Israel says Hamas wont rule Gaza So who will?

NOVEMBER 6, 20235:31 AM ET

HEARD ON MORNING EDITION  –  Greg Myre

Palestinians look for survivors of an Israeli bombardment in the Maghazi refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on Sunday.

TEL AVIV — As Israel presses its military operation in the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country will never again let Hamas rule the territory.

But here’s the problem for Israel: Right now, no one else wants to rule the Gaza Strip.

Israel’s immediate goal of removing Hamas is a major military challenge that’s likely to take two to six months, according to Yaakov Amidror, a former general and national security advisor in Israel.

“We will not allow an organization to be on the other side of the of the fence with capabilities to attack the civilians and to launch rockets into Israel,” said Amidror, who is now a military analyst at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security.

Israel launched its ground operation on Oct. 27, and troops have swiftly taken over much of northern Gaza, and encircled Gaza City, the largest urban center.

But taking full control of the territory may be the easy part. The more daunting challenge could be finding a replacement who’s willing and able to run Gaza.

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This is a good question and one the Bible does provide an answer for in Joel 3:4-8

⁴ “Now what have you against me, Tyre and Sidon (southern Lebanon = Hezbollah) and all you regions of Philistia? (Gaza = Hamas) Are you repaying me for something I have done? If you are paying me back, I will swiftly and speedily return on your own heads what you have done. ⁵ For you took my silver and my gold and carried off my finest treasures to your temples. ^{m 6} You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, that you might send them far from their homeland.

⁷ “See, I am going to rouse them out of the places to which you sold them, and I will return on your own heads what you have done. ⁸ I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the *Sabeans, (Saudi Arabia, see below) a nation far away.” The Lord has spoken.

⁹ Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! Rouse the warriors! Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.

¹⁰ Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears.8 Let the weakling say, “I am strong!”

¹¹ Come quickly, all you nations from every side, and assemble there. Bring down your warriors, Lord!

¹² “Let the nations be roused; let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side.

¹³ Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow— so great is their wickedness!”

¹⁴ Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.

¹⁵ The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine.

¹⁶ The Lord will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the heavens will tremble. But the Lord will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.

*שְׁבָא (compare Æth. ሰብእ፡ man), [Sheba],—(1) Sabœans, Sabœa, a nation and region of Arabia Felix, rich in frankincense, spices, gold and gems, 1 Ki. 10:1, seq.; Isai. 60:6; Jer. 6:20; Ezek. 27:22; Ps. 72:15; carrying on a celebrated traffic, Eze. loc. cit.; Ps. 72:10; Joel 4:8; Job 6:19; but Job 1:15, carrying on depredations in the neighbourhood of Ausitis. The genealogies in Genesis mention three men of this name—(a) the grandson of Cush, and son of Raamah, Gen. 10:7;—(b) a son of Joktan, Genesis 10:28 (which accords with the Arabic traditions);—(c) a grandson of Ketura, Gen. 25:3; and in two of the places (a, c), Shebah is coupled with Dedan his brother; this I would thus account for, by supposing that there were two Arabian tribes of this name, the one descended from Joktan in southern Arabia (letter b), the other dwelling by the northern desert of Arabia, near the Persian gulf and the mouth of the Euphrates (letters a, c, and Job loc. cit. [But a and c were of different ancestry]).

= Modern day Saudi Arabia

GOD’S KINGDOME WILL BE ON THIS EARTH

Israel is at war with Hamas

By Abbas Al Lawati and Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Updated 4:02 PM EDT, Sun October 15, 2023

The Israeli military has told all civilians in Gaza City to evacuate “southwards” as it maintains its bombardment of the coastal enclave in response to last weekend’s Hamas attacks that killed more than 1,400 people.

Here’s what we know so far.

What happened?

Militants from Gaza fired thousands of rockets towards Israeli towns on October 7, before breaking through the heavily fortified border fence with Israel and sending militants deep into Israeli territory. There, Hamas gunmen killed more than 1,400 people, including civilians and soldiers, and took up to 150 hostages, according to Israeli authorities.

The attacks were unprecedented in tactics and scale as Israel has not faced its adversaries in street battles on its own territory since the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. It has also never faced a terror attack of this magnitude that has taken the lives of so many civilians. While Hamas has kidnapped Israelis before, it has never before taken dozens of hostages at once, including children and the elderly.

A senior Hamas official in Lebanon told a Russian state-backed channel that the group had been preparing for the attack for two years.

Hamas called the operation “Al-Aqsa Storm” and said that it was a response to what it described as Israeli attacks on women, the desecration of the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem and the ongoing siege of Gaza.

They said the bodies of some 1,500 Hamas fighters had been recovered inside Israel since Saturday’s assault.

How has Israel responded?

In response to the attack, Israel has declared war and launched “Operation Swords of Iron,” striking what it says are Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza. It has also blocked supply lines of basic necessities to the Gaza population, including fuel and water.

Between October 7 and 12, Israel dropped 6,000 bombs on the densely inhabited territory – that’s equivalent to the total number of airstrikes on Gaza during the entire 2014 Gaza-Israel conflict, which lasted 50 days.

Children make up “between 30% and 40% of the wounded” in Israel’s airstrikes on Gaza, British-Palestinian surgeon Ghassan Abu-Sittah told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Thursday.

The IDF has told civilians in Gaza to leave their residential areas immediately for their safety, but some say there is nowhere safe to go. All crossings out of Gaza have been shut.

Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant said on Monday that he had ordered a “complete siege” on Gaza, blocking delivery of electricity, food, fuel and water. Energy Minister Israel Katz has said supplies will remain cut off until hostages being held by Hamas are freed.

Israel on Wednesday formed an emergency government and war management cabinet.

On Friday, Israel’s military told the 1.1 million people in northern Gaza to evacuate their homes immediately.

CNN has geolocated and authenticated five videos from the scene of a large explosion along one of the evacuation routes for civilians south of Gaza City.

The videos show many dead bodies amid a scene of extensive destruction. Some of those bodies are on a flat-bed trailer that appears to have been used to carry people away from Gaza City. They include several children. There are also a number of badly burned and damaged cars.

It’s unclear what caused the widespread devastation; the explosion occurred on Salah al-Deen Street on Friday afternoon.

IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner told CNN in an interview on Sunday that the Israeli military did not strike the convoy on Salah Al-Deen street.

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One thing is certain, this current conflict shows that only with Christ’s Promised Return will there be True and Lasting Peace.

See more here:

 

 

The far reaching implications of the India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor

By: ABDEL AZIZ ALUWAISHEG   Published: September 12, 202320:30

The eight IMEC signatories account for about half of the world’s economy and 40 percent of its population. (Reuters)

A new acronym was minted in Delhi over the weekend: IMEC. On Saturday, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, India, France, Germany, Italy, the US and the EU signed a deal during G20 meetings in New Delhi to establish the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor. The IMEC will comprise two separate corridors: the east corridor will connect India to the Arabian Gulf and the north corridor will connect the Gulf to Europe.

Addressing the IMEC summit, held in New Delhi on the sidelines of the G20 summit, US President Joe Biden said that “the world stands at an inflection point in history.” He described the new agreement as “historic.”

From a Gulf perspective, the new venture will solidify the region’s historical position as the primary trade route linking Asia, Europe and Africa. By emphasizing trade in energy, the project is banking on the region’s comparative advantage in providing cheap and reliable energy to the rest of the world.

The IMEC is expected to stimulate economic development through enhanced connectivity and economic integration between Asia, the Arabian Gulf and Europe. It is also likely to have far-reaching global economic implications beyond the three regions. The eight IMEC signatories account for about half of the world’s economy and 40 percent of its population. As such, they have the capacity to transform global trade and development if they are ready to commit the right resources.

The project could also have geopolitical implications, as it raises America’s profile in this region and enhances its role as a global player. Much has been said about the compatibility of this new US-led undertaking and China’s existing Belt and Road Initiative projects in the region, but looked at from a Gulf perspective it could be a win-win-win situation for China, the US and the Gulf countries through synergies of cooperation and integration. The cohabitation of the two ventures in the region could also help defuse tensions between the two superpowers. They may have to find a way to compete peacefully, at least in this region.

According to statements made by the IMEC’s principals, the corridor will include a railway that will provide a cost-effective, cross-border ship-to-rail transit network to supplement existing maritime and road transport routes. This will enable goods and services to transit to, from and between India, the Gulf and Europe. Along the railway route, the participants intend to enable the laying of cable for electricity and digital connectivity, as well as a pipeline for clean hydrogen export.

The IMEC founding countries are counting on it to secure regional supply chains, increase trade accessibility, improve trade facilitation and support an increased emphasis on environmental, social and governmental impacts. They expect it to increase efficiencies, reduce costs, enhance economic unity, generate jobs and lower greenhouse gas emissions — resulting in a transformative integration of Asia, Europe and the Gulf.

In support of this initiative, the participants committed to work “collectively and expeditiously to arrange and implement all elements” of these two new transit routes and to establish coordinating entities to address the full range of technical, design, financing, legal and relevant regulatory standards, according to a White House statement.

The venture will solidify the Gulf’s historical position as the primary trade route linking Asia, Europe and Africa.

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This will be another interesting development to watch as this will boost the southern Arab Nations trade corridor with Europe.  This along with the growing development of narmalising Israel and southern Arab Nations relations will make this region more important to Europe.  Bible Students know from Bible Prophecy that at the time of the end when Armageddon takes place one of the key reasons for Russia and the EU to come down in battle for the lower Middle East (King of the South as described in Daniel 11) will be to take a great spoil.  This is what we read in Ezekiel 38 which describes the battle of Armageddon and provides this reason for Russia and Europe to collectively invade the Middle East.

¹⁰ “ ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil scheme. ¹¹ You will say, “I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people—all of them living without walls and without gates and bars. ¹² I will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the nations, rich in livestock and goods, living at the center of the land.” ¹³ Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all her villages will say to you, “Have you come to plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder?”.”

THE BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON 

The EU is poised for a giant leap towards further integration  

There is increasingly serious talk in the bloc about all manner of far-reaching reform.  The EU is poised for a giant leap towards further integration.

Published by: Martin Sandbu SEPTEMBER 4 2023

The cliché that European countries only unite in the face of imminent catastrophe is captured in Jean Monnet’s oft-quoted claim that “Europe will be made in crises, and it will be the sum of the solutions adopted for those crises”. But that cliché belies the EU’s proven ability to pursue deeper integration as a deliberate, long-term political goal.

Take the creation of the single market in the 1980s, the adoption of the euro in the 1990s, and the absorption of the ex-communist bloc in the 2000s. All of these tied Europe more closely together — not as desperate responses to acute crises, but as products of ambitious political choices to pool more national sovereignty.

The achievements look even more remarkable when one considers how quickly they were fulfilled.  This bit of corrective history is worth keeping in mind when assessing the call, delivered by European Council president Charles Michel in a speech last week, to make the EU ready to accept new members as soon as 2030.

Far from being an idle fantasy, the proposal is in fact the sort of move the EU has proved adept at making time and again. Michel’s intervention does not by itself make the admission of new members any more likely. And it is not novel — foreign policy experts proposed a 2030 readiness target earlier this year. Michel is merely pushing on doors that are already being forced open by political necessity.

By the end of this year, EU leaders must decide whether to open formal membership negotiations with Ukraine. It is inconceivable that they will decline to do so. Kyiv is doing its homework well enough that the European Commission will give it a positive assessment in an upcoming formal review. And Ukraine’s costly counteroffensive will pile political pressure on its EU allies — to either reward success with progress on its path to European integration, or not to add to its woes by blocking it. It is also now accepted that if Ukraine moves ahead, so must other would-be members, including countries in the western Balkans.

So the question is not whether negotiations will start, nor even how or when they will end, but how they will transform the bloc itself. Two debates are already stirring.

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The EU will expand and become as the Bible has long foretold a beast system, an amalgamation of peoples all under one leader and governmental system. 

So, WATCH this development as it is a sure sign that we are living in the last days before Christ’s Return.

This EU SUPERSTATE will along with Russia enter into a final conflict with Israel and the Middle East.  Germany is the key country in what Bible Prophecy refers to as the land of “Magog”. They are spoken of militarily as the “King of the North”.  Together the Bible says that Russia and the EU will invade the Middle East in the Last Days.  So Bible Students expect to see Germany and France taking a greater role in leading Europe.  It is also interesting to see Germany taking greater control of a continent they tried to take by war and failed.

Yet again we see in Today’s News Headlines words that show how the Nations are fulfilling the latter-day alignment of Nations as Prophesied by the Bible.

See this article to learn more about this and the latter day prophecies of the Bible.

See this article for more on this subject: WHAT IS NEXT FOR EUROPE

NASA Clocks July 2023 as Hottest Month on Record Ever Since 1880

NEWS | August 14, 2023

According to scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York, July 2023 was hotter than any other month in the global temperature record.

This map shows global temperature anomalies for July 2023 according to the GISTEMP analysis by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Temperature anomalies reflect how July 2023 compared to the average July temperature from 1951-1980. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies

Editor’s Note: This release has been updated to add additional graphics, captions, and to spell out the words degrees Fahrenheit and Celsius.

“Since day one, President Biden has treated the climate crisis as the existential threat of our time,” said Ali Zaidi, White House National Climate Advisor. Against the backdrop of record high temperatures, wildfires, and floods, NASA’s analysis puts into context the urgency of President Biden’s unprecedented climate leadership. From securing the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest climate investment in history, to invoking the Defense Production Act to supercharge domestic clean energy manufacturing, to strengthening climate resilience in communities nationwide, President Biden is delivering on the most ambitious climate agenda in history.”

Overall, July 2023 was 0.43 degrees Fahrenheit (F) (0.24 degrees Celsius (C)) warmer than any other July in NASA’s record, and it was 2.1 F (1.18 C) warmer than the average July between 1951 and 1980. The primary focus of the GISS analysis are long-term temperature changes over many decades and centuries, and a fixed base period yields anomalies that are consistent over time. Temperature “normals” are defined by several decades or more – typically 30 years.

Get NASA’s Climate Change News

“NASA data confirms what billions around the world literally felt: temperatures in July 2023 made it the hottest month on record. In every corner of the country, Americans are right now experiencing firsthand the effects of the climate crisis, underscoring the urgency of President Biden’s historic climate agenda,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “The science is clear. We must act now to protect our communities and planet; it’s the only one we have.”

This chart shows global temperature anomalies for every July since the 1880s, based on NASA’s GISTEMP analysis. Anomalies reflect how much the global temperature was above or below the 1951-1980 norm for July. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies / NASA’s Earth Observatory

Parts of South America, North Africa, North America, and the Antarctic Peninsula were especially hot, experiencing temperatures increases around 7.2 F (4 C) above average. Overall, extreme heat this summer put tens of millions of people under heat warnings and was linked to hundreds of heat-related illnesses and deaths. The record-breaking July continues a long-term trend of human-driven warming driven primarily by greenhouse gas emissions that has become evident over the past four decades. According to NASA data, the five hottest Julys since 1880 have all happened in the past five years.

“Climate change is impacting people and ecosystems around the world, and we expect many of these impacts to escalate with continued warming,” said Katherine Calvin, chief scientist and senior climate advisor at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Our agency observes climate change, its impacts, and its drivers, like greenhouse gases, and we are committed providing this information to help people plan for the future.”

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Despite what man has and is doing to the Earth, the Earth will not be destroyed because God is in Ultimate Control and He has a purpose yet to be established on this Earth.  God will not allow man to destroy the earth.  Revelation 11:17-16

¹⁷ Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. ¹⁸ And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

God’s Kingdom will be established on this Earth in perfect fulfilment of Bible Prophecy just as the days in which we are living with all their problems is fulfilling Bible Prophecy.  The real question is: WILL YOU BE IN GOD’S KINGDOM or will you be a casualty of these end times.

US Saudi deal to normalize Israel ties may be on the way, Biden confirms

US officials have sought for months to reach what would be a historic agreement between the long-time adversaries but the Saudis have been resistant.

By TOVAH LAZAROFF, REUTERS  Published: JULY 29, 2023 22:20

US PRESIDENT Joe Biden and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, last July: Saudi Arabia is not able to give up the American defensive shield, and believes Israel has a role in securing this.

(photo credit: MANDEL NGAN/REUTERS)

US President Joe Biden said on Friday a deal may be on the way with Saudi Arabia after talks his national security advisor had with Saudi officials in Jeddah aimed at reaching a normalization in relations between the kingdom and Israel.

“There’s a rapprochement that may be underway,” Biden told contributors to his 2024 re-election campaign at an event in Freeport, Maine.

Biden did not give details about the possible deal.

US officials have sought for months to reach what would be a historic agreement between the long-time adversaries, but the Saudis have been resistant.

The US-Saudi pact could involve normalization with Israel

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, in a piece published on Thursday, said Biden was considering whether to pursue a US-Saudi mutual security pact that would involve Saudi Arabia normalizing relations with Israel.

Prime Minister Netanyahu holding talks with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Jerusalem on January 19. (credit: KOBI GIDEON/GPO)

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, one of Biden’s most trusted aides, was in Jeddah this week with Middle East envoy Brett McGurk discussing the possibility of a normalization deal, White House officials said.

US officials see a potential deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia as possible after the administration of former President Donald Trump reached similar agreements between Israel and Morocco, Sudan, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates under the rubric of the 2020 Abraham Accords.

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This has been an ongoing development since the efforts of former President Donald Trump to bring about Peace in the Middle East.  This is not surprising to Bible Students as we fully expect to see this development based on Bible Prophecy that has foretold the alignment of Nations in the “latter days”.  The Bible describes a King of the North and a King of the South Geo-political Alignment of Nations in the last days prior to the last battle of mankind and the intervention of Christ to established God’s Kingdom on Earth Forever.  We read of this in Daniel Chapter 11:

“And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.”

You can read more about this in this article: Alignment of Nations in the Latter Days

Climate Records Tumble Leaving Earth in Uncharted Territory Scientists

• Published 22^nd July 2023

By Georgina Rannard, Erwan Rivault, Jana Tauschinski

BBC Climate reporter & Data Team

A series of climate records on temperature, ocean heat, and Antarctic sea ice have alarmed some scientists who say their speed and timing is “unprecedented”.

Dangerous heatwaves sweeping Europe could break further records, according to the UN.

It is hard to immediately link these events to climate change because weather – and the Earth’s oceans – are so complex.

Studies are underway, but scientists already fear some worst-case scenarios are unfolding.

“I’m not aware of a similar period when all parts of the climate system were in record-breaking or abnormal territory,” Thomas Smith, an environmental geographer at London School of Economics, says.

“The Earth is in uncharted territory” now due to global warming from burning fossil fuels, as well as heat from the first El Niño – a warming natural weather system – since 2018, says Imperial College London climate science lecturer Dr Paulo Ceppi.

Here are four climate records broken so far this summer – and what they mean.

World’s hottest day on record

The world experienced its hottest day ever recorded in July, breaking the global average temperature record set in 2016.

Average global temperature topped 17C for the first time, reaching 17.08C on 6 July, according to EU climate monitoring service Copernicus.

Ongoing emissions from burning fossil fuels like oil, coal, and gas are behind the planet’s warming trend.

• A really simple guide to climate change
• What is El Niño and how does it change the weather?

This is exactly what was forecast to happen in a world warmed by more greenhouse gases, says climate scientist Dr Friederike Otto, from Imperial College London.

“Humans are 100% behind the upward trend,” she says.

“If I’m surprised by anything, it’s that we’re seeing the records broken in June, so earlier in the year. El Niño normally doesn’t really have a global impact until five or six months into the phase,” Dr Smith says.

El Niño is the world’s most powerful naturally occurring climate fluctuation. It brings warmer water to the surface in the tropical Pacific, pushing warmer air into the atmosphere. It normally increases global air temperatures.

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Despite what man has and is doing to the Earth, the Earth will not be destroyed because God is in Ultimate Control and He has a purpose yet to be established on this Earth.  God will not allow man to destroy the earth.

God’s Kingdom will be established on this Earth in perfect fulfilment of Bible Prophecy just as the days in which we are living with all their problems is fulfilling Bible Prophecy.  The real question is: WILL YOU BE IN GOD’S KINGDOM or will you be a casualty of these end times.