In a speech televised this week from Qatar, Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’ leader in exile, called on Muslims in Judea and Samaria to treat Ramadan as a “month of Jihad” by “marching” on the Temple Mount. This follows a potential Israeli decision to limit Muslim pilgrimage to the Temple Mount this Ramadan. Haniyeh also called for increased support for Hamas from other regional terrorist groups.

Escalating already heavy attacks this week, today Hizballah fired as far south as communities surrounding Haifa, which is more than 40km south of the Lebanese border. This is one of the furthest attacks launched by Hizballah to date. Communities closer to the border have faced and continue to face constant rocket barrages.

American, Israeli and Qatari officials are all painting a different picture of progress being made in the ongoing negotiations for the hostages’ release which are taking place in Doha, Qatar. The Americans appear the most optimistic, while Israeli and Qatari officials think that despite definite progress, there is still work to be done.

Pro-Palestinian students broke windows and spat on students attending a pro-Israel event this week. The protesters also called to “globalize the Intifada,” which is essentially a call for international Islamist street violence.

After over 100 Palestinians were killed trying to steal humanitarian aid from lorries entering the Gaza Strip, Arab nations were quick to point the finger at Israel, calling the incident a “massacre” even though footage from the event shows that most of those killed died as a result of over-crowding and possibly being run over by the trucks.

In a first since the war’s outbreak nearly five months ago, New Zealand’s government has designated Hamas as a terror organization.

Please pray for a peaceful Ramadan. Please pray for a de-escalation from Hizballah. Lastly, please continue to pray for the release of all the hostages!