Ceasefire or no ceasefire -
that is the question?
The north of the country has been under very very heavy fire. The Fire Brigade have been battling blazes all day along the northern border and the IDF have struck back over 40 targets today alone. Hezbollah have downed a ten million dollar drone . Kiryat Shmona and Acre have been hit by a large barrage of rockets.
The slogan that is trending “All Eyes on Rafah”, could now morph into “All Eyes on the Ceasefire”, which has been announced by President Biden, claiming this is a 3 stage deal proposed by Israel.
However, it does appear there is no unanimity in the War Cabinet, who have convened to discuss the proposals. Once again the far right coalition is split, with Ben Gvir and Smotrich threatening to bring down the government if a permanent cease fire is agreed. Bibi wants the language referring to the cease fire agreement to be more ambiguous, and has announced there can be no permanent ceasefire until Hamas is destroyed.
The hundred and twenty thousand demonstrators in Tel Aviv want a deal to release the hostages at any cost and they want it now. Tens of thousands also marched in London calling for the immediate release of the hostages.
Hamas have yet to respond, but we know from previous negotiations that they will not settle for anything less than a long term cease fire and a total withdrawal of all IDF troops.
The hostages remain their only currency and as much as Israel would love to find a deal to release them, it is clear that without the hostages Hamas and PIJ would have played all their cards and can only hide or run. A video of a 28 year old Russian Israeli hostage, who was taken with his family after his father was murdered on October 7th, has been released by Palestinian Islamic Jihad as proof of life.
Hamas are holding out to retain control of Gaza, but we do not know how much support they have from the people. Hamas are operating in both Judea and Samaria and the IDF are carrying out operations to flush them out.
A few weeks ago it was thought that over 70% of the people in Gaza supported the aspirations of Hamas, but since they have brought such devastating destruction upon the heads of the people, perhaps they have less support now .
Israel definitely has other ideas, although we are not so sure what their proposals are at this stage.
It will not be and should not be the PA led by Abbas. He has been mooted as the leader of this newly proposed Palestinian State, as he is mistakenly deemed a moderate . In truth his PhD was on Holocaust Denial, casting doubt on the existence of the gas chambers, and his book is titled “The Other Side: The Secret Relationship between Nazism and Zionism ( Billsan Publishing House, Ramallah ,2011) .
It is reported that negotiations are underway with other Arab countries who may be agreeable to make a coalition to govern the strip until such time as a demilitarised and peaceful Palestinian government can be formed.
There is so much journalistic negligence feeding into the fashionable frenzy accusing Israel of every crime imaginable. The social media platforms are really letting themselves down by allowing false accusations that fed into what is now virtually “a blood libel”, against Israel and in turn the Jewish people. They are also ignoring the heavy fire Israel is under and the refugees that have been displaced from the north and the southern kibbutzim. (A total of more than 160,000 people) . The events of October 7th are at best ignored and at worst denied on many social media platforms.
Last week alone, were posts on instagram accusing Israel of beheading children in Gaza and the western press were once again immediately reporting the civilian deaths in Rafah as carelessness by the IDF. The carelessness was of Hamas, who systematically store weapons and explosive materials and gasoline for rocket fire adjacent to or in civilian areas. The sheer weight of the media onslaught against Israel is very difficult to counter balance,
Brazil’s president Lula de Silva has compared Gaza to Hitler’s attempts to eradicate the Jews causing chaos in the Brazilian Congress who showed support for Israel.
A life line was thrown to Hamas by those countries who now recognise Palestine with a capital in East Jerusalem . These declarations stand in the way of any negotiated long term settlement and will ultimately cause more death and hardship for all sides.
The IDF have lost more boys last week bringing the total lost since the ground offensive to 289. That is 289 young lives sacrificed just to stop Hamas entering Israel and massacring civilians. Sadly, the number changes hourly.
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More tunnels, ammunition and rocket launchers continue to be discovered along the Philadelphia corridor which separates Gaza from Egypt. Egypt are being quiet about their soldiers who opened fire on the IDF in Rafah which led to the IDF killing two of their soldiers .
Egypt have been caught out allowing weapons to enter Gaza, against the agreement they made when Israel vacated the strip in 2005. The blockade that Israel put around Gaza and all the checks on goods entering was in vain as Egypt were just turning a blind eye or were even complicit in arming Hamas.
Israel are seeking to designate UNWRA as a terrorist organisation . As UNWRA is funded by the UN, a spot light is being shone on the biased UN’s role against Israel. The lack of support for Israel to defeat Hamas and give a new lease of life to those who live in Gaza is fuel to the Islamic fire that is now burning all over Europe.
Bibi has received a bipartisan invitation to speak at both Houses of Congress and to give an update on the war situation .
We now pray for a deal that both releases the hostages immediately and prevents Hamas from rearming and will allow Gaza to rebuild and become a peaceful neighbour .
Kind Regards
Carolyne Davis