We are always praying for peace! The only true peace, the peace of JESUS! Glory!
With Israel bracing for potential retaliation from Iran and its proxies after two assassinations in Beirut and Tehran, the United States is scrambling forces to prepare for an escalation that threatens to engulf the Middle East.
At the same time, the U.S. is launching a diplomatic offensive aimed at preventing a regional conflict and returning Israel and Hamas to the negotiating table regarding a hostage release and ceasefire deal.
A U.S. Pentagon official told the Washington Post on Thursday that at least 12 American warships were concentrated in the eastern Mediterranean and the Arab Gulf at the moment. This includes the carrier strike group of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, and several destroyers and other vessels, some of which were transferred there from the U.S.-led task force defending shipping lanes against attacks by the Yemeni Houthi terrorists in the Red Sea.
The U.S. was reportedly informed beforehand of the Israeli strike in Beirut that killed Hezbollah’s military chief Fuad Shukr. U.S. officials told Politico that while the U.S. saw the strike as a legitimate response to the Majdal Shams attack, the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran came as a surprise. More Here
Denison Forum
Dr. Jim Denison
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued an order yesterday for Iran to strike Israel directly in retaliation for the killing in Tehran of Hamas’s leader, Ismail Haniyeh. According to the New York Times, it is unclear how forcefully Iran will respond and whether they will calibrate their attack to avoid escalation. Iranian military commanders are considering a combination attack of drones and missiles on military targets in the vicinity of Haifa and Tel Aviv, but they would reportedly make a point of avoiding civilian targets.
Israel also killed Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander they hold responsible for the Golan Heights massacre. They claim that Shukr had been orchestrating rocket and UAV attacks against Israelis since October 7 and was involved in developing and integrating precision-guided missiles that “have the potential to threaten the lives of millions of Israeli civilians.”
Multiple governments and news outlets warn that these strikes will delay talks over a ceasefire in Gaza and could intensify the regional war.
Why, then, does Israel do this? More Here