, a dual Israeli-Austrian citizen.Korngold pointed out that this was the last weekend of the hostage deal’s first phase.“As of now, this is the last Saturday that we, the citizens of Israel, will get to see pictures of hostages embracing their loved ones,” said Korngold.“We can and must get all the hostages out,” he said. “And we need all of you, with us, to make sure that no one — no one — thwarts the rest of the mission to release the hostages who are still suffering in Gaza.”Ahead of his speech, Korngold and his wife Nitza met at Hostages Square with Sasha Troufanov, who was released the Saturday before, Hebrew media reported.A block away, on Begin Road, hundreds of anti-government, pro-hostage deal protesters rallied in front of IDF headquarters.Yehuda Cohen, whose soldier son Nimrod is slated for release only in the deal’s second phase, accused Netanyahu of consistently working to thwart any hostage deal since October 7, 2023, out of political expediency.Cohen thanked Trump and his envoy Witkoff for locking in the Gaza hostage deal. Witkoff was actively involved in negotiations even before Trump was sworn into office on January 20.Meanwhile, said Cohen, “the criminally accused Netanyahu,” who has been indicted on several counts of graft, is running “endless circles to cover up his sins and crimes.”“The criminal Netanyahu will do anything to please the war-monger Smotrich,” Cohen said. “The criminal Netanyahu will do anything to cover up his crimes against the State of Israel.”In English, Cohen addressed the US president, pleading with him to help secure the remaining hostages’ release: “President Trump — we rely on you. Only you can do it.”The fate of the ceasefire process was cast into further doubt later Saturday when Israel said it won’t release hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners who were supposed to be exchanged for the six hostages, citing the “humiliating ceremonies” staged by Hamas when hostages are handed over. Netanyahu said Israel would demand an end to the gauche fanfare that Hamas has put on as it hands hostages to the Red Cross, before resuming freeing prisoners.Hamas has said it won’t release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Netanyahu, with the backing of Trump’s administration, says he’s committed to destroying the terror group’s military and governing capacities and returning all hostages, goals widely seen as mutually exclusive.Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 63 hostages, including 62 of the 251 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023. They include the bodies of at least 36 confirmed dead by the IDF.

Hamas: It's an excuse by Israel to shirk deal's obligations-Israel halts release of Palestinian prisoners over ‘humiliating’ hostage handovers-Netanyahu demands guarantee that Hamas end ceremonies in which hostages are paraded in front of crowds before freeing inmates, nixing planned release of 600 prisoners Saturday By Agencies and ToI Staff Today, 5:30 am-FEB 23,25

Israel said early Sunday that it was delaying the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners who had been slated to go free Saturday until Jerusalem receives assurances regarding the end of “humiliating ceremonies” staged by Hamas when hostages are handed over.The statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office came after over 600 inmates had  already boarded buses to leave Ofer prison, in the largest single-day release of the first stage of the ongoing Gaza ceasefire. Instead, the inmates were told to disembark, their release on indefinite hold. Hezi Markowitz, a former Prisons Service southern commander, said Sunday that the hundreds of prisoners were on the buses for hours, waiting for release and then en route to their release destinations, when the decision was made to return them to their prisons.The prisoners had been slated to be let go as part of a deal for the release of six hostages who were freed by Hamas earlier in the day. But with Israelis fuming over the handling of the transfer of the bodies of mother Shiri Bibas and her two small children murdered in captivity, and new anger sparked by a propaganda video showing hostages being brought to a ceremony where others were being freed, Netanyahu said Israel would demand an end to the gauche fanfare before resuming freeing prisoners.“In light of the repeated violations by Hamas — including the ceremonies that demean our hostages’ dignity and the cynical use of our hostages for propaganda purposes — it has been decided to delay the release of terrorists planned for yesterday until the next release of hostages is guaranteed, and without the humiliating ceremonies,” read a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office sent just after 1 a.m. Sunday.Israel’s announcement abruptly put the future of the truce into further doubt.Hamas condemned the decision, saying the claim that the hostages’ handover ceremonies are “humiliating” is false and a pretext for Israel to evade its obligations under the Gaza hostage release and ceasefire agreement.“[Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s decision reflects a deliberate attempt to disrupt the agreement, represents a clear violation of its terms, and shows the occupation’s lack of reliability in implementing its obligations,” Ezzat El Rashq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, said in a statement.The Palestinian Authority’s commission for prisoners’ affairs confirmed the delay “until further notice.” Associated Press video in the West Bank showed prisoners’ families, waiting outdoors in near-freezing weather, apparently dispersing. One woman was shown walking away in tears.Israel’s government didn’t respond to questions about the delay in releasing prisoners. Hamas accused Israel of violating the ceasefire deal, with spokesperson Abdel Latif Al-Qanou accusing Netanyahu of “deliberately stalling.”Five of the six hostages freed Saturday had been escorted by masked, armed Hamas members in front of a crowd — a display that the UN and Red Cross have criticized as cruel after previous handovers.The six — Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, Eliya Cohen, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed — were the last living hostages expected to be freed under the ceasefire’s first phase, with a week remaining in the initial stage. Talks on the ceasefire’s second phase are yet to start.All but al-Sayed, who like Mengistu had been held in Gaza for around a decade, were handed over in staged ceremonies. In one, Omer Wenkert, Omer Shem Tov and Eliya Cohen were posed alongside Hamas fighters. A beaming Shem Tov, acting under duress, kissed two gunmen on the head and blew kisses to the crowd.The hostages were dressed up in fake army uniforms, though they were not soldiers when abducted.The army later said al-Sayed had been released. The Bedouin Israeli entered Gaza in 2015, a year after Mengistu. Both had suffered from mental illness, according to their families, and were largely unresponsive after returning to Israel.Israel had been slated to free 602 inmates, including 50 prisoners serving life sentences for deadly attacks against Israelis, and 60 serving long prison terms.The roster included the longest-serving inmate likely set to be freed: Nael Barghouti, who has spent a total of 44 years in Israeli custody for killing 27-year-old Israeli bus driver Mordechai Yekuel in his vehicle near Ramallah in 1978. After 33 years in prison, Barghouti was freed in the 2011 Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange, but was arrested three years later and convicted on terrorism charges.In total 47 Palestinian prisoners re-arrested after the Shalit deal were set to be freed in this exchange.Also set for release was Ammar Zaban, a prominent figure in Hamas who headed the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades during the Second Intifada.Zaban, who will be deported, was sentenced to 27 life terms for his involvement in numerous terror attacks, including the 1997 suicide bombing in Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda market, which killed 16 people.Nearly 100 of the ex-inmates were slated for deportation upon their release. An additional 11 prisoners detained before the war’s outset would be sent to Gaza, while 43 will return to their homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.Another 445 inmates who were detained in Gaza following October 7 but were never charged were set to be free.Ahead of the release, Israel Prison Service chief Kobi Yaakobi instructed guards to dress Palestinian prisoners slated for release with shirts sporting a verse from Psalms written in Arabic: “I pursued my enemies and overtook them, and did not turn back until their destruction.”Prisoners were also made to wear bracelets that read, “The eternal people do not forget. I pursued my enemies and overtook them.”Twenty-three minors and one woman detained in the Strip were also set to be released in exchange for the bodies of Shiri Bibas, and her young boys Ariel and Kfir, according to Haaretz.Israel says Ariel, 4 when he was abducted, and Kfir, who was 10 months old, were murdered by their captors in November 2023 after being kidnapped from their Nir Oz home on October 7. Shiri Bibas was also killed, though her body was only returned to Israel late Friday after Hamas initially sent the remains of a Gaza woman instead. Husband and father Yarden Bibas was kidnapped separately and released alive earlier this month.Netanyahu had vowed revenge for “a cruel and malicious violation” after it was discovered that Shiri Bibas’s body had not been returned as promised. On Saturday evening, he lauded the release of the six living hostages today, calling it a “moment of joy and relief” for their families and Israel, but said Israel “will not forget and will not forgive” the murders of the three members of the Bibas family.Defense Minister Israel Katz warned the murders will “not be taken lightly.”On Thursday, Hamas had put the Bibas’s coffins on a stage in Khan Younis in front of a giant poster of Netanyahu as a vampire, alongside the coffin of octogenarian peace activist Oded Lifshitz, also killed in captivity, as they paraded the four victims before cheering crowds, drawing widespread revulsion at the display.Israeli officials had said Saturday night that the release of the prisoners would be delayed until Netanyahu finished holding security consultations regarding the return of the remaining Israeli hostages. An official said the meeting was focused “on the goal of returning all our hostages, alive and dead.”Under the ceasefire deal’s current first stage, Hamas is still slated to hand over four bodies of hostages killed in captivity in exchange for more prisoners. Some 2,000 inmates in total are set to be released as part of the first stage, a price that some in Israel, including far-right allies of Netanyahu, have said is too high, especially given the large number of terror convicts serving time for deadly attacks.A second stage of the ceasefire, which would involve the release of remaining hostages for yet more prisoners, has yet to be worked out, with Israel indicating it could instead resume fighting in Gaza.Hamas has said it won’t release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Netanyahu, with the backing of US President Donald Trump’s administration, says he’s committed to destroying Hamas’ military and governing capacities and returning all hostages, goals widely seen as mutually exclusive.Families and others rallied Saturday night in Tel Aviv to pressure Netanyahu’s government for a deal.“How is it possible that President Trump and special envoy [Steven] Witkoff are more committed to the return of Israeli hostages than you are?” said Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is a hostage. “Netanyahu, these are your citizens who were abandoned on your watch!”Witkoff was slated to meet Saturday night with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, the Walla news site reported.

French authorities arrest four after terror stabbing in country’s east-Portuguese man killed in Saturday attack in city of Mulhouse; France tried to expel main suspect in Islamic extremist attack to Algeria 10 times-By AP Today, 4:59 pm-FEB 23,25

PARIS, France — Four people were in custody Sunday after a deadly stabbing in eastern France that authorities linked to Islamic extremism, according to the national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office.A Portuguese man was killed in the Saturday attack in the city of Mulhouse, near the border with Germany. Seven police officers were wounded, including a parking control agent hospitalized with grave injuries, the prosecutor’s office said.Those detained include the suspected assailant, a 37-year-old Algerian man identified by prosecutors as Brahim A. The interior minister described him as an Islamic extremist with a schizophrenic profile. Two of the suspect’s family members and a person who lodged him were also detained, the prosecutor’s office said.French President Emmanuel Macron said the government has “complete determination” to respond to the attack, which he blamed on ’’Islamist terrorism.″France has been on high alert for extremist threats.The suspect repeatedly said “Allahu akbar” — “God is great” in Arabic — during the attack, the prosecutor said. He was armed with a knife and a screwdriver.The suspect arrived in France without papers in 2014 and was arrested and convicted of glorifying terrorism in the wake of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau told reporters Saturday night. Police experts had ″detected a schizophrenic profile″ in the suspect, he added.After several months in prison for that conviction, the suspect was confined to house arrest as authorities sought to expel him to Algeria. Retailleau criticized Algeria for resisting the return of criminals France is seeking to deport.Retailleau told French broadcaster TF1 that France had tried to expel the suspect 10 times, with the Algerians refusing each time to accept him.The suspect was also on a terror watchlist, called FSPRT, which compiles data from various authorities on individuals to prevent “terrorist” radicalization. It was launched in 2015 following deadly attacks on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo’s offices and a Jewish supermarket.The French government will convene a special meeting Wednesday about immigration in the wake of the attack, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Sunday. They will notably study 19 countries “where we have the most difficulty in returning people without papers,″ Barrot said on Europe-1 radio.“Horror has seized our city,” Mulhouse Mayor Michele Lutz said on Facebook. The incident was being investigated as a terror attack, she said, but “this must obviously still be confirmed by the judiciary.”Macron, who spoke during a visit to France’s agriculture fair, said the “solidarity of the nation” was with the attack victim and his family.French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said that “fanaticism has struck again, and we are in mourning.”AFP contributed to this report.

The eve of a return to war-With all living hostages in the first phase of the deal now home, and widespread national revulsion at Hamas, conditions are ripe from Netanyahu’s perspective for resuming intensive conflict in Gaza-By Amir Ben-David-Today, 4:28 pm-FEB 23,25

The decision made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu early Sunday morning to delay the release of over 600 Palestinian prisoners, who were supposed to be freed Saturday as part of the agreement with Hamas, appears ominous.Israel is delaying the release of the prisoners “until it is ensured that the next hostages will be freed without humiliating ceremonies,” according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office.Netanyahu made this decision — against the advice of military and security chiefs — after Saturday’s hostage releases, during which four hostages abducted on October 7, 2023 (Tal Shoham, Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov and Omer Wenkert) were freed, along with two Israeli civilians who had been held by Hamas for over a decade (Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed).The final releases in the current first phase of the hostages-ceasefire agreement are scheduled to take place on Thursday, when Hamas is supposed to return four slain hostages to Israel.Many believe that Netanyahu waited to initiate action that will lead to the collapse of the agreement, and a return to the military campaign against Hamas, until phase one’s living hostages were all safely in Israeli hands.It appears that the conditions are ripe from his and his coalition’s perspective for another round of war, but this time with the active encouragement of a sitting US president.Hamas condemned the decision to halt the prisoners’ release. The terror group, which kidnapped civilians from their homes and from a dance party and held them for 15 months in underground tunnels, stated: “The occupation’s claim that the handover ceremony was humiliating is a false allegation, and a flimsy excuse aimed at evading the commitments of the agreement.  These ceremonies do not include any insult to the prisoners but rather reflect the humane and generous treatment they receive. The real insult is what our prisoners endure.“Netanyahu’s decision is a deliberate attempt to sabotage the agreement and constitutes a clear violation. We call on the mediators and the international community to take responsibility and pressure for the implementation of the agreement and the immediate release of the prisoners,” Hamas added.Netanyahu’s decision – backed by the war cabinet, which includes ministers Ron Dermer, Israel Katz, Gideon Sa’ar and Bezalel Smotrich – was made against the backdrop of widespread anger that has been felt across Israel over the past three days.From soccer stadiums (where Beitar Jerusalem fans held up a sign reading, “The revenge for a child’s blood has yet to be created by Satan”) to various television pundits, calls for revenge, expulsion and annexation have been repeatedly heard.“The last few days may be remembered as key moments in the history of the war, and perhaps in the history of the entire Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” assessed Amos Harel, the defense analyst for Haaretz, who is generally not prone to dramatic or bombastic assessments.This sentiment is driven by several factors:
• The pathological findings indicating the horrific circumstances of the murders of the Bibas boys — Ariel, 4, and Kfir, nine months — which were published on Friday and caused deep shock in Israel.
• The fact that Hamas initially returned the body of a different woman instead of the body of Shiri Bibas (a “mix up” that was “corrected” 24 hours later), and the Israeli assessment that she too was brutally murdered.
• The grave condition of many of the released hostages and their testimonies regarding Hamas’s vicious and cynical physical and psychological treatment of them.
• The explosive devices planted on Thursday in four buses in central Israel, which, thanks to the alertness of a civilian, were discovered in time, preventing a major disaster.
All these factors have created a sense in Israel that there is no one to talk to and nothing to talk about — laying the groundwork for the next military steps.“The IDF is preparing for the possibility of a renewed invasion of Gaza,” writes Harel. “Incoming Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir (who will assume office in ten days) is formulating an operational plan described as particularly aggressive. Netanyahu is now seeking to escalate the crisis with the decision he made overnight.”The abuse of Guy and Evyatar-One of Hamas’s most recent cynical moves, which also sparked widespread outrage, has contributed to the heightened tension in Israel.On Saturday, Hamas brought Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Evyatar David – two close friends who were kidnapped together from the Nova party – to the release site at the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, so they would witness the release of three of the Israeli hostages and deliver a desperate plea to their families, the Israeli public, and prime minister Netanyahu.“Our friends are getting out, and we just want this to be over,” the two said to Hamas’s cameras. “Save us! Netanyahu, get us home. It’s hard here, we dream of leaving.”The two, who are set to be freed in phase two of the deal, also called on their families to continue protesting in Israel to pressure the government to move forward with the agreement. The text and the entire scene appeared to be directed and dictated by their captors.Despite extremely cold and rainy weather, thousands participated in demonstrations across Israel on Saturday night in support of moving to the second phase of the deal, in which Hamas is supposed to release the 63 remaining hostages in its hands – at least 24 of whom are thought to be alive.Sasha Troufanov, who was released from Hamas captivity just a week ago, arrived on Saturday evening at Hostages’ Square in Tel Aviv, where he met the parents of Tal Shoham, who had been freed earlier in the day.Shoham’s father, Gilad Korengold, spoke at the rally and said: “It is possible and essential to release all the hostages in one continuous operation and shorten the timelines.”Einav Zangauker – the mother of hostage Matan, who has become the most prominent figure in Israel’s fight for the hostages and has been facing ugly attacks in recent weeks from Netanyahu supporters – said ahead of the rally: “Our disconnected government is pushing for a return to war against the will of the people and against Israel’s interests. And Netanyahu, the architect of the staged releases, is dragging his feet.“Netanyahu is trying to appease his extremist partners on the backs of my Matan and the other hostages,” she concluded.

One dead, several police wounded in ‘Islamist’ stabbing attack in France-French authorities had tried 10 times to deport Algerian-born suspect in attack, in city of Mulhouse, but home country refused to accept him, says French interior minister-By Sebastien BOZO, Antoine POLLEZ and Jurgen HECKER 22 February 2025, 11:37 pm

AFP — One person was killed and two police officers were seriously injured Saturday in a knife attack in eastern France that President Emmanuel Macron said was an “Islamist terror act.”Prosecutors said three more officers were lightly wounded in the attack in the city of Mulhouse, carried out by a 37-year-old suspect who is on a terror prevention watchlist, prosecutor Nicolas Heitz told AFP.The suspect was in custody.France’s national anti-terror prosecutors unit (PNAT), which has taken charge of the investigation, said the suspect first attacked the municipal police officers, shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest).Witnesses confirmed to AFP that the suspect had several times shouted the words in Arabic that are used by Muslims as an exclamation of their faith.A civilian passer-by who intervened was fatally injured, the PNAT said in a statement. According to Mulhouse prosecutors, he was a 69-year-old Portuguese national.Macron said there was “no doubt” that the incident was “a terrorist act,” specifically “an Islamist terrorist act.”The government was determined to continue doing “everything to eradicate terrorism on our soil,” Macron added.The terror watchlist, called FSPRT, compiles data from various authorities on individuals with the aim of preventing “terrorist” radicalization. It was launched in 2015 following deadly attacks on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo’s offices and a Jewish supermarket.One of the seriously wounded police officers sustained an injury to the carotid artery, and the other to the thorax, Heitz said.French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau was expected to travel to the scene of the attack later Saturday.Police established a security parameter after the attack that happened shortly before 4:00 pm (1500 GMT) during a demonstration in support of the Democratic Republic of Congo in a busy part of Mulhouse, a city of around 110,000 inhabitants.Military units were sent to the scene as backup and forensic scientists searched for evidence, working hurriedly to examine blood stains before rain could wash them away.France tried to deport the suspect 10 times-The suspect was born in Algeria and has been under judicial supervision and house arrest, with an expulsion order from France.Retailleau told French broadcaster TF1 that France had tried to expel him 10 times, with the Algerians refusing each time to accept him.“Horror has seized our city,” Mulhouse mayor Michele Lutz said on Facebook. The incident was being investigated as a terror attack, she said, but “this must obviously still be confirmed by the judiciary.”The PNAT said it is investigating the attack for murder, and attempted murder “in connection with a terrorist enterprise.”Macron, who spoke during a visit to France’s agriculture fair, said the “solidarity of the nation” was with the attack victim and his family.French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said that “fanaticism has struck again, and we are in mourning.”

Eliya Cohen only learned on release that fiancee survived-Hostages were chained, starved, kept in pitch black; some return almost unresponsive-Hamas made 2 hostages not going free watch release ceremony from a vehicle near the stage; Omer Shem Tov, abducted from Nova festival, was held alone in a tunnel for some 450 days-By Emanuel Fabian,Lazar Berman,Michael Bachner,Charlie Summers, Leon Kraiem and ToI Staff 22 February 2025, 11:34 pm

Four Israelis — Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert and Eliya Cohen — who were freed from Hamas captivity on Saturday after more than 500 days in the Hamas terror group’s captivity were chained in the dark, starved and psychologically abused in Gaza, they and their family members said upon their return.Two further hostages — Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed — who, suffering from mental illness, each entered the Gaza Strip of their own accord some 10 years ago — came home Saturday bearing evident psychological scars from their captivity, and were described by relatives as largely unresponsive upon their return.The terror group paraded five of the six captives on stages in propaganda-filled ceremonies in two locations in Gaza before handing them over to the Red Cross, while al-Sayed was released separately to the humanitarian organization later in the day, without a ceremony.They are the last six living hostages scheduled to be released as part of the first phase of the three-part hostage-ceasefire deal between Israel and the Hamas terror group, which in January stopped fighting in the Gaza Strip after fifteen months of war sparked by the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel, when terrorists killed some 1,200 people and dragged 251 people into Gaza as hostages.The final four hostages out of the 33 in phase one, all believed to be dead, are set for release on Thursday.In a new sign of Hamas’s depravity, the terror group brought two hostages who are still in captivity to watch one of Saturday’s release ceremonies.In a video published by Hamas, Eviatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal were seen inside a vehicle in the stage area set up by the terror group for the release of three of the captives in central Gaza’s Nuseirat.They were seen in the video calling on Israeli officials to secure their release, as they watched Omer Shem Tov, Eliya Cohen and Omer Wenkert be freed from captivity after 505 days.This was the first sign of life from David that has been made public since he was abducted on October 7, 2023, and the first sign of life from Gilboa-Dalal since June 2024. Their families authorized Israeli media to publish Hamas’s propaganda video.A Hamas propaganda video showing hostages Eviatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal during the release of three other captives, in central Gaza’s Nuseirat, February 22, 2025. (Hamas media office)-David’s sister, Yeela, called Hamas “monsters” after watching the clip, saying on Instagram: “They are alive. [Hamas] put both of them this morning in the most horrifying and evil situation they could be. There is no limit to the messed-up cynicism of these monsters. I admire you, my brothers.”Both hostages are only slated for release in the second, still-unfinalized phase of the ceasefire deal.Hostage made to kiss Hamas gunmen at ceremonyOmer Shem Tov, who was abducted from the Nova music festival during the cross-border onslaught, was held alone in a tunnel for all but the first 50 days of his more-than-16-month-long captivity, his father told the Kan public broadcaster.“For the first 50 days he was with Itay Regev, and all the rest, on his own,” Malki Shem Tov, Omer’s father, said.Itay Regev — Omer’s friend, who was abducted from the festival alongside him — was released in November 2023 during a previous hostage-ceasefire deal.Malki Shem Tov said his son “didn’t see daylight at all.”Nevertheless, he said, his son returned the same person who was kidnapped: he is still “Omer the funny, Omer the optimist — just 16-17 kilos (35-37 pounds) less.”The returnee’s father also addressed the images of his son kissing a Hamas gunman on the forehead during the propaganda ceremony for his release on Saturday morning — footage that has reportedly gone viral on Arabic-language social media, purporting to show gratitude from the hostage to the terror group.Omer “told us that they compelled him to wave and to kiss that guard who was standing next to him. He said they told him what to do. You can see in the footage that someone came up to him and told him what to do,” his father said.Shem Tov, who was held in part of Hamas’s underground tunnel network, had very little exposure to media, Kan reported, but said he was aware of protests being held for the release of the hostages, and said, “It strengthened me, and gave me hope that in the end I’d be freed.”Channel 12, meanwhile, said Shem Tov was initially held in apartments and later in tunnels, and that he was required to dress as a Muslim woman when moved around by his captors. He was once lowered into a tunnel in a small bucket, the network reported. At first, his hands were bound. He was cursed and spat at, it said.The hostage saw Al Jazeera broadcasts during his captivity, and the reports of the struggle being waged for the hostages strengthened him, Channel 12 said. However, he once saw Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on television talking about the need to destroy Hamas without mentioning the hostages, and this made him very concerned, the report added.Upon his release, Shem Tov was airlifted from a military facility near the Gaza border to a hospital in central Israel, and wrote on a whiteboard, “Now everything is OK! Thank you to the dear people of Israel, and to all the soldiers!”“I want a hamburger,” he added.Held in pitch-black tunnels, chained by hands and feet-Eliya Cohen was held alone for some of his captivity, but spent much of it alongside Or Levy and Eli Sharabi, both of whom were recently released, and Alon Ohel, who is still being held, he told his family, according to Channel 12.They were chained not only by their feet but also by their hands, which caused open cuts, and they were physically abused by their captors.Most of the time they were held in a pitch-black tunnel; for a few hours now and again, the terrorists lowered a torch into the tunnel. For months on end, they were not allowed to walk and couldn’t stand. Their captors starved them, and ate their meals in front of them, the report said.Cohen, who was also abducted from the Nova music festival, was shot in the leg on October 7 and did not receive appropriate medical treatment.He reported that in recent days, leading up to his release, his captors allowed him to step outside, and get some exposure to sunlight, according to Kan.Cohen only learned on his release Saturday that his fiancee, Ziv Abud, survived the October 7 massacre; he also learned, however, that his best friend was killed that day.Omer Wenkert lost 30 kilograms (66 pounds) in captivity since his abduction from the rave, according to Kan.He suffers from Colitis and did not receive the medicines he needs. He has left some friends behind, he has said, and has brought back some signs of life.Wenkert has told his family he was very badly beaten when abducted from the Nova festival.He was not exposed to any media during his captivity, he said, and only learned on Saturday that his good friend Kim Demati, who was with him at the festival, was murdered that day by terrorists.He also had no awareness of the demonstrations calling for the release of the hostages, Channel 12 reported — though his first request upon his return was to join the campaign, the network said.Captors fattened up Shoham and Wenkert ahead of release – report-Wenkert was held alongside Tal Shoham — also released on Saturday — for about eight months, the two returnees have told family. They were also held with other hostages, Channel 12 reported.Shoham, who was hardly exposed to media during his captivity, was not aware until his release that his wife Adi and their children Yahel, 3, and Naveh, 8 — were also taken hostage, but released on November 25, 2023, during the previous weeklong truce.Shoham’s mother-in-law Shoshan Haran, his wife’s aunt Sharon Avigdori, and her daughter Noam, 12, were also taken hostage and released the same day.Wenkert and Shoham were held in extremely humid tunnels, Channel 12 reported. “All the seasons felt the same,” they said, with no difference between winter and summer.After starving them throughout their captivity, the men’s captors fattened them ahead of their release so they wouldn’t look so bad, the network reported.Wenkert’s first request was for a cigarette, saying: “I’ve waited 500 days for this cigarette.”Both have said they have come to feel like brothers, and that this connection will continue for good, the report said.Sign of life for Guy Gilboa-Dalal-One of the hostages released on Saturday testified that he’d been held in captivity alongside Guy Gilboa-Dalal, about whose status nothing had been known since he was abducted from the Nova festival on October 7.Gilboa-Dalal was later seen in the Hamas video at the release ceremony.“Now we know that Guy is alive, [he and other hostages] are being held in very difficult conditions, and we have to get him out of there, as soon as possible,” his father Ilan told Channel 12.The family has not learned any details about Guy’s condition, or with whom he’s held, but expects to hear more in the coming days, he said. “We don’t know anything at the moment.”Decade-long hostages return unresponsive, families say-Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed were also released on Saturday. They had been held hostage by Hamas for almost a decade by the time of the group’s October 7, 2023, invasion of southern Israel.Both men suffer from mental illness and entered the Strip of their own accord, at which point Hamas refused to return them.Mengistu, then 28, entered Gaza from the Zikim beach in September 2014. His family had not heard from him since his abduction until a Hamas video purported to show him alive in early 2023. He spent 3,821 days in captivity.The civilian captive appeared generally able-bodied at the propaganda ceremony on Saturday, but his condition was described as “not good” upon his return, and his family reported that he was almost unresponsive.Netanyahu spoke to Mengistu on the phone after his release, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.“I am moved and embrace you, and the entire people of Israel are moved with me and embrace you today,” said Netanyahu, in what his office called a “warm and moving conversation.”The prime minister thanked Mengistu’s family for continuing to fight for his release, and for not losing hope, and lamented the length of time Mengistu was held captive. He promised to help in Mengistu’s rehabilitation process.According to the PMO, the family thanked Netanyahu for their son’s return.Hisham al-Sayed ’emotionally and cognitively destroyed’The family of Hisham al-Sayed, a Bedouin Israeli, who entered the Strip near the Erez Crossing in April 2015 when he was 28 years old, described him as “destroyed, emotionally and cognitively,” upon his return.Sayed’s physical condition was better than expected, following a Hamas video from 2022 showing him looking sick and depleted in a bed, hooked up to an oxygen tank. The video constituted the first and last sign of life for the hostage throughout his near-decade of captivity.Hamas did not stage a propaganda ceremony for al-Sayed’s release. It claimed the move was “out of respect for the Arabs of Israel,” despite having held him for nearly a decade, as well as murdering and abducting several Arab Israelis during the October 7, 2023, onslaught.Sayed displayed little emotion as he was reunited with his family upon his return, in a video released by the Government Press Office.“His mental condition is very difficult, he isn’t responsive,” the returnee’s father told Kan radio on Saturday. “He looks like he was in a torture camp for 10 years. We didn’t imagine that Hamas could be so cruel, they did something disgusting. He is emotionally and cognitively destroyed.”According to Human Rights Watch, in the years prior to his entering Gaza, al-Sayed was “diagnosed with schizophrenia and a personality disorder, among other conditions” and was repeatedly institutionalized.Netanyahu spoke with Sha’ban al-Sayed, the father of Hisham al-Sayed, hours after his son’s release.According to Netanyahu’s office, the prime minister laments the amount of time it took to bring Hisham home, but noted he had promised to work tirelessly to bring him home, and did so.“I promised you that we would return him and we turned the world upside down,” said Netanyahu. “Now we will do what is necessary to receive him well and take care of him.”According to the Prime Minister’s Office, the elder Sayed thanked Netanyahu for his efforts, and wished him strength as he works to bring all the hostages back.

Lebanese president to Iran: We're tired of others' wars-Tens of thousands pack stadium for Nasrallah funeral, as Israeli fighters fly overhead-Terror leader’s successor vows to uphold his legacy, threatens Israel and US, as IDF hits Hezbollah targets across Lebanon and publishes new footage of Nasrallah’s killing-By Agencies, Emanuel Fabian,Charlie Summers and ToI Staff Today, 7:07 pm-FEB 23,25

Tens of thousands of black-clad mourners vowed support for the Hezbollah terror group Sunday at the Beirut funeral of slain leader Hassan Nasrallah, after the group was dealt major blows in its last round of hostilities with Israel.Women wailed as a truck carrying the coffins of Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine — Nasrallah’s chosen successor, killed in another Israeli airstrike before his new position was ever publicly announced — slowly moved through the crowd, topped with two black turbans and draped in Hezbollah’s yellow flag.After his death, Nasrallah was buried temporarily next to his son, Hadi, who died fighting for Hezbollah in 1997. His official funeral was delayed to allow time for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from south Lebanon under the terms of the US-backed ceasefire.The September 27 killing of Nasrallah, who led Hezbollah for more than three decades, in a massive Israeli strike, dealt a heavy blow to the Iran-backed group.As the funeral began at the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Lebanon’s biggest sports arena, Israeli warplanes flew at a low altitude over Beirut in what Defense Minister Israel Katz said was a “clear message” against anyone who threatens Israel.“Israeli Air Force aircraft currently flying over Beirut, over the funeral of Hassan Nasrallah, convey a clear message: Whoever threatens to destroy Israel and attack Israel — it will be their end,” he said in a statement.“You will specialize in funerals, and we will specialize in victories,” Katz added.Israel also carried out several airstrikes in Lebanon on Sunday, saying they targeted Hezbollah sites containing rocket launchers and other weapons threatening Israeli civilians.The terror group began assaulting northern Israel on October 8, 2023, a day after fellow terror group Hamas’s devastating attack on southern Israel. A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was implemented in late November after over a year of skirmishes that ended with two months of all-out war. Hezbollah’s leadership and much of its offensive capabilities were devastated in the latter period.While the ceasefire has largely seen hostilities halted and the IDF recently withdrew from most of the territory it was holding in south Lebanon, Israeli forces remain in five strategic locations within Lebanese territory.Naim Qassem vows to uphold Nasrallah’s legacy-Nasrallah was to be buried Sunday in a shrine constructed near the stadium. Safieddine is set to be buried on Monday in southern Lebanon.In a televised address to the funeral ceremony, broadcast from an undisclosed location, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said the terror group would keep following his “path” and rejected any control of “tyrant America” over Lebanon.“The resistance is not over, the resistance is still present and ready” to face Israel, he said.“We will uphold trust and walk on this path, we will uphold your will,” Qassem said, referring to Nasrallah, adding: “You are still with us, your… path and struggle live within us” and “I am loyal to the legacy.”Telling his followers that Hezbollah remains “strong,” Qassem said: “We will not submit and we will not accept the continuation of our killing and occupation while we watch.”He said Hezbollah considered Israel’s five positions an occupation and was relying on the Lebanese government to secure a full withdrawal through diplomacy.“We choose to fire when we see fit and are patient when we see fit,” he said.“Know this Americans, if… you try to pressure officials and Lebanon, you will not be able to achieve your goals,” he added, asserting that “officials in Lebanon know the balance of powers.”“Do not interpret our patience and wisdom in assessing priorities as weakness,” he warned.According to reports, a number of Hezbollah operatives injured in Israel’s exploding pager operation that caused severe damage to the terror group were in attendance at the funeral.Sam Heller of the Century Foundation think tank said it was “important for the group to demonstrate that it remains a major social and political force, despite some of the setbacks it’s been dealt.”As mourners raised their fists in the air and chanted “We are at your service, Nasrallah” and “We are loyal to the promise, Nasrallah,” the slain leader’s previous speeches were blasted on loudspeakers.Men, women and children walked in the biting cold to reach the site of the ceremony, which was delayed for months over security concerns.One of them was Umm Mahdi, 55, who had come to see Nasrallah “one last time and see his shrine.”“This is the least we can do for Sayyed, who gave up everything,” she added, using an honorific.Crowd size estimates vary-Since Saturday, roads into Beirut have been clogged with carloads of supporters traveling in from Hezbollah’s strongholds in south Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley.AFP correspondents reported Sunday that the stadium, which organizers said could accommodate roughly 78,000 people, was fully packed. A previous AFP report put the stadium’s capacity at around 50,000, but noted that organizers had installed extra seating and overflow room.Meanwhile, a Lebanese official who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity estimated the crowd size at 450,000.Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television said the group deployed 25,000 stewards for crowd control and 4,000 more to supervise the event.A Lebanese security source said 4,000 troops and security personnel were also deployed to the area.Lebanese president a no-show-Lebanese President Joseph Aoun asked parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, to represent him at the ceremony, while Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam was represented by a minister.Hezbollah’s weakening in the war is widely seen as having contributed to the election of Aoun, who named Salam as his premier last month after two years of leadership vacuum.Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were in attendance, with representatives of Iraq’s main pro-Iran factions and a delegation of Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi group also expected.A single flight from Tehran was given permission to land before dawn on Sunday, though service from Iran has been suspended over the threat of Israeli strikes against attempts to smuggle weapons or other goods to Hezbollah.“It is only one flight, carrying official delegations from Tehran to participate in the funeral,” airport chief Fadi al-Hassan told AFP.Araghchi, in a speech from Beirut, described the slain leaders as “two heroes of the resistance” and vowed that “the path of resistance will continue.”Before the funeral, Aragchi and other Iranian officials met Aoun.According to a statement from Aoun’s office, he told the Iranian delegation that Lebanon was “tired of the war of others” and that it had “paid a heavy price for the Palestinian cause.”At the meeting, Ghalibaf told Aoun that Iran is willing to help Lebanon with its reconstruction efforts following the conflict, according to a post from the Lebanese president’s official X account.Aoun told the Iranian official that Lebanon’s leadership supports the Gaza reconstruction plan discussed during Friday’s Arab summit in Riyadh, which laid out a path towards a two-state solution, in opposition to Trump’s plan for the mass relocation of Gazans outside the enclave.Israel releases new footage of killing-Amid the funeral fanfare, Israel released new footage of the massive September 27 airstrike that killed Nasrallah and, according to Israel, more than 20 Hezbollah commanders, including Ali Karaki, the commander of Hezbollah’s Southern Front.Israeli Air Force fighter jets dropped 82 heavy bombs on the terror group’s main underground headquarters in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold known as the Dahiyeh, bringing down several buildings.

Terrorist behind deadly bombing falls to his death a week after release under Gaza deal-Hamas’s Nael Obeid helped plan the 2003 Cafe Hillel bombing in Jerusalem, which killed 7 people and injured over 50, in one of the most gruesome attacks of the Second Intifada By Charlie Summers Today, 7:07 pm-FEB 23,25

Nael Obeid, a Hamas terrorist notorious for his role in the 2003 Cafe Hillel bombing in Jerusalem, fell to his death near his home in East Jerusalem after being freed in a hostage-prisoner exchange just a week prior.Obeid went free on February 15 as part of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, which has seen Israel free hundreds of terrorists, many of them convicted for deadly attacks, in return for hostages taken on October 7, 2023.The cause of his fall is not immediately clear. He was pronounced dead at Hadassah Medical Center near Mount Scopus on Saturday afternoon, according to local Palestinian media.Obeid helped plan one of the most infamous suicide bombing attacks during the Second Intifada, which killed seven people and wounded 57 others outside Cafe Hillel in the capital’s Emek Refaim Street, then a central area of Jerusalem’s nightlife scene.At the time, Obeid headed a Hamas cell in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya alongside his relative, Ahmad Obeid. The cell took orders from Hamas operatives in Ramallah, who procured them a suicide bomber to go through with the attack.The two spent over a year scoping out potential terror targets and accumulating weapons before transporting 22-year-old Ramez Abu Salim to the bustling street, where he carried out the bombing on September 9, 2003.Among the victims of the bombing were Dr. David Applebaum, who treated suicide bombing victims as head of Shaare Zedek Hospital’s emergency room, and his daughter Nava, who was to be married the next day.Arrested a year later, Obeid was handed down seven life sentences, plus an extra 30 years for his role in the deadly bombing.

Netanyahu: Will not forget and will not forgive-Forensics chief confirms ID of body of Shiri Bibas, no evidence she died in explosion-Comments come after Israel assesses she was ‘brutally murdered’ with her sons in November 2023; Hamas insists she died in airstrike, accuses Israel of disseminating ‘baseless lies’By ToI Staff and Emanuel Fabian-22 February 2025, 9:43 pm

The director of the Abu Kabir National Institute of Forensic Medicine, Dr. Chen Kugel, confirmed on Saturday that his team had positively identified the remains of hostage Shiri Bibas, two days after Hamas initially handed over the body of an unknown Gazan woman in place of her remains.Kugel also said there was no evidence that Bibas died in an explosion, refuting Hamas’s claims that she and her sons were killed in an Israeli airstrike.Bibas was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz along with her two young sons, Ariel, 4, and Kfir, 9 months old, during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led invasion and massacre in southern Israel. The family’s father Yarden was abducted separately and was released on February 1 during the first phase of the ceasefire and hostage release deal.The Hamas terror group was supposed to return Shiri on Thursday along with her young sons, and fellow Kibbutz Nir Oz resident Oded Lifshitz. But after the remains of Ariel, Kfir and Lifshitz were positively identified, the fourth body was found to be that of an unnamed Palestinian woman from Gaza.After Hamas claimed that there must have been a mix-up with the bodies, the terror group transferred a fifth body to the Red Cross late on Friday night, which was then handed over to the IDF in the Gaza Strip.Troops held a brief military ceremony, draping the coffin in an Israeli flag before it was carried by officers into a military vehicle and transferred to Abu Kabir.Kibbutz Nir Oz confirmed early Saturday morning that Shiri had been murdered while held captive, and that her body had been positively identified.In live remarks to the press on Saturday evening, Kugel confirmed that the forensic institute had identified her remains and that, despite Hamas’s claims that she and her sons had been killed in an Israeli airstrike in November 2023, there was no evidence at all that she had been killed in an explosion.“We identified Shiri Bibas two days after we identified her children,” Kugel said. “Our examination found no evidence of injuries caused by bombing.”Kugel said that the medical staff at Abu Kabir had worked “professionally and carefully to provide clear answers to the Lifshitz and Bibas-Silberman families” since receiving the bodies, first on Thursday and then on Friday night. “It’s a difficult day for the families, for us, the medical staff, and for the entire nation of Israel,” he added.The military previously said forensic evidence had shown that, like Shiri, neither Ariel nor Kfir was killed in an Israeli strike but were murdered by their terrorist captors “in cold blood” in November 2023.“The terrorists did not shoot the two young boys — they killed them with their bare hands. Afterward, they committed horrific acts to cover up these atrocities,” said IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari on Friday.Hagari said he had spoken to the children’s father Yarden on Thursday and that he had demanded the world be told what happened to his sons.Assessments issued by Israeli officials after the body had been identified said that Shiri had been likewise “brutally” murdered by her captors in November 2023.‘We will not forget or forgive’In response to the findings, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Israel “will not forget and will not forgive” the murders of the three members of the Bibas family.Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that their murder would “not be taken lightly.”The “exciting and joyous moment” on Saturday of the release of six hostages from Gaza was “also accompanied by deep pain over the fate of Shiri Bibas and her sons Ariel and Kfir, who were brutally murdered by Hamas and their partners,” he said. “This brutal and horrific act will not be taken lightly.”Hamas, meanwhile, continued to insist that the family had been killed in an airstrike, and accused Israel on Saturday night of spreading “baseless lies” about their deaths.“The false allegations that the criminal [Israeli] occupation is disseminating about the deaths of the Bibas children at the hands of their captors are merely baseless lies and fabrications,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem claimed.The confirmation of Shiri’s death meant that three generations of her family were murdered by terrorists — her parents Yossi and Margit Silberman were killed at Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, during the attack.In a statement on Saturday morning, the kibbutz said that “after 16 unbearable months, this painful circle has finally been closed for the family and in the coming days [Shiri] will return, together with her two sons, to eternal rest in the soil of Israel.”In addition to the bodies of the Bibas family and Ofer Lifshitz, Hamas has so far released 30 hostages — 20 Israeli civilians, five soldiers, and five Thai nationals — during a ceasefire that began in January. The terror group freed 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November 2023, and four hostages were released before that in the early weeks of the war.Eight hostages have been rescued alive from captivity by troops, and the bodies of 41 have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors, and the body of a soldier who was killed in 2014.Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are still holding 63 hostages, including 62 of the 251 abducted on October 7, 2023. They include the bodies of at least 36 confirmed dead by the IDF.The body of Lt. Hadar Goldin, who was killed in 2014, is still being held by Hamas and is counted among the 63 hostages.

Third round of polio vaccinations begins in Gaza amid ceasefire-Highly contagious disease detected in coastal enclave’s sewage waters; WHO — with assistance from UNRWA — plans to vaccinate 591,000 children by Feb. 26-By AFP and ToI Staff 22 February 2025, 7:15 pm

A third mass polio vaccination campaign began in Gaza on Saturday, AFP journalists reported, to deliver the first dose to nearly 600,000 children across the Palestinian territory.Scores of children under the age of 10 received the dose at a mosque in Jabalia, in northern Gaza, where a blistering Israeli military assault last year reduced many buildings to rubble.The vaccination campaign involves multiple United Nations agencies, including the Israeli-boycotted UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), and comes at a time when Israel and Hamas are observing a ceasefire that has largely halted the fighting.Israel cut ties with UNRWA after it was revealed that it had been deeply infiltrated by Hamas and dozens of employees took part in terror attacks, including on October 7, 2023 when thousands of terrorists stormed into Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 251 hostages.The World Health Organization said the campaign aims to vaccinate more than 591,000 children by February 26.“Over 1,700 UNRWA team members will take part in this campaign,” UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini wrote on X.“This campaign follows a recent detection of polio in wastewater, putting the lives of children at risk.”Hoping for a lasting truce, Bassam al-Haou, a resident of Jabalia, brought his daughters to receive the vaccine.“I also hope for stability for our innocent children so they can remain safe from violence,” he told AFP.The previous two polio vaccine drives were conducted in late 2024 after the highly contagious disease resurfaced in Gaza for the first time in over 20 years.Around 95% of children eligible for the vaccines were inoculated during those campaigns, the WHO said, but “pockets of individuals with low or no immunity provide the virus an opportunity to continue spreading and potentially cause disease.”“The current environment in Gaza, including overcrowding in shelters and severely damaged water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure, which facilitates fecal-oral transmission, create ideal conditions for further spread of poliovirus,” the WHO cautioned.After more than 16 months of war between Israel and Hamas, the humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire.The WHO noted that the ongoing ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas that came into effect in January could inadvertently cause the disease to spread further, due to “extensive population movement.”Even before the hostilities began, the territory had been struggling under an Israeli-imposed blockade for more than 15 years on materials that could be used for military purposes. The blockade was implemented after the terror group Hamas, which is dedicated to Israel’s destruction, took over the Gaza Strip.Much of the water infrastructure in Gaza has been destroyed by the war, leaving sewage to stagnate in open pools near densely populated neighborhoods — conditions that contributed to the reemergence of the virus last autumn.The WHO reported on February 19 that traces of poliovirus had again been detected in wastewater samples.Polio is highly contagious and can cause paralysis, primarily affecting children under the age of five. The disease has been nearly eradicated worldwide.More than 1.1 million vaccines were administered during the two previous campaigns, conducted by the WHO and UNICEF, and in coordination with the Coordinator of Government Affairs in the Territories, a Defense Ministry agency that coordinates the provision of humanitarian aid into Gaza.COGAT said at the time that it had facilitated humanitarian pauses in the fighting in Gaza to allow the distribution of the vaccine.While no further polio cases have been reported in Gaza since, the WHO said that recently collected environmental samples from Deir al-Balah in the center of the Strip and Khan Younis in the south confirmed polio transmission.Reuters contributed to this report.

Iran rejects as 'politically charged' IAEA chief remarks on nuclear deal.

Tehran, Feb 20 (AFP) Feb 20, 2025-Iran rejected remarks on its nuclear programme by UN atomic agency chief Rafael Grossi on Thursday, calling them "unprofessional" and "politically charged".At a press conference in Tokyo, Grossi had said Iran was "enriching (uranium) at 60 percent, so almost weapon level". He also described a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran as an "empty shell" that was "no longer fit for purpose".Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi lambasted Grossi's remarks as "unprofessional and totally politically charged", insisting his country's nuclear programme was solely for peaceful purposes.Similarly, Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation said Grossi's remarks could be used as pretext by the United States and other Western countries "to exert unjust pressure on Iran".In his remarks, Grossi said Iran had blown past the limits set by the 2015 deal, adding the goal currently was to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, or to help it "prove that they don't want to".The deal -- known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action -- collapsed following Washington's withdrawal from it in 2018 during the first term of US President Donald Trump, who returned to office in January.Tehran continued to adhere to the deal for a year after Washington pulled out, but then began rolling back its commitments.Iran has repeatedly expressed a willingness to revive the accord but efforts to that end have faltered.The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) nuclear watchdog, which Grossi leads, says Iran has increased its manufacturing of enriched uranium such that it is the only non-nuclear weapons state to possess uranium enriched to 60 percent.That level is well on the way to the 90 percent required for an atomic bomb, according to the IAEA.During his press conference, Grossi said that much of the 2015 deal was "no longer applicable", adding that the IAEA was ready to provide "technically sound alternatives to eliminate the possibility that Iran develops a nuclear weapon".Tehran denies any intention of developing atomic weapons.After his return to office, Trump reinstated his "maximum pressure" policy of sanctions against Iran, mirroring his approach during his first term.He has also recently called for striking a new deal with Iran, but supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said "no problem will be solved by negotiating with America".

Taiwan players go nuclear in Chinese invasion board game.

Taipei, Feb 23 (AFP) Feb 23, 2025-To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: dropping an atomic bomb on the capital Taipei to secure the island's freedom and her victory.The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the frontlines of a simulated Chinese attack.Their battlefield game tactics will determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion."The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation, and these choices can alter the entire history of Taiwan in an instant," Zhong, 36, told AFP at Sunny Boardgame store where she played 2045 with friends."I saw (the nuclear bomb) as a necessary move to ensure the survival of the entire island."The game's release comes as China maintains military pressure on Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring under its control.Launched by Mizo Games last month, 2045 is set in the first 10 days of a theoretical Chinese invasion of Taiwan and before help from friendly forces has arrived.Players represent different Taiwanese characters, including a person who has taken up arms, a collaborator working with China and an arms dealer.Mizo Games founder Chang Shao-lian said 2045 was different to its previous war games, which required players to cooperate in order to win."We decided to move away from romanticism and create a game rooted in realism," Chang told AFP.In the game, if China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) captures a critical number of key cities on the island, Taiwan loses."Some players assume the game caters only to pro-Taiwan independence players, but in reality, anyone with a strategic vision for the Taiwan Strait conflict can find ways to win," Chang said.- 'How would they do it?' -Mizo Games raised more than NT$4 million ($122,160) through a crowdfunding site and went to great lengths to ensure 2045 was as close to reality as possible.The makers consulted experts on military personnel, national security and political analysts, and also created maps based on real-life PLA exercises.They also studied actual attacks to ensure the "directional logic" of Chinese fighter jets attacking Taiwan's tallest building, Taipei 101, which features on the box cover."We repeatedly refined details, how much damage should be shown, the intensity of the explosion, the light effects and even the presence of aircraft in the background," Lai Boyea, 2045 visual designer, told AFP.China has ramped up deployments of fighter jets and war ships around Taiwan in recent years, and carried out major military drills that have simulated attacking and blockading the island.In December, Taiwan's Presidential Office staged its first tabletop simulation of China's military actions in the region to boost the island's readiness.In reality, Taiwan would be massively outgunned in terms of troop numbers and firepower in any war with China.While the 2045 creators hope conflict stays on the game board, Lai said Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 had made the threat of a Chinese attack on Taiwan seem more real."You imagine, if they were to attack, how would they do it?" Lai said."Many of the game's cards depict these possibilities, from amphibious landings on Taiwan's beaches to aerial incursions over central and southern regions."While 2045 cannot capture the brutality of an actual war, Zhong said it showed the limits of people's willingness to assist others in a crisis."Its value lies in showing players that even in a game, or in real life, your allies won't necessarily help you unconditionally," she said."Everything ultimately depends on interests."

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:(VATICAN)
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.(THATS PEDOPHELIA-FORNICATION IS SINGLES HAVING SEX OUT SIDE OF MARRIAGE)(AND SINCE PREISTS CAN NOT MARRY IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THIS FALSE CHURCH GOES AGAINST THE BIBLE.THE CATHOLIC CHURCH BECOMES A HOMOSEXUAL HAVEN OF PEDOPHILIAS FACTORY).  
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)

Pope in critical condition after suffering respiratory attack, Vatican says-Cardinals speculate pontiff could step down due to string of health difficulties, but stress no discussions have been held on matter, with thoughts focused on Francis’s recovery By Alice Ritchie Today, 12:39 am-FEB 23,25

VATICAN CITY (AFP) — Pope Francis’s condition “continues to be critical,” the Vatican said Saturday, saying the 88-year-old was alert but had suffered a respiratory attack that required “high-flow oxygen,” and also blood transfusions.“At the moment the prognosis is reserved,” it said, as the head of the Catholic Church prepared to spend his ninth night in Rome’s Gemelli hospital, where he was diagnosed this week with double pneumonia.“The Holy Father’s condition continues to be critical, therefore, as explained yesterday, the pope is not out of danger,” the Vatican said in its regular early evening update.“This morning Pope Francis presented a prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis, which also required the application of high-flow oxygen,” it said.Daily blood tests “showed thrombocytopenia, associated with anemia, which required the administration of blood transfusions,” it added.“The Holy Father continues to be alert and spent the day in an armchair even if he was suffering more than yesterday.”The Vatican earlier confirmed the Argentine pontiff would not deliver his usual weekly Angelus prayer on Sunday, saying the text would be published, as it was last weekend.Prayers for the pope-Francis has been head of the Catholic Church since 2013, but has suffered numerous health issues in recent years, and underwent major surgery in 2021 and 2023.This latest hospitalization has cast doubt over his ability to continue as leader of the world’s almost 1.4 billion Catholics, fuelling speculation over his potential resignation — and who might take over.Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin told Italy’s Corriere della Sera daily that such discussion was normal but said he would not enter into “useless speculation.”“Now we are thinking about the health of the Holy Father, his recovery, his return to the Vatican: these are the only things that matter,” the cardinal said.A group of nuns and priests from around the world gathered Saturday outside the entrance to the Gemelli hospital, where Francis is staying in a special papal suite on the 10th floor, to pray for him.“We are praying today for the Holy Father, Pope Francis, and our hope is that he will recover well in the Grace of God,” Brazilian priest Don Wellison told AFP.Francis has been moving between his bed, a chair and an adjacent chapel where he prays and has also been doing some work, the Vatican says.Professor Sergio Alfieri, who leads the pope’s medical team at the Gemalli, said Friday the pontiff’s condition has been slightly improving, allowing doctors to incrementally lower the amount of medication he is taking.But he made clear then that the situation was very serious, noting the pontiff’s age and general condition of health.“Is the pope out of danger? No, the pope is not out of danger,” Alfieri said, but added: “If you then ask whether he is in danger of dying at this moment, the answer is still no.”Francis has said the papacy is a job for life, but has also left the door open to resigning like his predecessor Benedict XVI.He has often joked about the scheming his health woes inevitably prompt, particularly among those who oppose his attempts at reform.After undergoing colon surgery in 2021, he joked that “they were preparing the conclave,” the meeting of cardinals to elect a new pope following a death or resignation.A lot of respect-Italian Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi told the Corriere on Friday he did not rule out Francis stepping down.But Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, who leads the Holy See’s powerful Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, said he had heard no particular maneuvering this time.“I don’t see a pre-conclave environment, I don’t see more conversations on a potential successor than there were a year ago,” he told Argentina’s La Nacion daily.“So far I perceive a lot of respect.”The pope maintains a punishing work schedule, and in September made a 12-day tour to the Asia-Pacific.But he has suffered increasing health issues, from his colon surgery to a hernia operation in 2023.He is also overweight and suffers constant hip and knee pain, which forces him to use a wheelchair most of the time.

5 handed over in propaganda ceremonies, 1 without fanfare-Hamas frees final 6 living hostages in phase 1 of deal; all reunite with family in Israel-October 7 captives Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, Eliya Cohen back after over 500 days in Hamas captivity; Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed return after decade in Gaza-By ToI Staff and Emanuel Fabian-22 February 2025, 4:53 pm

Hostages Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, Eliya Cohen, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed were released from Hamas captivity and returned to Israel on Saturday, in the largest single day of releases since the current hostage-ceasefire deal took effect. They are believed to be the final living hostages scheduled for release in the current first phase of the deal, with only four more hostages, all believed to be dead, set for release on Thursday.The terror group paraded five of the six freed hostages on stages in propaganda-filled ceremonies in two locations in Gaza, handing them over to the Red Cross, while al-Sayed was released separately to the humanitarian organization later in the day, without a ceremony.The men all looked frail and many had noticeably suffered dramatic weight loss.Shoham, Shem Tov, Wenkert and Cohen were all taken captive on October 7, 2023 during the Hamas-led attacks and massacres, and had been held as hostages in Gaza for over 500 days.Mengistu and al-Sayed both entered Gaza on their own accord in 2014 and 2015, respectively, and had been held captive by terror groups in Gaza for around a decade each.The releases came hours after Hamas finally returned the body of Shiri Bibas; Israel said she had been brutally murdered by her captors along with her two small sons, Ariel, 4, and baby Kfir, whose bodies were returned on Thursday.The first of three handovers took place on Saturday morning in Rafah, the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip, during which the terror group handed Shoham and Mengistu over to the Red Cross after parading the two on a stage decorated with a propaganda poster featuring images of terror leaders and Lt. Hadar Goldin, who was killed in 2014 and whose body is held by Hamas.There was also a display of weapons Hamas said had been taken from Israel on October 7.Shoham and Mengistu were then taken by the Red Cross to Israeli forces inside Gaza, who escorted them to an IDF facility inside Israel, near the border.After brief medical checks and reunions with family members, the two men were taken via helicopter to hospitals in central Israel.Civilians in uniforms-Later in the morning, at a second Hamas ceremony in central Gaza’s Nuseirat, Shem Tov, Wenkert and Cohen were paraded on stage holding certificates and gift bags, and wearing approximations of IDF uniforms as if they were soldiers.The three civilians were kidnapped from the Nova music festival, and are not active members of the military. Hamas considers Israeli men under 50 to be soldiers.It appeared that Cohen was made to wave by the gunmen flanking him, while Shem Tov seemed to be directed by a Hamas cameraman to also kiss two of the masked gunmen on their heads.They, too, were taken by the Red Cross to Israeli troops before they were brought to the IDF facility near Re’im for medical checks and emotional reunions with close family members before they were transported to hospitals.Later on Saturday afternoon, the Red Cross notified the IDF that Hamas had handed over the sixth hostage, Hisham al-Sayed.He was released by the terror group without a ceremony, which Hamas said was out of “respect” for the Arab community in Israel, despite having held him for nearly a decade, as well as murdering and abducting several Arab Israelis during the October 7, 2023, onslaught.Al-Sayed was then handed over to Israeli forces inside Gaza.Avera Mengistu, 37, spent 3,821 days in captivity before his release.Mengistu, who suffers from mental illness, crossed into northern Gaza from the beach at Zikim in September 2014.The then-28-year-old was spotted by IDF security cameras but made it through the fence before troops could reach the scene. He was picked up by a Hamas patrol and was not heard from until the terror group released a video of him in early 2023.Mengistu’s family has struggled over the years to rally public support or pressure the government to negotiate his release, with some relatives alleging racism.Reports following the October 7, 2023, massacre indicated that one of the ways Hamas lulled Israel into complacency ahead of the onslaught was by feigning serious interest in a deal for Mengistu and al-Sayed.Tal Shoham, 39, a dual Israeli-Austrian citizen from the northern town of Maale Tzviya, was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists on October 7 while visiting his wife’s family on Kibbutz Be’eri for the Simhat Torah holiday.His wife, Adi Shoham, his daughter, Yahel, 3, and son, Naveh, 8, as well as his mother-in-law Shoshan Haran, his wife’s aunt Sharon Avigdori and her daughter Noam, 12, were also taken hostage, but released in November 25, 2023.His father-in-law Avshalom Haran was killed during the attack, as were his wife’s aunt and uncle Eviatar and Lilach Kipnis, who lived next door in Be’eri.The extended family had been hiding in the Haran family home but were forced to flee after Hamas terrorists set it on fire.There had been no sign of life from him ahead of his release. It was not known if he was aware his wife and children had also been taken hostage, or that they had survived.Eliya Cohen, 27, was with his fiancee, Ziv Aoud, at the Nova desert rave when Hamas gunmen attacked.The two tried to escape but were chased by terrorists and both were shot.They sought safety at a roadside bomb shelter, but it was attacked by terrorists and Aboud later said she felt Cohen being pulled up and then placed on a pickup truck and driven away. He was taken along with Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Or Levy and Alon Ohel.Earlier this month, the family said they heard from recently released captives that Cohen has been chained up throughout his time in captivity and gets very little food or daylight.A bullet wound in his leg has yet to be properly treated, the freed hostages said.Omer Wenkert, 23, was also taken captive by Hamas terrorists at the Nova festival on October 7.He was in touch with his parents that morning, telling them he was “scared to death.” Their last communication with him was at 7:50 a.m.They later saw a Hamas video of Omer, tied up on the flatbed of a white pickup truck, in his underwear, confirming that he had been taken hostage in Gaza.Omer Shem Tov, 22, from Herzliya was at the Nova festival with his friends Itay and Maya Regev, who were also taken hostage but were freed in November 2023.He last spoke to his parents around 10 a.m. on October 7, as he sounded increasingly panicked about what was happening around him while Hamas terrorists shot hundreds and abducted dozens.After getting into a friend’s car, he sent his family his live location, but they eventually noticed that it was headed toward Gaza, and contact with him was lost.Hisham Al-Sayed, a 37-year-old Bedouin Israeli from the village of Hura in the Negev desert, entered the Strip near the Erez Crossing in April 2015.Like Mengistu, al-Sayed suffers from mental illness.According to his father, this was not his first time going into Gaza, but in this case, he was stopped by Hamas and taken into its custody.By the time he was released on Saturday, he spent nearly 3,600 days in the hands of the terror group.According to Human Rights Watch, in the years prior to his entering Gaza, al-Sayed was “diagnosed with schizophrenia and a personality disorder, among other conditions” and was repeatedly institutionalized.Al-Sayed was not heard from until 2022, when Hamas released a video showing him looking sick and depleted in a bed and hooked up to an oxygen tank.In a statement Tuesday, al-Sayed’s family said they had been waiting for him for a decade, and added that their happiness would not be complete until all hostages returned home.“It cannot be that the fate of other hostages will be a decade in captivity,” they said.The six hostages released Saturday were the final living hostages slated for release under phase one of the deal. The last four phase one hostages are set to be freed on Thursday.Of the four, only one has been confirmed by Israel as dead, Shlomo Mantzur, but it is believed that the other three, Ohad Yahalomi, Itzik Elgarat and Tsahi Idan were also killed.Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 63 hostages, including 62 of the 251 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023. They include the bodies of at least 36 confirmed dead by the IDF.Hamas has so far released 30 hostages — 20 Israeli civilians, five soldiers, and five Thai nationals — and the bodies of four slain Israeli captives — Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, and Oded Lifshitz — during a ceasefire that began in January. The terror group freed 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November 2023, and four hostages were released before that in the early weeks of the war.Eight hostages have been rescued from captivity by troops alive, and the bodies of 41 have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors, and the body of a soldier who was killed in 2014.The body of another soldier killed in 2014, Lt. Hadar Goldin, is still being held by Hamas, and is counted among the 63 hostages.

Suspect in Berlin stabbing is Syrian who wanted to ‘kill Jews,’ police say-19-year-old asylum seeker stabbed 30-year-old Spanish man in the neck near Berlin Holocaust memorial; police find suspect with bloody hands and Quran-By AFP 22 February 2025, 4:05 pm

BERLIN, Germany — A Syrian man arrested after a stabbing attack at Berlin’s Holocaust memorial that wounded a Spanish man had been harboring a “plan to kill Jews,” police and prosecutors said Saturday.The 19-year-old arrested Friday with blood stains on his hands was carrying a copy of the Quran and a prayer rug, and initial investigations suggested “connections with the Middle East conflict,” they said.The attacker approached the 30-year-old Spanish man from behind at around 6:00 pm on Friday and stabbed him in the neck with a knife, according to the investigators.The assault took place at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, a somber grid of concrete steles located near the Brandenburg Gate and the US embassy in Berlin.The victim suffered life-threatening injuries to his neck and had to be placed in an artificial coma but was no longer in critical condition.The Syrian suspect came to Germany in 2023 as an unaccompanied minor, police said. He was granted asylum and lived in the eastern city of Leipzig, according to the investigators.There was no evidence of links to other people or groups and the suspect had not previously come to the attention of the police in Berlin, they said.An AFP photographer witnessed the man approaching police to talk to them at the memorial, about three hours after the attack.Police then wrestled him to the ground and handcuffed him, with one officer shouting “we have the suspect” to his colleagues.Six people who witnessed the knife attack on Friday received counseling from rescue services at the scene, where bloodied clothes were left on the ground.The incident came two days before German national elections and after a series of deadly attacks that have shocked Germany, including car-rammings and stabbing sprees.German police said earlier Friday they had arrested an 18-year-old Russian man on suspicion of planning a “politically motivated” attack in Berlin.The man was detained late Thursday in the state of Brandenburg, which surrounds Berlin, police and prosecutors said in a statement.Authorities did not provide further details about the alleged attack plot, but the Tagesspiegel newspaper reported the suspect was Chechen and was believed to have been planning an attack on the Israeli embassy.Riot police and specialist officers were involved in making the arrest, which came after a tip-off, officials said.Germany has grown increasingly alarmed about rising anti-Jewish sentiment since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.A record 5,164 antisemitic crimes were recorded in 2023 in Germany, compared with 2,641 in 2022, according to figures from the federal domestic intelligence agency.In an attack in early September, German police shot dead a young Austrian known for his ties to radical Islam as he was preparing to attack the Israeli consulate in Munich.Other attacks have recently shocked Germany.In December a man drove an SUV at high speed through a Christmas market crowd, killing six people and wounding hundreds in the eastern city of Magdeburg.In another attack in January, a man with a kitchen knife attacked a kindergarten group, killing a two-year-old boy and a man who tried to protect the toddlers.Another major attack followed just 10 days before the election when a man plowed a Mini Cooper car through a street rally in Munich.