Hamas also continues to fire rockets at Israel’s civilian population, launching one of the largest barrages since the beginning of the war on the Tel Aviv area on Tuesday evening as well as on Judea and Samaria. 5 Israelis were injured during this rocket barrage. Wednesday Hamas launched rockets at the Carmel mountains and Eilat. Although Hamas has now released 4 hostages, it is crucial to remember that 220 Israeli and foreign hostages remain in captivity including babies, small children, the elderly and injured people.
In addition to continued airstrikes on Gaza over the last 24 hours, the IDF’s naval commando unit neutralized a squad of terrorists who infiltrated Israeli territory via the sea.
The IDF continues to respond to Hizballah’s anti-tank missile attacks in northern Israel by striking terrorist targets in southern Lebanon. The IDF also struck targets in Syria after militants there also fired missiles towards Israel. In Beirut, Lebanon, Hizballah leader Nasrallah hosted leaders of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the three terrorist commanders agreed to work together on a daily basis moving forward.
On the home front, there are many Israelis who need to evacuate but who aren’t in the direct border area around Gaza or Lebanon, meaning that they must do so independently, which is a financial challenge. Another major issue is the economy, which is greatly suffering from three weeks of war. This is reflected by the S&P 500 stock exchange rating which lowered Israel’s rating between Tuesday and Wednesday from “stable” to “negative”.
Sadly, the UN Secretary General Guterres, Turkey’s President Erdogan and Jordan’s Queen Rania, who is Palestinian, have blamed Israel for the current war.
Please continue to pray for protection over Israeli civilians and soldiers. Please pray for stability Israel’s economy. Lastly, please continue to pray that Hizballah stays outside the conflict and for international support for Israel.