4 IDF Lookouts Released on Saturday, One Still With A Bullet in Her Leg

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After 477 Days in Captivity: Liri, Naama, Daniella, and Karina Return Home to Israel

Freed Hostage Found to Have a Bullet in Her Leg; Released Hostages Celebrate Shabbat with Their Families

Netanyahu’s Office: Arbel Yehud, Agam Breger, and One Other Hostage Will Be Released on Thursday

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Hamas Executes Alleged ‘Collaborators’ with Israel

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Global Antisemitism Surged 340% in Two Years, Report Finds

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4 IDF Lookouts Released on Saturday, One Still With A Bullet in Her Leg . . . . 

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/91bojB_t0aI

Today, on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, let us commemorate and pay tribute to all the Jewish people who lost their lives to the Nazi regime, as well as the ones who survived the Holocaust. May you take this day to honor them and reflect on the deaths and horrors these people experienced. We pray in Yeshua’s name that such indescribable atrocities will never take place again, that antisemitism in all its forms is removed from the world, and that the Lord will protect His people from wicked leaders and terrorists.

Four of the five IDF lookouts kidnapped during the October 7 massacre from the Nahal Oz military post were released from Hamas captivity on Saturday, January 25. 

Liri Albag (19), Naama Levy (20), Karina Ariev (20), and Daniella Gilboa (20), were brought to Israel from Gaza by the Red Cross - the same Red Cross that refused to visit them during the 15 months they were held in captivity.  The fifth lookout, Agam Berger, is still held by Hamas.

The four hostages were turned over to the Red Cross at the center of Falastin Square in Gaza, as the square was full of terrorists watching. 

The IDF and ISA said that an elite unit and an ISA force accompanied the four young women on their way home, ahead of an initial medical assessment. 

Following their arrival, the hostages and their parents “boarded an Israeli Air Force helicopter to make their way to the hospital, where they will be reunited with the rest of their families and receive medical treatment.”  

The helicopters were equipped with dry-erase boards, appropriate markers, and blankets and headphones. Lt. Col. A. stressed to the team, “Understand the immense privilege you have, and above all, the great responsibility you bear — to receive the returning hostages and safely fly them to the hospital.” (INN / VFI News)

“Our Heavenly Father, we thank You for mediating the release of four additional hostages. We are grateful to You for helping them persevere, strengthening, and comforting them. We pray in Yeshua’s name that they will have a smooth transition into today’s reality and that You will heal them and give them the rest they need. May You erase all hurtful memories from their minds and allow them to grieve the time and people they lost during this tragic ordeal.”

Etti Schwartz, aunt of freed hostage Daniella Gilboa, shared the immense excitement over Daniella’s release from Hamas captivity after 477 days. 

“I cannot share much, but I was told she ate a pita or two a day until their stomachs swelled. Sometimes they would cook, but wouldn’t eat. She was in a tunnel, in the dark, but they were together; that's the luck,” she shared with Israeli media. 

The girls themselves testified on learning the Arabic language: “They learned fluent Arabic, spoke with their captors, and even with the captors’ children.” 

“Daniela looks good. She still has a bullet in her leg, which hasn’t been removed yet. You could see it in the video of her capture when she hopped on one foot,” Etti said. “As for her mood – she’s okay, smiling. I hope it stays that way.” 

Meanwhile, Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher were released from the hospital on Sunday, January 26, exactly one week after they were released by their Hamas captors following more than 15 months as hostages. The three underwent examinations and received treatment over the last week at Sheba Medical Center. 

On Friday night, Romi, Emily, and Doron enjoyed their first Shabbat evening dinners with their families in 67 weeks. Romi’s parents and siblings released a video in which they said, “Shabbat Shalom to the great nation of Israel, in a few minutes we will recite Kiddush with the amazing Romi for the first time in 67 weeks.” (INN / VFI News)

“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Hamashiach Yeshua.” - Philippians 4:4-7

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Office confirmed on Sunday night, January 26, that hostage Arbel Yehud and two other hostages will be released this week, regardless of the next phase of hostage release, scheduled for Saturday.  

“After tough and determined negotiations led by Prime Minister Netanyahu, Hamas has backed down and will carry out another phase of hostage release this coming Thursday,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.  

“As part of this phase, civilian Arbel Yehud, soldier Agam Berger, and another hostage will be released. Additionally, three more hostages will be released next Saturday in accordance with the agreement.”  

“Simultaneously, Israel received from Hamas a list detailing the condition of all hostages scheduled for release in phase A. As part of these agreements, Israel will allow, starting tomorrow morning, the movement of Gazans to the northern part of the Strip,” the Prime Minister’s Office stated.  

“The Prime Minister reiterates that Israel will not tolerate any violation of the agreement. We will continue to work for the return home of all our hostages - both the living and the deceased.” Earlier, Qatar had also announced that Yehud and two additional hostages would be released before Friday, in exchange for the opening of the Netzarim Corridor. (INN / VFI News)

“Dear Lord, we thank You for the continual release of the hostages, as well as the negotiations of our leaders with the enemies. We pray in Yeshua’s name that You take charge of the negotiations and make them as beneficial for our hostages and unfavorable to Hamas as possible. We pray for permanent peace, stability, and the neutralization of the terrorists.” 

The Palestinian terror group Hamas has recruited between 10,000 and 15,000 members since the start of its war with Israel, according to two congressional sources briefed on US intelligence, suggesting the Iran-backed fighters could remain a persistent threat to Israel.  

The intelligence indicates a similar number of Hamas fighters have been killed during that period, the sources said. The latest official US estimates have not been previously reported. 

The sources briefed on the intelligence, which was included in a series of updates from US intelligence agencies in the final weeks of the Biden administration, said that while Hamas has successfully recruited new members, many are young and untrained and are being used for simple security purposes. The US Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment.

On January 14, then-president Joe Biden’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States believed Hamas had recruited almost as many fighters as it had lost in the Palestinian enclave, cautioning that this was a “recipe for an enduring insurgency and perpetual war.”  

He did not provide further details about the assessment, but Israeli figures have put the total terrorist death toll in Gaza at around 20,000. “Each time Israel completes its military operations and pulls back, Hamas militants regroup and reemerge because there’s nothing else to fill the void,” Blinken said. (TOI / VFI News)

“When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increases; but the righteous will see their fall.” - Proverbs 29:16

Today is the International Holocaust Remembrance Day and we remember the 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust by the Nazis. Vision for Israel serves Holocaust Survivors and provides love and friendship, food, warmth, and life's necessities. These survivors deserve to grow old with dignity after the terrible horrors they went through! Thank you for your support as we continue to love and serve the survivors of the Holocaust in Israel. We will remember and not forget.

Hamas terrorists on Thursday, January 23, reportedly executed several individuals accused of being “collaborators” with Israel in the Gaza Strip, as shown in a video on a Telegram account.  

According to a report in Israeli media, the video, posted to Gaza Now’s Telegram account, depicts more than a dozen armed Hamas terrorists, many wearing uniforms, firing on three men who are lying on the ground.  

The accompanying caption reads: “The moment of punishing the agents of the Zionist occupation who caused the killing of thousands of our Palestinian people in Gaza.” The authenticity of the video has not yet been independently verified.  

Hamas, which took over the Gaza Strip in a bloody coup in 2007, regularly claims to have captured “Israeli spies,” and many times it tries them and sentences them to death.  

In September of 2022, Hamas authorities executed two Palestinian Arabs who were convicted of assisting Israel by giving it information that resulted in the deaths of two people.  

In May of 2023, a military court in the Gaza Strip sentenced several Palestinian Arabs who were convicted of providing information to Israel to be executed by hanging and by firing squad. (INN/VFI News)  

“But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” - Revelation 21:8

UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, must leave all its “premises” in Jerusalem by January 30, Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon said Friday, January 24, affirming timelines set out in controversial legislation passed last year.  

Danon wrote to United Nations chief Antonio Guterres on Friday, “UNRWA is required to cease its operations in Jerusalem and evacuate all premises in which it operates in the city no later than 30 January 2025.”

Without coordination with Israel, it will be almost impossible for UNRWA to work in Gaza or Judea and Samaria, since Jerusalem would no longer be issuing entrance permits to those territories or allowing coordination with the IDF. Israel also currently controls access to Gaza from Egypt, with Israeli forces deployed along the border.  

The agency has faced criticism from Israel that has escalated since the war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught on southern Israel, including claims that a dozen UNRWA employees were involved in the deadly assault.  

Israel alleges that more than 10 percent of UNRWA’s staff in Gaza have ties to terrorist factions and that educational facilities under the organization’s auspices consistently incite hatred of Israel and glorify terror.  (TOI/VFI News)

“He who hates, disguises it with his lips, and lays up deceit within himself; when he speaks kindly, do not believe him, for there are seven abominations in his heart; though his hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness will be revealed before the assembly.” - Proverbs 26:24-26

The year 2024 was a “peak year” for antisemitism, with a 340 percent increase in total antisemitic incidents worldwide compared to 2022, according to a new report published by the World Zionist Organization and the Jewish Agency for Israel. Compared to 2023, the number of antisemitic incidents nearly doubled. 

The report used 2022 as its benchmark because it was a relatively normal year, unlike 2023, when Hamas launched its war with Israel on October 7.  

The report broke the data down by geographical location. In the United States, there was a 288% increase in antisemitic incidents, peaking in April 2024. 

In Canada, the situation was even worse, with a 562% increase in antisemitic incidents, a quarter of which were violent, the report said. 

The trends were equally concerning in Europe. In France, there was an increase of over 350% in antisemitic incidents, with 28% involving violence, the report found. In the United Kingdom, there was a 450% increase in antisemitic incidents, with almost 2,000 incidents in the first half of 2024 alone. (TOI/VFI News)

“Dear God, we pray that You protect all of Your people from antisemitism and hate crimes. Please, help them feel safe in their countries of residence and equip the national forces with the necessary means to combat and thwart antisemitic attacks. We pray in Yeshua’s name that You will keep being our fortress, rock, and source of comfort. We thank You for who You are and Your unconditional love for us.” 

A “loud proud Zionist” organization sent the Trump administration documents on dozens of allegedly pro-terrorist college students and faculty, hoping President Donald Trump would deport them, according to American media.  

Activist group Betar US confirmed to the American news outlet on Wednesday, January 22, that it sent the information to officials in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the White House. 

The Jewish organization says it documented 100 students and 20 faculty and staff members with visas in the US whom Trump should deport for supporting terrorist groups such as Hamas.  

“We say that those who stand with Hamas and terror organizations are enemies of the US and have no place in this great country,” Betar US spokesperson Jonathan Levy told the news outlet in an email. 

“We are intently focused on ensuring that Jews are safe and [we] are sick and tired of universities making excuses.” Levy said his group reported anti-Israel students at campuses such as the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Michigan, New York University, Cooper Union, “and dozens of other egregious schools which have tolerated and encouraged Jew-hatred.” (DC /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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