Iran Ordered Hezbollah to Carry out Attacks on Israel’s North – IDF: Iran ordered Hezbollah to escalate against Israel on Sunday, October 15, IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Daniel Hagari said in his Monday morning press conference. “If Hezbollah fails to understand us, the response will be deadly,” said Hagari, repeating the sentence for emphasis.
There has been an ongoing debate about whether Iran was involved more generally, with general training, funding, and logistics support, or with specific direction and responsibility for Hamas’ invasion of the South on October 7, but Hagari was unambiguous about his accusation on Monday.
Sirens were heard in western Galilee on Sunday afternoon close to the Lebanon border in the towns of Nahariya, Rosh Hanikra, Hanita, Gesher HaZiv, Betzet, and Shlomi.
Hamas in Lebanon took responsibility for the rocket fire. A spokesperson for the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya announced they received eight people who had been wounded by the rocket fire. The IDF responded by attacking military infrastructure in southern Lebanon with helicopters.
Besides Hamas in Lebanon, there were also reports of Hezbollah firing systematically to destroy IDF border surveillance equipment to blind its early warning invasion capabilities, much as Hamas made sure to eliminate many IDF border surveillance capabilities on October 7 as it was invading Israel’s Gaza corridor.
Earlier, on Friday, Israeli drones, artillery, and tanks struck targets in Lebanon after an apparent drone was intercepted, shots were fired at several military posts on the northern frontier and an explosion damaged the border security barrier, the Israel Defense Forces said.
Further, Hezbollah took responsibility for the firing of anti-tank missiles at IDF outposts near the Lebanon border, killing one man and wounding four others. As a result, the IDF announced on Sunday the creation of a four-kilometer “security zone” on the border to prevent any non-residents from entering the area. (JPost / VFI News)
“God, we ask that You protect our people and help our defense personnel guard all our borders successfully. We pray that the war will soon be over and that no additional enemy will try to compromise Israel’s security. We also pray for the families of the deceased and of those who are held hostage and for the people who have been injured during the vile Hamas and Hezbollah attacks. Lord, we ask that You please comfort these families and help the wounded recover as soon as possible.”
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.
Iran’s Arch-Terrorist Was Architect of Hamas Massacre of 1,400 People: Report: The Iranian regime’s organized plan to aid Hamas in its massacre of 1,400 people, including 30 Americans, was front-and-center in the thinking of the dictator who rules over Iran, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) recently published a shocking report noting that Khamenei hinted on two different occasions, in 2022 and 2023, at “The Complete Conquest” of Israel in his media mouthpiece Kayhan.
According to a MEMRI translation from Khamenei’s propaganda outlet, Kayhan, the plan of mass murder was engineered by the late Iranian global terrorist Qassem Soleimani in 2020. The U.S. military assassinated Soleimani in early January 2020 for his overseeing the killing of over 600 American military personnel.
Kayhan wrote, according to the translation, that in August 2023, “The significance is that, last year, the Leader [Khamenei] gave ‘the promise of the imminent conquest,’ and this year he gave ‘the announcement of the complete conquest,’ and Operation Al-Aqsa Flood is part of this imminent conquest.”
“This promise and announcement, along with the clarity and power of [Khamenei’s] statements and positions in his meeting [with leaders and ambassadors of Islamic countries] on the occasion of the Prophet [Muhammad’s] birthday, have profound significance and content.”
Meanwhile, on Saturday, October 14, Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh met with Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, in Qatar. (FN / VFI News)
“The wicked band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.” – Psalm 94:21
Israel Says Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar Is Their Bin Laden and that IDF Won’t Stop Hunting Him: Israeli troops on Saturday, October 14, were hunting a Hamas commander described as Palestine’s Osama bin Laden, vowing to find him wherever he was hiding and insisting his days were numbered.
Yahya Sinwar, 60, is the current head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. He has been arrested by Israel multiple times and spent 24 years in Israeli prisons: he was freed in 2011, as part of a prisoner swap in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
Sinwar is being held responsible for the murder of 1,400 Israelis in the October 7 attack. The U.S. death toll rose to 29 on Saturday, with 15 missing, believed to be held hostage inside Gaza. “Yahya Sinwar is the face of evil,” said Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, a spokesman for the IDF.
“He is the mastermind behind this, like bin Laden was. He built his career on murdering Palestinians when he understood they were collaborators. That’s how he became known as the butcher of Khan Younis [in southern Gaza].”
Hecht said that Israeli troops would not rest until he was found and killed. “That man and his whole team are in our sights. We will get to that man,” he said, adding: “This could be long.” Sinwar was designated a terrorist by the United States in 2015. (DM / VFI News)
“God, we ask that You guide our leaders into making well-planned and beneficial decisions for the Israeli people, and prevent the former from negotiating with known terrorists. We pray that the terrorists behind the latest murderous attacks will all be apprehended and face the punishment they deserve.”
Israel to Send Tens of Thousands of Troops to Capture Terrorists, Hamas Actively Blocks Gazans from Leaving: Israel plans to send tens of thousands of troops to capture Gaza City and “destroy” the Hamas leadership that runs the enclave, an American news outlet reports, citing Israeli military officers who outlined unclassified details.
The report says the offensive would be the largest since 2006’s Second Lebanon War and will see the IDF attempt to hold on to parts of Gaza, at least temporarily. A Hamas official tells the newspaper its fighters will try to ambush Israeli soldiers by popping out of tunnels behind their advance to surprise the troops.
“In addition to infantry, the Israeli strike force will include tanks, sappers, and commandos,” officers said. “The ground troops will be given cover by warplanes, helicopter gunships, aerial drones, and artillery fired from land and sea.”
IDF Spokesman Daniel Hagari said at a press conference on Saturday, October 14, “We continue to urge the residents of Gaza City, go south… Hamas wants you as human shields… This is for your personal safety. We are going to attack very widely in Gaza City in the near future.”
However, Hamas has different plans; According to IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, “Hamas has both issued warnings to their civilians not to evacuate, and when people didn’t listen to those warnings of Hamas, they have actually stopped civilians, and have stopped convoys of Gazan civilians trying to flee from the situation. If that isn’t the most sinister use of civilians during war, I don’t know what is.” (TOI / VFI News)
“God, we pray that You help innocent Gazan civilians reach safety during this uncertain period of war. We ask for the immediate arrest of all Hamas terrorists who have inflicted unimaginable pain on Israel. We also thank You for providing our defense personnel with the necessary equipment, stamina, and valor that collectively make them extremely successful in facing the enemy.”
Unimaginable Atrocities Committed by Hamas: The full scale of the Hamas massacre in the kibbutz of Kfar Aza near the Israeli border with Gaza has been revealed: 52 residents were murdered by terrorists, seven were confirmed to have been abducted to Gaza, and 13 residents are still missing. In addition, at this stage, it is known that 25 residents of Kibbutz Nahal Oz were murdered, while the fate of 80 other residents is still unknown.
Last week, the IDF allowed foreign media outlets into Kfar Aza to witness and document the atrocities that were committed in the kibbutz. Media correspondents at the scene said that “what happened in Kfar Aza can only be described as a massacre, with shocking evidence of families who were caught in an unimaginable terror.”
“I saw the stretcher-bearers find the body of a small child from one of the houses. They carried his body without saying a word, and put it in the car, alongside the bodies of other residents who were murdered while trying to hide or defend themselves.”
Meanwhile, a highly vulnerable 17-year-old girl with a debilitating muscle disorder and her father were abducted by Hamas terrorists, a family member reports. Rut Perez, who suffers from muscular dystrophy and is unable to walk or talk, attended the Supernova festival last Saturday along with her father, Eric, and sister, Yamit, who left early with friends.
According to Yamit, “It was the happiest I’ve ever seen her, dancing in her wheelchair. She was so happy.” She pleads, “I am begging Hamas to let my dad take care of her; he’s the only one who knows what she needs.”
To date, the death toll since Hamas’ attacks has risen to 1,400 including 286 Israeli soldiers, 29 Americans, 28 Thai nationals, 19 French citizens, and 5 Canadians, about 4,000 people have been injured and at least 199 people have been abducted. (INN / VFI News)
“God, we offer our sincerest condolences to all the people who have lost their loved ones during the terrorists’ vicious attacks. We ask that You comfort them and that You help our soldiers find and rescue the hostages who are still missing.
US Sends Second Aircraft Carrier to East Mediterranean to Deter Iran, Hezbollah: The United States is sending a second aircraft carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean “to deter hostile actions against Israel or any efforts toward widening this war following Hamas’s attack,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Saturday, October 14.
The USS Eisenhower and its affiliated warships will join another carrier group, USS Ford, already deployed to the region in the wake of the brutal Hamas onslaught a week ago and Israel’s ongoing response in Gaza.
The deployment signals Washington’s “ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and our resolve to deter any state or non-state actor seeking to escalate this war,” Austin said in a statement, presumably referring to Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group.
Meanwhile, more than 50,000 ceramic vests, over 20,000 helmets, and tens of thousands of combat items such as protective glasses and knee protectors are also on their way to Israel, according to a joint statement by the Defense Ministry, the IDF, and the Association for the Well-being of Soldiers, issued Saturday evening.
Hundreds of thousands of items of equipment have already been approved and will be sent out to army units in the coming days, the statement said. The statement followed the release on Thursday of contact details for individuals or organizations wanting to donate large quantities of personal protective equipment to soldiers. (TOI / VFI News)
“If it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.” – Romans 12:8
The Many Supporters of Israel: More than 700 leaders from the entertainment industry have signed an open letter released by the non-profit entertainment industry organization Creative Community For Peace in support of Israel. The open letter calls on the entertainment community to speak out forcefully against Hamas, support Israel, refrain from sharing misinformation about the war, and do whatever is in their power to urge the terrorist organization to return the innocent hostages to their families.
The 700+ Signatories include Haim Saban, Gal Gadot, Jerry Seinfeld, Richard Lovett, Michael Douglas, Aaron Bay-Schuck, Liev Schreiber, Chris Pine, Amy Schumer, Jamie Lee Curtis, Mayim Bialik, Debra Messing, Jody Gerson, Mark Hamill and more.
Additionally, Elon Musk’s X (former Twitter) said it is removing accounts affiliated with the Hamas terror group, in an effort to curb the spread of “terrorist content” online.
Prime Minister Netanyahu also stated on Saturday, October 14, that he has spoken with leaders of Germany, France, and Greece, and thanked them for their “unswerving support” for Israel.
Furthermore, Qatar is working to coax Hamas to release the women, children, and elderly hostages currently being held in Gaza, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin condemns Hamas stating that “this is no time for neutrality or false equivalence,” and the US university Stanford suspended a pro-Palestinian lecturer who was accused of shaming Jewish students in class. (INN / VFI News)
“Now, our God, we give You thanks, and praise Your glorious name.” – 1 Chronicles 29:13
Putin Compares Israeli Action in Gaza to WW2 Nazi Tactics: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday, October 13, that an Israeli ground offensive in Gaza would result in a level of civilian casualties that would be “absolutely unacceptable.”
Putin was speaking after Israel’s military called for all civilians of Gaza City – more than 1 million people – to relocate south within 24 hours, as it amassed tanks ahead of an expected ground invasion in response to a devastating weekend attack by the Islamist militant group Hamas.
He said there had been calls even in the United States for a blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on a par with “the siege of Leningrad during World War II.”
Putin said, however, that Israel had the right to defend itself after being subjected to “an attack unprecedented in its cruelty.” Further, the Russian Foreign Ministry said a deputy minister, Mikhail Bogdanov, met the Lebanese ambassador to Moscow on Friday to discuss the crisis.
It said their conversation emphasized “the inadmissibility of the spread of armed confrontation to Lebanon and other states in the region, the danger of a growing humanitarian crisis and a new massive influx of Palestinian refugees.” (JPost / VFI News)
“The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the speech of the upright rescues them.” – Proverbs 12:6
The suggestions, opinions, and scripture references made by VFI News writers and editors are based on the best information received.
