Gaza ceasefire: Biden says deal ‘must get done’

The Times, June 4, 2024

Event

President Biden has said the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas “must get done” as the US sought support from the UN to back the proposal.

“We are working for a ceasefire and hostage deal that would allow the United States and our partners to begin the work to rebuild homes, schools and hospitals in Gaza to help repair communities destroyed in the chaos of war. This deal must get done,”

Biden tweeted on Twitter/X. The comments come after the US circulated a one-page draft resolution to the UN Security Council to back the three-phase truce, which seeks to free all hostages, allow aid into the territory and end the almost eight-month war in Gaza.

“We call on Hamas to accept this deal, that Israel is ready to move forward with, and we urge countries with influence over Hamas to help ensure that it does so,”

the group, which includes the US and the UK, wrote in a joint statement. Yet the Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has signalled to local media that the deal is conditional, saying the country will only agree to a ceasefire that includes the elimination of Hamas.

Comment

Since October 7th 2023 and the terrible Hamas attack on Israel, Biden has tried to cajole, coax and pressure Netanyahu to engage in discussions about a deal to end the war. The White House set deadlines and even red lines all of which faded. This latest and possibly final throw of the dice to get a deal looks likely to fail.  Netanyahu said

“claims that we agreed to a ceasefire without our conditions being met are incorrect”.

He reiterated that the primary aim of the war was “the elimination of Hamas”. Israel remains determined to remove the pricking brier of Hamas. The Bible says that this will happen. Despite international pressure Israel’s nearby enemies will be destroyed.

Bible quote

And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor any grieving thorn of all that are round about [surrounding / nearby] them, that despised them; and they shall know that I am the Lord GOD. (Ezekiel 28:24)

Weekly World Watch, Andy Walton,

US strikes Houthi missiles in Yemen and Iran-backed militia in Iraq

The Times, January 24, 2024

Event

 

Two cargo ships sailing close to the Gulf of Aden came under attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Wednesday night, the White House said — forcing the US navy to intervene as the Iran-backed militia intensified its maritime assault on commercial shipping. Houthi forces fired three anti-ship ballistic missiles at the US-flagged and owned container vessel Maersk Detroit as it was transiting the Gulf of Aden, according to the US Central Command. The latest strikes followed another wave against the Iran-backed group on Monday night, which involved Royal Air Force jets as well as US aircraft and warships. The Houthis have been hit with retaliatory strikes over their targeting of Red Sea commerce, which has forced shipping companies to divert traffic from the route to the Suez Canal. The militant group, which controls swathes of Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa, has carried out a growing number of missile and drone attacks along the key international trade route since Israel launched its assault on Gaza, deepening concerns that the fallout from the Israel-Hamas war could destabilise the Middle East.

Comment

This week has seen further escalation between the Houthis based in Yemen and the US/UK alliance.

The Houthis are demanding Israel stop the war in Gaza and until they do they will attack ships in the Red Sea. On Friday they launched a ballistic missile which hit an oil tanker. The tanker is still on fire as I am writing this. 15% of all maritime world trade passes through the Red Sea – hence the US/UK striking the Houthis. But the epicentre of this new conflict in the Middle East is Israel. It is as if Israel is the vortex of war sucking in more and more nations. We know that eventually all nations will be drawn to battle of Jerusalem. That process could now be underway…

Bible quote

For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. (Zechariah 14:2)

Andy Walton, Weekly World Watch

+

Preceding

1. U.S. Mideast naval exercise and fighter jets in the Gulf region
2. Britain and US launch airstrikes on Houthi targets
3. Russia, Turkey, Iran Condemn Attack on Yemeni Houthis

++

Additional reading

1. War, why do people keep doing it
2. Yemen: A country in crisis, what the world governments should practice and advocate to bring an end to the conflict
3. Americans need to end their indifference concerning the war in Yemen
4. The dangerous repercussion of the failure of renewed truce in Yemen
5. How Israel’s Arrow 3 intercepted a missile in first space battle
6. The West and the Houthi rebels – January 2024
7. UK and allies issue ‘final warning’ to Houthis over Red Sea attacks
8. US hits 14 Houthi missiles aimed at ships in the Red Sea

+++

Related

1. Only defeating Hamas will create a more stable Middle Eas
2. US to relist Houthis as global terrorists
3. Yemen’s Houthi Rebels Claim Attack On Ship After US ‘Terror’
4. US launches fourth round of strikes in a week against Houthi targets
5. US battle with Houthi rebels shows no signs of stopping
6. Houthi rebels seen clashing with US Army
7. Biden U-Turns on Houthi Terrorists
8. Israel bombs Gaza as disagreements with U.S. simmer
9. Who Has the Strongest Military in the World?
10. Striking Back: U.S. and U.K. Forces Unleash Precision Strike
11. Houthi Rebels Fire 3 Ballistic Missiles At US Ship In Gulf of Aden
12. Yemen’s Houthis In Russia Discuss “Pressure” On US, Israel
13. Global trade is being disrupted by Red Sea attacks
14. Yemen’s Houthis Claim Attack On British Oil Tanker In Gulf Of Aden
15. As war and drought throttle supply chains, importers reopen pandemic playbooks

Are we witnessing the opening salvos of World War 3?

The Independent, January 19, 2024

Event

It is hard to escape the impression of a theatre of military conflict that is inexorably growing – to the east and the south, if not yet to the north and the west. And if you look backwards, rather than forwards, the Hamas massacres of Israelis on 7 October, and Israel’s all-out military response, can be seen as turning the tiny sliver of the Gaza Strip into the epicentre of a conflict that could embrace regions many hundreds of miles further afield.

The Hamas attacks of October were followed by dire warnings that this could be the spark that ignited a regional conflagration; that it was only a matter of time before Iran became directly involved – probably through its proxy, Hezbollah, in southern Lebanon – and that, before long, you could be standing on the threshold of the next world war.

Comment

David Cameron a previous prime minister of Britain is now the UK’s foreign secretary. He warned this week:

“It is hard to think of a time when there has been so much danger and insecurity and instability in the world. The lights are absolutely flashing red on the global dashboard and what we need at that time is strong leadership and a plan and that is what we have with the prime minister and the team in place.”

He is right – we are at time of danger, insecurity and instability in the world.
The lights are flashing red.
The world does need strong leadership. However, the leadership required is not that of worldly leaders and their armies. It is the leadership of Christ and the hosts (armies) of heaven. In fact we are told specifically that judgement will come on the “ships of Tarshish” (Britain). It comes at a time when Lebanon and southern Syria is also judged. These events herald the return of Jesus to the earth and the establishment of God’s kingdom.

Bible quote

For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low: And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan (south Syria).., And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures (should be translated “desirable ships!”). (Isaiah 2;12-13+16)

Weekly World Watch, Andy Walton

+

Preceding

1. ‘Desperate’ Vladimir Putin may use tactical nuclear weapons, warns CIA chief
2. Hezbollah praises Hamas, says attack is message to Arab countries normalizing ties with Israel
3. Biden draws direct link between Putin and Hamas
4. Britain and US launch airstrikes on Houthi targets

++

Additional reading

1. Signs of the Times – On manoeuvres
2. Signs of the Times – War and anti-Semitism
3. Nations being Prepared for Christ’s Appearance
4. Miscalculation as high as it was in August 1914 No one outside of Serbia expected war
5. Looking at a “Man from the North” endangering the world
6. Ukraine war is veering fast towards a big power conflict
7. Putin threatens nuclear strikes if West intervenes
8. The Developments for the second half of April
9. Europe sucked into a war against Russia
10. Ukraine War: Those who fail to call for negotiations, fail to understand the dangerous predicament that faces the planet!
11. Ukrainian Who doenit
12. What was it that so darkened our world?
13. Putin puts Russia’s nuclear force on high alert
14. Putin not able to spare the resources needed to defend Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iranian forces in Syria against a determined Israeli assault
15. Israeli society a patchwork of different cultures and political views
16. 50 Years after the Yom Kippur attack a new Hamas attack
17. Hamas’ attack on Israel
18. A look at Hamas attack on Israel’s Supernova festival
19. With pain in the hart looking at what Israel is doing
20. Attack on the weak civilians and abusing Judaism
21. Israel willing to assassinate all the leaders of Hamas
22. Nova Rave Massacre, Israeli defence establishment its negligence and reason for a genocide by Israel
23. Israel strikes Gaza following surprise attack by Hamas
24. Children ‘mercilessly’ killed by Hamas in Israel massacre – as Gaza is pummelled
25. Horror for a cornered people
26. Imprisonment and slaughter in the Gaza Strip
27. A complete siege of the Gaza Strip
28. Israeli Leaders Say ‘Now Is Time for War’ and Vow to Wipe Hamas ‘Off the Face of the Earth’
29. Israel’s goal would be to destroy Hamas
30. What is Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran’s Role in the Israel Conflict?
31. The Roots and Consequences of Hamas’ Strategy
32. New Iranian and Hizballah bases south of Damascus
33. The first three weeks of October 2023 a beginning of a new war
34. Iranian proxies established a resistance operations room to help Hamas
35. Fear is everywhere in Israel as it stares down the barrel of a wider war
36. Israel and Gaza trade rockets as conflict escalates
37. Iran assembles allies for rocket attacks on Israel
38. Israeli strikes Lebanon after anti-tank missile launch
39. It is the stuff of horror movies, but the world must know the truth of Hamas’ atrocities
40. A deadly war taking place in Gaza
41. Palestinians facing bombardments in greater intensity than all of the previous wars combined
42. Israel’s 9/11 versus US 9/11
43. Is a new Nakba unfolding
44. Eerie Jerusalem is still haunted by October 7
45. Gaza War and Challenges to the Needed Solution
46. Israel-Palestine drama needs more attention
47. Inadmissible Israeli violence
48. Dichotomy in approach to Israeli-Palestinian conflict
49. Hezbollah warns of all-out war if Israel escalates in Lebanon
50. Will Israel defy Washington and target Hezbollah?
51. ‘Nothing will stop us’ – Netanyahu says war against Hamas will continue despite global pressure
52. Netanyahu rejects US calls to scale back Gaza offensive
53. Yulia Tymoshenko: We are in World War Three already
54. Could it be that we are living in the Last Days

+++

Related

1. All-out WAR with Russia is looming
2. Houthis say WW3 superpowers Russia & China can send ships through Red Sea but US & UK vessels are in the crosshairs
3. British defense chief suggested the world is in a ‘pre-war’ state
4. Terrifying POV video shows the sights and sounds of WW III
5. Ordinary Brits face call-up if UK goes to war with Russia
6. Doomsday Clock has become absurd… world is more dangerous than last year – but not close to 1962 during the Cold War
7. WWIII Book Review: World War 1990: The Final Storm
8. World War 3 Edges Closer
9. World War 3: The world is bankrupt
10. The Squishy Problem Facing World War III Writers-Part I
11. The Squishy Problem Facing World War III Writers-Part II
12. Israel-Gaza Warfare.
13. Gaza War 30 Jan
14. Why Iran has its sights on Jordan
15. Blinken: Middle East situation most dangerous ‘since at least 1973’
16. Hamas studying Gaza truce plan as Israeli hardliners warn PM
17. Trump slams Biden, warns ‘we are on the brink of World War 3’
18. Donald Trump says ‘we are on brink of World War 3

Britain and US launch airstrikes on Houthi targets

The Times, January 12, 2024

Event

Explosions were heard across Yemen late on Thursday night as British and US forces launched strikes on Houthi targets, after the Iranian-backed group ignored warnings to stop attacking ships in the Red Sea. Rishi Sunak, who had authorised the military action hours earlier and briefed ministers in an emergency cabinet meeting, said the situation could not be allowed to stand. He said the UK had taken

“limited, necessary and proportionate action in self-defence”.

President Biden said that Australia, Bahrain, Canada, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, New Zealand and South Korea had also provided backing. Saba, the Yemeni press agency, reported attacks in the capital, Sanaa.

“These strikes are in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea … These attacks have endangered US personnel, civilian mariners, and our partners, jeopardised trade, and threatened freedom of navigation,”

President Biden said.

Comment

The war between Israel and Hamas has escalated once again. Now it has spread to a direct conflict between the US/UK and the Houthis based in Yemen. The Houthis have said they are attacking ships in the Red Sea in support of the Palestinians and will only stop when Israel stops its war. The Houthis have been armed with sophisticated missiles and weapons from Iran. In Joel 3 we read of this situation. God speaks of the final conflict over Israel in this chapter. He asks (almost sarcastically)

“what have you to do with me O Tyre and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine?”

Tyre = Hezbollah and coasts of Palestine = Hamas in Gaza. But then we read in verse 8 that these people will be sold to the Sabeans – a people far off. Their kingdom was called Saba in Yemen!

Bible quote

Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon [Hezbollah], and all the coasts of Palestine? [Hamas] will ye render me a recompence? ….I return your recompence upon your own head;  And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans [Yemen], to a people far off: for the LORD hath spoken it. (Joel 3:4+6)

Andy Walton’s Weekly World Watch

+

Preceding

U.S. Mideast naval exercise and fighter jets in the Gulf region

++

Additional reading

1. Yemen: A country in crisis, what the world governments should practice and advocate to bring an end to the conflict
2. Americans need to end their indifference concerning the war in Yemen
3. The Strategist: The post-American Middle Eastern order
4. The Roots and Consequences of Hamas’ Strategy
5. In the news the Fourth week of December 2023
6. The start of 2024
7. The West and the Houthi rebels – January 2024
8. Why is the US scared of Israel despite global condemnation of its support for the Zionist regime?
9. UK and allies issue ‘final warning’ to Houthis over Red Sea attacks
10. How Israel’s Arrow 3 intercepted a missile in first space battle