VFI News Death Toll Rises to 1300, Emergency Government Forms; False Alarm from Lebanon

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Stay informed with the latest developments in Israel's ongoing conflict and the formation of an emergency war cabinet.

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The number of Israeli dead currently is up to 1,300 including 258 IDF casualties, with the number of wounded rising to 3,300 according to an MDA report. Additionally, the IDF announced on Friday morning that 120 families have been notified that their loved ones have been abducted to Gaza by Hamas.

IDF Air Force Chief Maj.-Gen. Tomer Bar said on Thursday, October 12, that he has a list of which Hamas officials masterminded and planned the invasion of southern Israel this past Saturday and that they will all disappear. He said that the IDF was continuing aggressive attacks from the air, having dropped more than 6,000 bombs on Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza.

IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi also said on Thursday, referring to Hamas Gaza Chief Yahya Sinwar, “This abominable attack was decided on by Yahya Sinwar, the sovereign in Gaza, which makes him and all of his apparatus under him dead men.”

Palestinian reports said that there were 1,417 dead Palestinians in Gaza, and the IDF has said that there were more than 1,000 dead Hamas terrorists within the Gaza corridor from the battles there. (JPost / VFI News)

“God, we pray for all the families that have lost a loved one and we ask that You bring them comfort by helping our soldiers apprehend the terrorists behind their murders. We also pray for the civilians that have been abducted by Hamas and we pray that they will be rescued and return to their homes as soon as possible. We offer our heartfelt condolences to all these families and pray that they will never experience such depravities again.”

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.

An emergency government was formed on Wednesday afternoon, October 11, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and National Unity leader Benny Gantz met in the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv earlier in the morning.

The meeting lasted half an hour after which lawyers representing the Likud and National Unity stayed behind to finalize the details. Netanyahu and Gantz have held multiple meetings over the past few days to discuss the details of the emergency government, but it took five days to come together.

As part of the deal, Gantz and fellow party members Gadi Eisenkot, Gideon Sa'ar, Chili Tropper, and Yifat Shasha-Biton will be sworn in as ministers for the duration of the war.

Gantz will join a war cabinet with Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Eisenkot and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer will be observers. A spot will be kept open for opposition leader Yair Lapid should he join the emergency government.

The agreement also states that throughout the war, no legislation that is unrelated to the war will be done in the Knesset. The announcement was met with praise from across the coalition and opposition. (JPost /VFI News)

“God, we ask that You assist the leaders of Israel in making the right decisions amid the ongoing war. We pray that they will act reliably and guide our defense forces into facing the enemies successfully and re-establishing peace in our country.”

Hamas terrorists in an ISIS-like manner burned people alive, raped victims, and shot babies in the head when they assaulted southern Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israelis in a late-night address, Wednesday, October 11.

“Hamas is ISIS and we will destroy it like the world destroyed ISIS,” he said during a press conference with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (Likud) and former defense minister Benny Gantz who heads the National Unity party and who agreed on Wednesday to join the emergency government.

“We are fighting with full force on all fronts. We have gone over to the offensive. Every Hamas member is a dead man,” Netanyahu said. “We saw bound children shot in the head, people burned while they were still alive and young people who were raped,” he explained.

Gallant said that the Jewish people had not endured anything like this since the Holocaust. The situation was brought under control only by the unprecedented heroism of civilians, soldiers, and police, Gallant said.

He pledged that Israel would wipe Hamas off the face of the earth. “There is no situation in which children are killed” and the situation is just ignored, Gallant said.

“Our standing here, shoulder to shoulder, is a clear message to our enemies, and more importantly, a message to all citizens of Israel – we are all together, we are all mobilizing,” Gantz said. The new emergency unity government, he said, was not born of a “political partnership” but of “a shared fate.” (JPost / VFI News)

“For they cannot rest until they do evil; they are robbed of sleep til they make someone stumble. They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.” - Proverbs 4:16-17

The IDF has ruled out an aerial infiltration from Lebanon after warning sirens were activated in many communities in northern Israel on Wednesday, October 11. The sirens were activated due to a technical malfunction.

Combat helicopters were dispatched to shoot the potential threats out of the sky. The IDF later stated that so far no crashes have been detected in Israeli territory and no casualties have been reported.

A security source stated that it was suspected that the craft that crossed the Lebanese border was sent to attack military bases in central Israel, and not to attack communities in the north. In the end, the IDF stated that the investigation had found that there had been no infiltration and that the alarms had been activated due to a malfunction.

However, also on Wednesday, a Lebanese imam affiliated with Hezbollah told American media that there were thousands of “martyrs” in Lebanon prepared to join Hamas and “sacrifice themselves against Israel.”

He added, “If Hezbollah does decide to enter the war, it would be a game changer. Hezbollah is so much more powerful than Hamas because it has partial governance over the entire country of Lebanon. It enjoys so much more support from Iran and other actors in the Middle East, and its people have freedom of movement, they can leave the country, they can come and go, unlike Hamas, which is stuck inside that blockaded enclave on the Mediterranean coast.” (INN / VFI News)

“God, we ask that You help us protect all of our borders and retain Israel’s sovereignty. We pray that we will not need to expand the war and face more enemies, but we trust that regardless of the situation, the outcome will be favorable for our country.”

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Intelligence collected from the battle with Hamas in the Gaza Strip periphery proves that the terrorist group planned to conquer the area and hold it for an indefinite period, the IDF said Wednesday, October 11.

Equipment, logistical items, and other data indicated that the terrorists expected to stay in the area and came prepared for such an operation, before facing a faster and more powerful counterattack than what they had foreseen, it said.

If Hamas succeeded in surprising the IDF and Israel completely at stage one of the invasion, it is clear that the IDF’s second-round response – as opposed to a longer period of shock, waiting, and negotiation over hostages – took Hamas by surprise.

The IDF announced on Friday, that IAF aircraft, with the help of aerial intelligence, attacked dozens of positions used by Hamas to launch hostile drones. Meanwhile, health Minister Moshe Arbel issued a directive to the public health system in Israel to refuse to treat captured terrorists.

Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov) announced on Wednesday evening that a terrorist who had been brought to the hospital was not admitted to the emergency room and was instead sent to the prison service's clinic in Ramle for treatment. (JPost / VFI News)

“Though they plot evil against you and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed.” - Psalm 21:11

The Israel Air Force was striking in the Gaza Strip on an “unprecedented scale” Wednesday, October 11, according to senior Air Force officer Brig. Gen. Omer Tishler, as Israel focused its efforts on targeting Hamas officials.

Tishler, the Israel Air Force’s chief of staff, said: “There is an enemy here firing rockets, raiding a civilian population. We will never allow that again.” Tishler noted that the IAF was not targeting civilians in the Gaza Strip, but that the strikes were no longer “surgical.”

“We do not act like the other side, we do not attack the civilian population. Behind every attack there is a target,” he said. “We act precisely and professionally but not surgically. I’m not talking about single, tens, or hundreds [of strikes]. We are talking about thousands of munitions.”

Earlier Wednesday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi told reservist officers at the Southern Command base in Beersheba that the military was focusing efforts on targeting Hamas officials. The IDF has carried out strikes against at least 2,687 targets across the Gaza Strip since Saturday, 1,329 of which were multi-story buildings containing Hamas assets, including war rooms where the terror group manages the fighting against Israel.

On Wednesday afternoon, Gaza’s only power plant ran out of fuel, forcing it to shut down after Israel cut off supplies. That leaves only generators to power the territory — but they also run on fuel that is in short supply. (TOI / VFI News)

“You, Lord, will keep the needy safe and will protect us forever from the wicked.” - Psalm 12:7

Four out of five Jewish Israelis believe the government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are to blame for the mass infiltration of Hamas terrorists into Israel and the massacre that followed, a new Dialog Center poll released on Thursday, October 12, found.

An overwhelming majority – 86% of respondents, including 79% of coalition supporters, said the surprise attack from Gaza is a failure of the country’s leadership, while a staggering 92% said the war is causing anxiety.

Furthermore, almost all the respondents (94%) believe the government must bear some responsibility for the lack of security preparedness that led to the assault, with over 75% saying the government holds most of the responsibility.

Meanwhile, Israel's National Security Council and Foreign Ministry have published a statement warning that the Hamas terror group has called on its supporters to hold a "Day of Rage" on Friday, October 13, and to harm Jews and Israelis around the world.

According to the statement, it is probable that pro-Hamas rallies will be held and can deteriorate into violent incidents. In light of this, the National Security Council and Foreign Ministry recommend all Israelis abroad be alert, avoid demonstrations, and, if needed, notify the local authorities of a possible protest or riot in their area. (JPost / VFI News)

It is a story that President Joe Biden must have told a thousand times over the years, if not more. Never was it more poignant than in his telling to a national audience from the White House on Tuesday afternoon, October 10.

“Over 50 years ago, as a young senator, I visited Israel for the first time, as a newly elected senator,” he said, going on to describe a meeting with then-prime minister Golda Meir just before the Yom Kippur War, and an exchange with her at a photo opportunity outside her office.

“We were standing there silent, looking at the press. She could tell, I guess, I was concerned. She leaned over and whispered to me – she said, ‘Don’t worry, Senator Biden. We have a secret weapon here in Israel’ – my word, this is what she said – ‘We have no place else to go. We have no place else to go.’”

He added, “For 75 years, Israel has stood as the ultimate guarantor of the security of Jewish people around the world, so that the atrocities of the past could never happen again,” he said. “And let there be no doubt: The United States has Israel’s back.”

Then, in a line that uncannily sums up the prevalent feeling right now in Israel, he added: “Our hearts may be broken, but our resolve is clear.”

This was not an Israeli spokesperson trying to convince a skeptical interviewer of the justification for Israeli bombing raids in Gaza. This was the president of the United States speaking to the American people – a US president who just set a new standard of support for the Jewish state and the Jewish people in times of tragedy and war. (JPost / VFI News)

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.” - Proverbs 17:17

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

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