Israel began its ground attack on Lebanon on Monday.
It's also on the verge of eliminating another of Iran’s proxy military forces.
Soon, the Iranians could be forced to contend with Israel themselves, a fact no doubt lost on Iran when it fired almost 200 missiles into Israel Tuesday.
Most of the missiles were shot down by the Iron Dome defense system with help from U.S. warships in the region. There are seven of them.
Israel has promised to retaliate against Iran.
Our US-impaired leadership seems to be hesitant.
Be informed, not misled.
A vindictive Iran has sought to strike at the heart of Israel with a shocking attack this week that saw an unprecedented barrage of almost 200 ballistic missiles streak toward Israeli cities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran "has made a big mistake" and "will pay" for the attack, with Israel's military preparing a "significant retaliation" to the bombardment that could see it strike nuclear facilities and oil fields.
The scale of the strike by Iran against Israel is the biggest test ever faced by the country's hi-tech Iron Dome network.
As this unfolds, our US President is hesitant by most accounts.
Biden has warned Israel not to attack Iran's nuclear facilities.
President Joe Biden said that he does not support Israel striking Iran's nuclear sites in response to the missile attack against its people.
"The answer is no," he told reporters traveling with him to South Carolina to see the fallout from Hurricane Helene.
Some analysts worry that Netanyahu's comments mean he plans to strike Iran's nuclear sites.
Biden noted the G7 leaders held a call earlier in the day and supported Israel - to a point.
"We'll be discussing with the Israelis what they're going to do, but all seven of us agree that they have a right to respond but the response - but they should respond proportionally," he said.
The G7 comprises the United States, Canada, Britain, Italy, France, Germany and Japan.
The leaders said that a diplomatic solution was still viable and that a region-wide conflict was not in anyone's interest.
Biden said more sanctions would be imposed on Iran and that he would speak with Netanyahu soon.
"Obviously, Iran is way off course," he said.
The attacks on Israel continue.
The attackers carried M-16 military rifles provided by the U.S. to Palestinian Authority security forces, Carolyn Glick, senior contributing editor for the Jewish News Syndicate, said on Washington Watch Tuesday.
“We know that they opened fire in a commuter rail, and apparently many of the dead are children. They got out at a stop, and they continued their murderous spree until they were killed by Israelis that were carrying guns,” Glick told show host Tony Perkins.
Iran has been working to get more weapons into Judea and Samaria through Jordan.
“Israel has intercepted a lot of smuggling weapons, but we know that there's a lot that's gotten through. In some of the smuggling routes that we've found and that we've intercepted, we've seen just extraordinary quantities of weapons that are being smuggled by Iran through Jordan into Judea and Samaria.
“So, all of the terrorism right now emanating from all of the various fronts that Israel's dealing with, including Judea and Samaria, are directly linked to Iran through supply and through urging people to carry out more and more attacks,” Glick said.
The Tel Aviv attack occurred through operational coordination between Hamas and Iran, Glick said.
Meanwhile, the U.S. continues sending mixed policy messages to its key Middle East ally. While it played an important role in the defense of Israel Tuesday, there are disturbing reports of the U.S. making background moves to undercut Israeli war efforts, Glick said.
One is the Biden-Harris administration’s confusing sanctioning of West Bank Israeli activists who refer to themselves as “Hilltop Youth.”
U.S. officials announced these sanctions just before Iran’s missile attack against Israel.
The Times of Israel reports it’s unclear whether the sanctions can be effective because “Hilltop Youth,” religious hardliners who have been known to use violence against both Palestinians and Israeli security forces, are not an organized group.
Instead, “Hilltop Youth” is a term used to identify far-right activists who live in the West Bank. The West Bank is Israeli land the Biden-Harris administration has proposed giving away as part of a two-state solution.
“On a day like this, when Israel is literally fighting actively along seven fronts that Iran and its proxies are attacking it from, the Biden administration thought it was appropriate to issue sanctions against Israeli citizens who oppose the two-state solution,” Glick said.
Targeting a group with no official standing allows the administration to “just label anybody they want as a member of a nonexistent organization and sanction them,” Glick said.
In addition to the Hilltop Youth sanctions, the Biden administration, miffed at not being informed in advance of Israel’s planned airstrike against now-dead Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, leaked to U.S. media Israel’s planned timing of the ground invasion.
That is horrible. No wonder 83% of Israelis agree with Netanyahu's decision not to tell the US about their plans.
Regional expert Joel Rosenberg said on American Family Radio Wednesday that Biden-Harris administration officials were overcome with anger at being left in the dark.
“Within hours senior officials were leaking how furious they were, that they weren’t informed, that Israel did this without our permission,” Rosenberg told show host Jenna Ellis.
It’s an absurd response, Rosenberg says, considering that the very Hezbollah leadership and militants killed by Israeli attacks have killed hundreds of Americans in different Middle East incidents through the years.
“How come the United States didn’t bring these terrorists to justice over the last 40 years?" he demanded. "When we do it, we’re criticized. We’re told to stand down and de-escalate. We’re getting a clear picture of two entirely different philosophies and approaches to foreign policy and security.”
Takeaway
Glick says Israel's attacks against Iran’s nuclear facilities are “being considered by the security cabinet, and another one is an attack against Iran’s oil and steel. Those appear to be the top two options on the table now."
Jack Hayford, an old friend of mine who went to be with the Lord in 2023, wrote an excellent study on why we must support Israel.
It's a 14-minute read titled "8 Biblical Reasons to Stand with Israel Today."
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Sober. Be Vigilant. Bew Engaged. Be Prayerful.