I guess we should not be shocked at the inhumanity of Hamas terrorists. Someone today tweeted that we’re going to have to apologize to barbarians for using that term to refer to Hamas.
Yesterday, four bodies were returned to Israel, after a grotesque, highly-staged ceremony by Hamas in Gaza. While the remains of the two young Bibas boys were positively identified, Ariel and Kfir, the body that was shipped in a coffin with them was not that of their mother, Shiri.
The third body, purported to be Shiri Bibas, was not in the Israeli DNA system and the body remains unidentified. Hamas now admits they sent an “unknown Gazan woman” in her place.
The remains of the fourth body, 83-year-old humanitarian Oded Lifshitz, were confirmed.
And all this, after a disgusting propaganda event when Hamas handed over the cadavers, complete with a weapons show for Gazan children, further glorifying their culture of blood. A picture of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu portrayed as a vampire above the four slain Israelis, as if to say Hamas are not the monsters, but Bibi. But most assumed that all four bodies belonged to the victims.
The Israeli Defense Forces issued a statement saying,
“This is a very serious violation by the Hamas terrorist organization, which is required by the agreement to return four dead hostages. We demand that Hamas return Shiri home, along with all of our hostages. We share the deep sorrow of the Bibas family at this difficult time and will continue to make every effort to return Shiri and all the hostages home as soon as possible.”
Deadly Terror Attack Averted
Last night, terrorists from a West Bank terror cell apparently set their bombs to go off at 9 PM when the buses were empty instead of 9 AM this morning. Thanks to Providence or the incompetency of the terrorists (or both), no Israelis were killed. But last night at 9 PM, three empty buses exploded just south of Tel Aviv in the city of Bat Yam.
The Bat Yam municipality issued a statement saying, “Miraculously, the buses arrived at the parking lots a moment before the explosion.”
Elana and I in Thailand
I was going to share today some funny stories about being in Thailand for our 60th birthdays. There are so many Israelis here that you hear Hebrew more than just about any other language if you’re out taking a walk. I was going to tell you about feeding elephants and the Thai guides that seem to be fluent in basic Hebrew, and a few other silly anecdotes … but there’s nothing funny about being part of a people group that has been targeted for millennia.
Just when you think this war is ending, the hostages are coming home and there seems to be a commitment from at least the US government to keep Hamas from ever gaining power again, we are reminded that the average Israeli might be only a bus ride away from becoming a terror statistic.
As believers, we must keep our eyes focused on that which is coming. The Bible seems to teach that the world is going to get worse before the coming of Yeshua. Our present occupation is to share the good news of salvation with Israel and the nations.
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