Israel Proposes for 33 Hostages to Be Released and a 40-Day Ceasefire

Honoring the Memory: Nova Dance Festival Tragedy Memorial

US, UK Urge Hamas to Accept ‘Generous’ 40-Day Truce Deal to Free Some Hostages

Negotiations to Free Hostages: Qatar Promised to Remove Hamas Leaders - And Didn't Do It

Qatar Is Oversaturating US Universities with Funds, Directly Affecting the Rise of Antisemitism

Columbia University Locks Down Campus Buildings Following Overnight Mutiny: 'Effective Immediately'

Herzog: ICC Being Abused to Deny Israel Its Basic Rights

Protesters Call for Islamic State in Germany: 'Caliphate Is The Solution'

New Carbon-Dating Techniques Enable 'Absolute Chronology' of First Temple-Era Jerusalem

BGU Researchers Use Novel Chemo Delivery to Kill Colorectal Cancer Liver Metastases

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US and UK officials are pushing Hamas to accept a “generous” 40-day cease-fire proposal from Israel that would reportedly see 33 hostages in Gaza freed in exchange for “potentially thousands” of Palestinian prisoners. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Palestinian terror group was handed the proposal, which was hammered out with the help of negotiators, ahead of a Hamas delegation’s trip to Cairo. The terrorists’ delegation is expected to respond quickly to the latest proposed deal. 

“Hamas has before it a proposal that is extraordinarily, extraordinarily generous on the part of Israel,” Blinken said at a World Economic Forum meeting in Saudi Arabia. “And in this moment, the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a cease-fire is Hamas.” 

Blinken was joined by British Foreign Secretary David Cameron who agreed: “[It’s] a very generous offer of sustained 40 days cease-fire, the release of potentially thousands of Palestinian prisoners, in return for the release of these hostages. I hope Hamas do take this deal, and frankly, all the pressure in the world and all the eyes in the world should be on them today saying, ‘Take that deal.’” 

The latest deal seeks the freedom of 33 captives in exchange for a mass release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, three Israeli officials told American media. The proposed deal would prioritize the release of female, sick, and elderly hostages. The proposed 33 freed captives would be fewer than the 40 Israel previously called for. Hamas has claimed that it does not have that many hostages who meet the deal’s criteria. (NYP / VFI News)

“Our Heavenly Father, we pray for the immediate return of all our hostages. We pray that our leaders and negotiators have mental clarity, discernment, and the wisdom to negotiate with the terrorists. We pray in Yeshua’s name that the deal proposed will have the desired results.”

The articles included in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Vision for Israel. We try to provide accurate reporting on news pertinent to Israel, the Middle East, the diaspora, and Jewish issues around the world—and we hope that you find it both informative and useful for intercessory prayer.

Qatar was supposed to announce that if Hamas did not progress towards a prisoner swap deal, its leaders should have been removed from Doha by the Qatari authorities - but Qatar failed to keep its commitment to this, Israeli media reported. 

Qatar was also supposed to freeze some of the bank accounts of Hamas leaders. These steps were agreed on by Qatar and US representatives, as part of efforts to pressure Hamas to agree to the Egyptian proposal for a prisoner swap and ceasefire deal. 

However, the Qataris did not keep their commitments, nor did they explain their failure to do so to the US sources who asked about the matter. On the other hand, over the past few weeks, an adviser to Qatar’s Prime Minister criticized Israel and Hamas for the failure to reach an agreement. 

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden spoke Monday night, April 29, with Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar. During their conversation, Biden urged Emir Tamim to exert all efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas as this is now the only obstacle to an immediate ceasefire and relief for the people of Gaza. (INN / VFI News)

 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.” - Matthew 5:33-35

An unprecedented wave of antisemitism has been rising in the United States, including violent protests, tent encampments, harassment of Jewish and Israeli students, and aggressive anti-Israel and anti-Jewish messages. 

Those who monitored Qatar’s covert activity in the US and its massive financial influx saw it as a natural continuation of promoting extremist agendas under the guise of supporting science and students. 

“Qatar had ideological goals, primarily to promote the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood,” explained Dr. Charles Asher Small, CEO of the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism (ISGAP), and organization Vice Chairman David Harris, in a report by American media. 

In recent months, the Institute for the Study of Antisemitism published a series of studies and findings regarding Qatari funding in US universities. They highlighted its use to influence the agenda through hundreds of joint research projects, extensive personal data collection on students, significant universities operating campuses in Doha, and more. 

The main research, published in November 2023, revealed Qatar as the primary funder beyond the sea of American universities. The report - Networks of Hate - revealed that the Qatari SWF foundation transferred funds to various institutions and organizations in the US and Europe, including top universities, totaling between $500 billion and a trillion US dollars. (JPost / VFI News)

“God, we pray for an end to the discrimination our people face abroad. We pray that antisemitism be eradicated and that the funding from countries that support terror be stopped immediately. We trust in You, Lord, for protecting Jewish and Israeli students from every danger on and off campus.” 

Columbia University has been forced to close its campus indefinitely after an anti-Israel mob broke into an academic building early Tuesday morning, April 30. 

In a statement hours after anti-Israel agitators stormed the iconic Hamilton Hall on the Manhattan campus and barricaded its doors, the university said it would remain closed “until circumstances allow otherwise.” 

“Effective immediately, access to the Morningside campus has been limited to students residing in residential buildings on campus (Carman, Furnald, John Jay, Hartley, Wallach, East Campus, and Wien) and employees who provide essential services to campus buildings, labs, and residential student life (for example, Dining, Public Safety, and building maintenance staff). There is no additional access to the Morningside campus,” a statement from the university said. It added: “This access restriction will remain in place until circumstances allow otherwise.”

In the post, the university said that the safety of students remained “paramount” and thanked the community for “understanding” the current crisis. The lockdown came as an unruly mob of anti-Israel protesters broke into Hamilton Hall shortly before 1 a.m. (FN / VFI News)  

 “You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another.” - Matthew 10:22-23

Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned attempts to weaponize the International Criminal Court against Israel as the court considers issuing arrest warrants against Israeli leaders.

“As I have reiterated over the last months to leaders from around the world: Israel has the full right and duty to free our hostages and defend our citizens,” Herzog wrote on X on Tuesday, April 30. 

He continued, “The state of Israel, our military, and security forces are working tirelessly to achieve these goals, operating totally in accordance with international law. I unequivocally object to any attempt to abuse international legal institutions - including the ICC - to deny the state of Israel its basic rights. We have an independent and robust judicial system that knows how to investigate as needed.”

“Such actions will only serve to tie the hands of all free and democratic nations in the fight against terror, and must be strongly opposed,” the President concluded. 

The US and other G7 countries have expressed concern that an ICC decision to issue arrest warrants against Israeli officials could harm attempts to reach a deal to secure the release of the 133 hostages held by the Hamas terrorist organization and to reach a ceasefire. The ICC has stated that it is investigating both sides of the Israel-Hamas war. (INN / VFI News)

 “When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.” - Proverbs 21:15

Thousands of protesters marched through Hamburg over the weekend calling for an Islamic state in Germany and clutching signs that declared, “Caliphate is the solution.” 

Videos of the rally showed demonstrators chanting “Allahu akbar,” or “God is great,” and carrying copies of a local tabloid newspaper with stories about Islam that had been smeared with red paint. The demonstration was organized by the controversial group Muslim Interaktiv, which is currently being investigated by Hamburg’s domestic intelligence for “extremism,” according to British media. 

The group’s leader, Joe Adade Boateng, declared Germany needed a “righteous caliphate” to rectify the misrepresentation Muslim groups have faced in the media. Muslim Interaktiv wrote on social media that the demonstration was intended to take a stand against the “demoniz[nation of] all Islamic life in Germany.” “We will raise our voices together, inshallah,” a translated post on X read. 

Muslim Interaktiv had previously organized a demonstration of 3,500 people against the public burning of the Koran in Sweden in February of last year. They also held an anti-Israel demonstration after the Oct. 7 attack. 

German politicians have called out the group for its extremism, with some wondering how they have not been banned for their connections with Hizb ut-Tahrir, a pan-Islamist, fundamentalist political organization that looks to reestablish a caliphate. (NYP / VFI News)

 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” - Luke 6:27-28

An Israeli team has achieved a breakthrough in advanced radiocarbon dating techniques, enabling for the first time an “absolute chronology” of Jerusalem in the Iron Age, the time of the Kingdom of Judah and the First Temple, according to a press release from the Weizmann Institute of Science on Tuesday, April 30. 

The researchers studied 100 samples of securely dated and scientifically excavated organic material and concluded that ancient Jerusalem was larger and more urban than previously proven, especially during the 10th-12th centuries BCE, during what is commonly thought to be the time of King David and King Solomon. 

“Jerusalem is a living city; it’s not like a tel site that’s built as a sequence of layers,” said Dr. Elisabetta Boaretto, who led the Weizmann team. “This is a city that has been constantly rebuilt all this time, and the archaeological evidence is scattered. But despite these challenges, layers and layers of construction and the Hallstatt plateau, we were able to put together its absolute chronology during the Iron Age.” 

The study was published on Monday in the National Academy of Sciences peer-reviewed journal PNAS. The effort was led by researchers at Boaretto’s Dangoor Research Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Laboratory and archaeologists from the City of David site in Jerusalem from the Israel Antiquities Authority and Tel Aviv University. 

The results of the study have potential implications not just in the fields of Israeli and Biblical archaeology, but for Iron Age archaeology as a whole, as the researchers claim to have developed techniques that overcome an issue known as the “Hallstatt plateau,” in which traditional radiocarbon dating proves to be inaccurate when analyzing material from around 800-400 BCE, the late Iron Age. (TOI / VFI News) 

“Lord, we thank You for blessing us with more knowledge regarding Biblical times and the promised land. We are also extremely grateful for our scientists who are unveiling these findings and are contributing to significant discoveries regarding our history and ancestors.”

A new study by a team of researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev shows how they used a nanosized polymer to deliver a chemotherapy drug to safely and effectively eliminate colorectal cancer (CRC) metastases in the liver. 

They also presented evidence of how they used a polymer, a large chain molecule, to minimize metastasis of melanoma to the lung. The peer-reviewed study, done on mice, was published during the previous month. 

The study, led by PhD candidate Marie Rütter, demonstrated that delivering a small-molecule chemotherapy drug with the help of a larger-molecule polymer in a targeted way overcomes non-selective delivery and associated toxicity issues. 

“We selected a strategy to kill or harm the blood vessels that supply oxygen and nutrients to the tumor rather than directly target the cancer cells themselves. It was a very efficient method because once we cut off the blood supply to the tumors, it translated to the deaths of hundreds of cancer cells,” she noted. 

Half of the mice treated with the polymer went on to live the 100-day course of the experiment, appearing to have been cured of the cancer with no recurrence of the disease. The mice treated with the polymer also did much better than mice treated with conventional chemotherapy. (TOI / VFI News)

The suggestions, opinions, and scripture references made by VFI News writers and editors are based on the best information received.

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