Winds of War in the North (Guest Post)
It is not very often that I post so frequently. However, after sending out my post on June 30, I read an article that I realized would be quite useful for filling in the gaps for those of you who do not live in Israel.
You may not know what is really happening
Based on several emails I’ve received recently, I realized that many of you have no idea what is really happening in Israel. There are good reasons for that. With the chaotic news on the US elections and problems with the judicial system and economy, who has time to think about Israel? Our war has dragged on far too long already. Will it become another conflict similar to the Russian/Ukraine one? Furthermore, like all news everywhere, which reports do you listen to and whom should you believe?
About my guest blogger
Marvin Kramer runs the “Week that Was: Israel as seen from a different view” blog and posts fairly regularly. His most recent post reflects the current events affecting the north of Israel at this time. He offers no answers or advice, other than to ask for prayer. While he may be missing some of the details (does anyone really have a grasp of all that is happening?), I’d say his overview is about as accurate and unbiased as you will get.
While my writing talks about how I live within the stresses of Israeli life, to be honest, I’m not as news-savvy as Marvin is. He talks about the situation itself, which is excellent guidance for prayer.
He has given me permission to repost from his original post. For your convenience, it appears below. In addition, this post closes with a YouTube video interview with the director of the hospital I work at: Rambam Health Care Campus. I believe Marvin’s post and the movie should give you a good picture of life here right now. Feel free to share it with others.
Winds of War in the North by Marvin Kramer
The war drums are beating on both sides of the Lebanon-Israel border, with each side ramping up the rhetoric of war readiness. At some point, the blustering will stop and the actual conflict will begin. No matter how one may want to paint the picture, it’s going to be a mess. All-out war between Israel and the terrorist organization, Hezbollah, is expected to ignite the entire region of the Middle East, with most of the participants directing their efforts against Israel. Reports, based on U.S. sources, indicate that the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, left the area of the Red Sea where it was deployed since last October and was redeployed to the Mediterranean Sea “to assist in the operation that is likely to develop between Israel and Lebanon.”
Earlier last week, Hezbollah published a 10-minute video of footage taken by a surveillance drone that captured strategic locations, including the city of Haifa and its surroundings. Haifa is home to a naval base, an airport and oil refineries, among other things. Most people who do not live in Israel are unaware of the fact that the distance from Haifa to the Lebanese border is only 17 miles (27 kilometers), which does not allow for a lot of early-warning time.
A spokesman for Hezbollah claimed that no Israeli threat will deter the Hezbollah from continuing its missile assaults on Israel and that the only way that those assaults would stop would be if there was a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. He added that an Israeli attack on the Hezbollah terrorist organization, that controls Lebanon, would be like attacking Iran itself, who would join in the fighting. This claim received backing from Iran’s UN mission, Israel who reported yesterday (Friday) that if Israel launches a full-scale war against Hezbollah, “an obliterating war will ensure. All options, including the full involvement of all Resistance Fronts, are on the table.” Hassan Nasrallah, the General Secretary of the Hezbollah, in a televised speech on June 19th, said that “no place” in Israel would be safe from the weapons of the Hezbollah and that the organization would fight with “no rules” and “no ceilings”. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, during his recent visit to Washington, said that while Israel prefers a diplomatic solution to the growing conflict in the north, he warned that in any war with Hezbollah, Lebanon could end up being sent back to the Stone Age. In the meantime, the Municipality of Haifa said that in the event of an attack from Hezbollah, we can expect major interruptions. We’ll be on our own for the first day or so, before essential infrastructure can be repaired. Not exactly the most encouraging of government notices.
It needs to be understood that the accelerating threats on both sides of the Lebanon-Israel divide can explode into all-out war very quickly and the consequences would be devasting for both parties. Hezbollah is not Hamas. It is a well-trained and generously funded by Iran, with an arsenal of some two hundred thousand missiles, tens of thousands of which are precision missiles. Immediately after October 7th, it began to support Hamas from the sidelines, launching helter-skelter mortar and short-range rocket fire. that increased to massage missile barrages, including armed drones, all of which combined to cause the displacement of some seventy thousand Israelis, who were forced to leave their homes in the north of Israel, with no end in sight or projected time when they can return.
Hezbollah began as a Shi’ite Moslem terror organization, that grew into a major political force in Lebanon, to the point that it functions like a state within a state. It is not swayed by threats from Israel. But, it is clear that its continued attacks upon Israel cannot continue to be tolerated. So, Hezbollah and Israel threaten each other with destruction and the threats are becoming more intense. A fuse leading to war has been ignited and if it is not put out very quickly, we could wake up one morning very soon and find the Middle East on fire, with Iran joining in the fray. And if Iran joins in, the U.S. will most likely be dragged into it militarily, along with other nations that align themselves with one side or another, for their own military-industrial-economic reasons.
The next war with Lebanon, actually, with Hezbollah, will not be like previous military encounters with Lebanon, which took place almost every decade since the 1970’s: Operation Litani (river) – 1978; First Lebanon War – 1982; Operation Grapes of Wrap – 1996; Second Lebanon War – 2006. While the major players are the same, the weapons of war have become more deadly and far more devastating. The numbers of casualties would be beyond what anyone would want to think at this point.
If anyone is under the illusion that such a military conflict would be limited to Lebanon and Israel, he should think again. There are other players in the region: The Houthis (who will continue to disrupt shipping in and around the Red Sea); pro-Iranian militias from Iraq and Syria (numbering tens of thousands); an uprising in the area presently controlled by the “Palestinian” Authority in Judea and Samaria. This will most likely be accompanied by cyber attacks affecting not only Israel’s infrastructure, but would be part of massive cyber attacks intended to thwart Israel’s allies (whoever they may be at the time) from coming to its aid. It is also reasonable to presume that coordinated efforts would be made against western targets, both in the area of the Middle East, as well as abroad.
In such a likely scenario, Israel would pull out all the stops and follow-through with its threat to send Lebanon back to the Stone Age. While involvement in a Middle East war is not exactly what the Biden Administration would want to take place only a few months before a national election, it would reluctantly be drawn in to protect its ally. The U.N. is powerless to stop the momentum. World leaders express concern over the outbreak of war between Hezbollah and Israel, but all are too weak to gain the respect of terrorist organization that is its own authority. Only a strong leader, respected by nations, including terrorist organizations, would need to show up to and help bring about an end to the war. Easier said than done. This is not a far-fetched, sci-fi script. We are dealing with a terror organization that is willing to take on the U.S., Israel, Cyprus, and most of the Western countries in the European Union. Listen to one of Lebanon’s own, as she reports about the dangers of allowing the country to be led into disaster by Hezbollah, here and here. Then you’ll get a good handle on what Israel has to deal with. Your prayers are genuinely solicited.
May you have a safe, healthy and peaceful week.
In the meantime, remember to bless, so you can be blessed and be a blessing.
Marvin
Northern Israel preparing for war with Hezbollah
I work at Rambam Health Care Campus, the hospital that this news article talks about. It has been an amazing journey! I’ve had the privilege to part of many of the hospital’s projects to fund and publicize the underground hospital. Seeing it in person is a deeply moving experience. I think you will be surprised to see why this hospital is so important for Israel.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6356158609112
