VFI News Hamas Murders One, Injures 18 in Terror Attacks, Launches on IDF from Nasser Hospital

This week's VFI News covers significant diplomatic achievements for Israel, including the UK's proscription of Hizb ut-Tahrir as a terrorist organization.

The Israeli Ice Hockey team also received positive news, gaining approval to compete in the 2024 IIHF U20 World Championship.

However, tensions in the region escalate as Iran launches missiles at Pakistan, and challenges persist in Gaza. Stay tuned for updates on these crucial developments.

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Hamas claimed responsibility for the combined ramming and stabbing attacks in Ra’anana on Monday afternoon, January 15, which left over a dozen people wounded and one person dead. A terrorist stabbed a woman while another stole a car and proceeded to carry out ramming attacks in several locations, Israel Police confirmed.

One terrorist swapped vehicles three times after crashing, the police stated. The terrorists were Muhammad Zaidat, 44, and Ahmed Zaidat, 24, both from Hebron and were later arrested. Two people were slightly injured after being run over on Haroshet Street, where a 66-year-old man was also seriously stabbed.

An additional fifteen people were injured to varying degrees, including a 34-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy in serious condition with head injuries, as a result of the ramming on Ahuza Street, the main street of the city. France’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that two of the wounded parties hold French citizenship.

The director of the emergency medicine department at the Schneider Pediatric Center said that seven children were brought in for treatment. Six of the children are aged between 10-16 and are in mild condition. Three of the victims overall are in serious condition, seven are in moderate condition, and five are lightly injured.

“Initially, it was unclear whether this was a terrorist attack or a vehicular incident. However, following swift action by the Kfar Saba police, we understood that there were two terrorists involved and two separate scenes. Once we grasped the magnitude of the incident, we deployed forces immediately,” Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai said.

“Ultimately, thanks to determined action, a very quick pursuit, and the lockdown of the areas, we managed to apprehend the second terrorist. Both terrorists are residents of Hebron, family members who entered the area illegally.” (JPost / VFI News)

“Lord, we offer our sincerest condolences to the Israeli family mourning the loss of their loved one, and we ask that You comfort them during this intense period of grief. We pray for everyone who was injured during the terrorist attacks and we hope that they will recover as soon as possible, regardless of the severity of their condition. We especially pray for all the children who were wounded during the attack and we hope that Your merciful hand will protect and restore them. May You shield us from any imminent terrorist attacks and bless us with Your provisions.”

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.

Earlier this week, a launch was identified toward IDF troops operating in northern Khan Yunis. IDF systems show that the launch was carried out from within the Nasser Hospital.

“The Hamas terrorist organization systematically operates in Gaza’s hospitals and nearby areas, using civilians as human shields and exploiting hospital infrastructure including electricity and water,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit stated.

Ahmed Kahlot, the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Jabalya, Gaza, confessed to the Shin Bet that the Hamas terrorist organization used his hospital as a military facility. During his interrogation, Kahlot describes how Hamas uses hospitals for military purposes, including hiding its operatives, carrying out military activity, moving around Hamas members, and even bringing a captured soldier to the hospital.

“They hide in hospitals because for them a hospital is a safe place. They won’t be targeted when they are inside a hospital,” Kahlot said. He said that he was recruited into the Hamas terrorist organization in 2010. “I know 16 employees in the hospital - doctor, nurse, paramedic, or clerks… who also have different positions in al-Qassam.”

“There are offices where the Hamas leader and two of the senior officials were. There’s a place where the soldier was in (the kidnapped soldier). There’s a place for the interrogators, internal security, and special security. All of them have private telephone lines inside the hospital.”

He added: “They [Hamas] have a private ambulance, even its color and the way it’s painted are different, and it doesn’t have a license plate. They used it to transport the soldier [kidnapped] and transport bodies… It didn’t assist us with transporting the injured.” (INN / VFI News)

“Lord, we pray for the elimination of the Hamas terrorist organization. We trust that You will help us eliminate its terrorists and stop its operations for good. We pray for a peaceful Israel where all citizens can live without fear, have all the means to prosper, and continually choose to praise You.”

The head of an Israeli soldier who was decapitated by Hamas terrorists on October 7 was put up for sale in Gaza for $10,000, it has emerged. Sergeant Adir Tahar, 19, from Jerusalem, was murdered by the terrorists after they threw grenades at him as they rampaged through southern Israel and massacred 1,200 Israelis.

The gunmen then beheaded the young soldier and took his severed head back to Gaza, his heartbroken father David Tahar told Israeli media as he blasted the “insanely barbaric” violation of his son’s body. David, overcome with grief, was forced to bury his son’s mutilated body before vowing to do everything in his power to bring Adir’s head home and give him “peace of mind and body.”

After a grueling two and a half months, IDF soldiers finally recovered the 19-year-old’s head inside a duffel bag filled with tennis balls in a freezer in Gaza, David said. The IDF later told him that after an interrogation of two Hamas terrorists, it emerged that one of them had tried to sell Adir’s head for $10,000 (£8,000) in Gaza.

“It's insanely barbaric,” David said, as the father detailed how in the depths of his despair he had found a video online showing his son’s decapitated body.

“The terrorists, the barbarians, they beheaded him and took the head to Gaza. I did everything I could, it wasn’t easy, in the end, I got a body without a head. I insisted that the army let me see the body,” David said. “They tried to explain to me that I should not see it.” (DM / VFI News)

“God, we pray for the grief-stricken family of Sergeant Adir Tahar, and we ask that You bring them comfort and peace. We offer our heartfelt condolences to the family and to anyone who mourns the sergeant. We pray that no one experiences what this father has and that everyone can at least bury their dead with dignity. We urge all international leaders to come together, take a stand, and condemn such indescribable violations of human rights.”

On Wednesday, January 17, the Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi, visited a reservists exercise in northern Israel, together with the Commanding Officer of the Northern Command, MG Ori Gordin, the Commanding Officer of the Training Command, MG David Zini and additional commanders.

The exercise is part of a series of training exercises currently taking place in northern Israel led by the Ground Forces Training Center.

Halevi stated: “Training has always been a very important thing, I think it is much more important now. We are in a time of increasing readiness for fighting in Lebanon. We have a lot of lessons from the fighting in Gaza, many of which are very relevant to fighting in Lebanon, and there are some that must be adapted.”

“We want to reach a very clear goal in Lebanon - this is to return the residents to the north, all of the communities in the north.”

“We understand that this must come through a very significant change. I don’t know when the war in the north is, I can tell you that the likelihood of it happening in the coming months is much higher than it was in the past, I can tell you that I think we are starting it with many more advantages: victory, our self-confidence, their confidence is decreasing, a lot of experience, capabilities, surprises to produce, progress made.” (INN / VFI News)

“Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” - Hebrews 12:14

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Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi sees the military campaign being waged against Israel on various fronts as the beginning of the road towards the elimination of the “Zionist entity”.

In a speech on Sunday, January 14, at an international conference being held in Tehran, Raisi said that the Palestinian problem has now turned from the first problem of importance for the Islamic world to the first problem of importance for all of humanity.

Raisi noted that “the liberation of Jerusalem is the top priority of the Islamic world, and the concept of the resistance and the firm stand that has developed in Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Iraq and Yemen is the only way to deal with arrogance and injustice.”

If “the other side does not agree to talks and negotiations, then the only logic against it is the force, the firm stand and the resistance,” continued the Iranian President.

The Iranian President also said, “The occupation must be ended, Israel must be punished, persecuted and forced to pay reparations.” He stressed that “continuing the occupation will not lead to sovereignty or legitimacy.” (INN / VFI News)

“I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.” - Psalm 120:7

The Shin Bet recently revealed a network to recruit and handle Israeli citizens by Iranian security forces, with the goal of carrying out missions in Israel. It has been disclosed that these missions involve photographing residential addresses of security forces members who appear frequently in the media and speak out against Iran.

The Iranian security agencies have also been making manipulative use of online platforms and promoting activities against the families of hostages - including gathering crowds near the families’ homes and sending flowers. All these are done with the use of fictitious online platforms.

As part of the protests for the return of the hostages, the Iranian security forces are promoting the hanging of signs drafted by the Iranians, photographing demonstrators, filling out “surveys” and more on these platforms. To fill out the “surveys”, people must fill out personal information forms and detail their qualifications leading to fake links, all to collect information about Israeli citizens and use them to implement security tasks.

1. Tears of war – promotes extortion and extremism to regularly recruit Israelis to carry out tasks related to the hostages, publishing “job offers” on casual job search websites and groups. Fictitious profiles addressed to Israelis from this platform are “Deborah”, “Noa” and “Tamir”, online profiles that have long been suspected by alert Israeli citizens and warnings have been published about them.

2. A Telegram channel called “BringHomeNow” embeds itself in authentic online activity under similar names and hashtags. Its main purpose is to collect details of Israelis through a referral to a “volunteer” form where users fill in personal details.

3. “Kan +” - a platform pretending to be engaged in research and surveys, using almost the same graphic features of “Kan 11.” Its purpose is to “phish” for details of Israelis who apply and respond to these surveys.

4. “Fist” and “hasrotonim” appear online as accounts based in Iran alongside platforms. “Israel the Second” and “The Avengers” - other platforms that have been reported as fake, hostile, and are suspected of being Iranian - all four impersonate interactions from different political parties to flare up political discourse and deepen the divide in Israel. (INN / VFI News)

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” - 1 Peter 5:8

The Council of the European Union (EU) on Tuesday, January 16, added Yahya Sinwar, the political leader of Hamas, to their terrorist list, three months after the Hamas rampage in Israel on October 7.

The Council also added Ahmed Khaled Muller, a member of Al-Shabab in Somalia, to its autonomous sanctions list against ISIS and Al-Qaida.

The individuals added to the terrorist list are now subject to the freezing of their funds and other financial assets in EU member states, while EU operators are prohibited from making funds and economic resources available to them.

The Council stated, “The EU remains committed to taking decisive action against those who continue to threaten international peace and security by planning, financing, and committing terrorist attacks and by spreading their deadly propaganda around the world.”

The Council of the EU had already added Mohammed Deif, Commander General of the military wing of Hamas, the Ezzedin al-Qassam Brigade, and Marwan Issa, the deputy Commander of the military wing of Hamas, on December 8. Their funds and financial assets were also frozen.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the U.S. government returned the Yemen-based Houthi rebels to a list of terrorist groups. Officials said the “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” (SDGT) designation, which hits the Iran-aligned group with harsh sanctions, was aimed at cutting off funding and weapons the Houthis have used to attack or hijack ships in vital Red Sea shipping lanes. (JPost / VFI News)

“Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked.” - Proverbs 3:25

British media reported on Thursday, January 18, that Arab states are currently working on a plan for a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza that would be included in a broader plan to normalize relations with Israel if it would agree to “irreversible steps” toward the foundation of a Palestinian state.

An Arab official told the British newspaper that they hope to present the plan in the coming weeks, with the hope of ending the war and preventing it from spreading.

The plan, which Arab officials have discussed with their American and European counterparts, would include Western nations agreeing to formally recognize a Palestinian state, or supporting the Palestinians being granted full membership of the UN.

The official told the newspaper that “the real issue is you need hope for Palestinians, it can’t just be economic benefits or removal of symbols of occupation.”

Regarding the current Israeli government the official stated: “Given the Israeli body politic today, normalization is maybe what can bring Israelis off the cliff.” (INN / 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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