Israel attacks and says Hezbollah crossed ‘all red lines’

Logo of Hezbollah (via Wikipedia)

The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel has been getting worse:

July 28, 2024

Israel’s military said Sunday that they had launched a series of airstrikes against Hezbollah targets within Lebanon, one day after a rocket attack on a soccer field in Israel-controlled Golan Heights killed at least 12 children and teens.

“Overnight, the IAF struck a series of Hezbollah terror targets both deep inside Lebanese territory and in southern Lebanon, including weapons caches and terrorist infrastructure in the areas of Chabriha, Borj El Chmali, and Beqaa, Kfarkela, Rab El Thalathine, Khiam, and Tayr Harfa,” said Israel Defense Forces in a statement.

The airstrikes were apparent retaliation for Saturday’s rocket strike, which Israeli military’s chief spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said was the deadliest strike against Israel since the Oct. 7 attack. Hagari said 20 others were wounded.

Israel placed blame for the attack on Hezbollah, which denied responsibility. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, traveling in Japan, told reporters on Sunday that “every indication is that indeed the rockets were from or the rocket was from Hezbollah.”

Saturday’s attack raised fears that the conflict between Israel and Hamas would lead to a broader regional war. A U.S. official told CBS News that Saturday had been a busy day of “almost all-out war” between Israel and Hezbollah. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/golan-heights-attack-israel-hezbollah-airstrikes/

28 July 2024

Israel‘s Foreign Ministry said Saturday’s rocket strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights confirmed that Hezbollah is a “terrorist organization.” Israel has blamed the deadly attack on the Iran-backed militia, which is based in Lebanon.

“Saturday’s massacre constitutes the crossing of all red lines by Hezbollah. This is not an army fighting another army; rather, it is a terrorist organization deliberately shooting at civilians,” the ministry said in a statement.

According to the ministry, “an Iranian rocket” caused the deaths of “our boys and girls,” with Hezbollah being “the only terror organization that has those in its arsenal.” https://www.dw.com/en/middle-east-israel-warns-hezbollah-crossed-all-red-lines/live-69789080

By stating that “Saturday’s massacre constitutes the crossing of all red lines by Hezbollah,” Israel is stating that it is willing to conduct major military actions against Hezbollah.

The BBC put out the following:

What is Hezbollah in Lebanon and will it go to war with Israel?

28 July 2024

A rocket attack blamed by Israel on Hezbollah which killed 12 children and young adults on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights has sharply heightened fears of an all-out war between the two sides.

It was the deadliest incident in and around Israel’s northern border in nine months of near daily exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah.

What is Hezbollah…?

Hezbollah is a Shia Muslim organisation which is politically influential and in control of the most powerful armed force in Lebanon.

It was established in the early 1980s by the region’s most dominant Shia power, Iran, to oppose Israel. At the time, Israel’s forces had occupied southern Lebanon, during the country’s civil war.

Hezbollah has participated in national elections since 1992 and has become a major political presence.

Its armed wing has carried out deadly attacks on Israeli and US forces in Lebanon. When Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah took credit for pushing them out. …

In 2006, a full-blown war broke out between Hezbollah and Israel, triggered when Hezbollah carried out a deadly cross-border raid.

Israeli troops invaded southern Lebanon to try to eliminate the threat from Hezbollah. However, it survived and has since increased its number of fighters and obtained new and better weapons. …

Hezbollah is one of the most heavily-armed, non-state military forces in the world. It is funded and equipped by Iran. …

It has an estimated 130,000 rockets and missiles, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.

Most of its arsenal is made up of small, unguided surface-to-surface artillery rockets.

But it also thought to have anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles, as well as guided missiles capable of striking deep inside Israel. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67307858

I remain of the belief that Hezbollah will reign a volley of bombs on Israel relatively soon. Those in Jerusalem, and not just in the northern portion of Israel, should be concerned. I also believe that Iran and Syria will also become more directly involved against Israel.

The Bible shows that God will allow the nation of Israel to be hit as shown in the Israel Bible translation:

5 For my Lord God of Hosts had a day Of tumult and din and confusion— Kir raged in the Valley of Vision, And Shoa on the hill; 6 While Elam bore the quiver In troops of mounted men, And Kir bared the shield— 7 And your choicest lowlands Were filled with chariots and horsemen: They stormed at Yehuda‘s* gateway.

8 And pressed beyond its screen. You gave thought on that day To the arms in the Forest House,9 And you took note of the many breaches In the City of David. And you collected the water of the Lower Pool; 10 and you counted the houses of Yerushalayim and pulled houses down to fortify the wall; and you constructed a basin between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you gave no thought to Him who planned it, You took no note of Him who designed it long before. (Isaiah 22:5-10)

Yehuda above means Judah, which is the modern nation called Israel. And Yerushalayim is commonly known as Jerusalem.

The old Worldwide Church of God published the following related to Elam:

Iranians comprise nearly 70 percent of the country. Iranians, though Islamic, are totally distinct from the neighboring Arab peoples of the Middle East. They are a mixed people of the remnants of Media and Elam and other ancestors of Semitic and Hamitic stock. (Stump K. South Asia in Prophecy. Plain Truth, July/August 1986, p. 5)

Let me add that, according to the late Dr. Hoeh of the old Radio/Worldwide Church of God:

Madai is the father of the Medes. The Medes used to be associated with the Persians. You will read about them especially in the book of Daniel. But by the time of Nehemiah the Persians were much more prominent. Today there are no Medes left in Persia. (Hoeh H. The TRUTH about the Race Question! Plain Truth, July 1957)

Persia, the modern Iran, (Hoeh H. Compendium of World History – Volume 2. 1969)

Hence, this seems to support more from Elam than Media in Iran.

Kir looks to include Syrians and others in the region. For example, the Bible tells that after Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria took over Damascus, he moved Syrians to Kir. While this does not mean that Kir must (or must only) be a reference to Syria, the fact that Syria is an ally of Iran is interesting. Some believe Kir is an area in the south of Iran (which could then include some in Iraq), while others suggest closer to the Black Sea (which Turkey borders). God’s word has the expression “the Syrians from Kir” (Amos 9:7), which is basically confirmation that Kir of Isaiah 22 would include Syrians. The prophecy that “Kir uncovered the shield” suggests that Syria will have somehow reduced the effectiveness of Israel’s ‘Iron Dome’ and/or other defensive equipment the nation of Israel will use.

The “House of the Forest” was anciently located in Lebanon (e.g. 1 Kings 7:2, 10:17,21; 2 Chronicles 9:16,20)–see also A Discourse on the House of the Forest of Lebanon, pp: 111-134 in Bunyan J. Stebbing H. The Entire Works of John Bunyan, Volume 4. Virtue and Company, 1860.

Here is the Catholic Public Domain Version translation of Isaiah 22:8:

8 And the covering of Judah will be exposed, and in that day, you will see the weaponry of the forest house. (Isaiah 22:8, CPDV)

A way for Judah to “see the weaponry of the forest house” would be a massive attack by Hezbollah. In Isaiah 22:8, “Judah” is a reference to those in the land commonly called Israel–God will allow Israel to be attacked!

In Isaiah 22:1-14, the Bible shows that God will allow something that appears to be an Iranian-Syrian-Southern Lebanese confederation, to strike the nation of Israel.

In my view, Iran, Hezbollah, and Syria are most likely consulting with each other to determine how and when to launch a major attack against Israel.

Israel’s ‘Iron Dome’ and other defenses will not be able to protect Jerusalem against enough of the coming attack to prevent great damage.

I have been reporting that for years on this COGwriter Church of God News page (e.g. Thiel B. ‘Israel Reveals it is Now Targeting Iranian Forces Militarily’. COGwriter, February 20, 2020 and Thiel B. ‘Hezbollah chief vows retaliation for future Israeli strikes in Lebanon’ ‘Bennett: Israel won’t accept rocket attacks from Lebanon’. COGwriter, August 8, 2021).

That said, IF Jesus is to return in 2031, then I expect a regional war involving Israel will occur this summer, beyond what we have seen with Israel and Gaza and Hezbollah so far, or a proposed peace plan that will be confirmed by the “prince” of Daniel 9:26-27 this fall.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

The ‘Peace Deal’ of Daniel 9:27 This prophecy could give up to 3 1/2 years advance notice of the coming Great Tribulation. Will most ignore or misunderstand its fulfillment? Here is a link to a related sermon video Daniel 9:27 and the Start of the Great Tribulation.
Iran in Prophecy Is Iran in Bible prophecy? If so, what does the Bible teach? What names, other than Persia, may be used to describe Iran? There are also two related videos: Iran In Prophecy and Iran and Israel Conflict.
Gaza and the Palestinians in Bible Prophecy What does the Bible teach about Gaza and the fate of the Palestinians? Here is a link to two related videos: Gaza and Bible Prophecy and Gaza and Palestine in Prophecy.
Damascus and Syria in Prophecy Will Bashar Assad hold power as he has it? Does the Bible show that Damascus, the capital of Syria, will be destroyed? What will happen to Syria? Will the Syrians support the final King of the South that the Bible tells will rise up? Which scriptures discuss the rise and fall of an Arabic confederation? Does Islamic prophecy predict the destruction of Syria. This is a YouTube video.
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2023, 2024, or 2025? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000? Here is a version of the article in the Spanish language: ¿Puede la Gran Tribulación comenzar en el 2020 o 2021? ¿Es el Tiempo de los Gentiles? A related video is: Great Tribulation: 2026 or 2027? A shorter video is: Can the Great Tribulation start in 2022 or 2023? Notice also: Can Jesus return in 2023 or 2024?
Could God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End? Was a 6000 year time allowed for humans to rule followed by a literal thousand year reign of Christ on Earth taught by the early Christians? Does God have 7,000 year plan? What year may the six thousand years of human rule end? When will Jesus return? 2031 or ? There is also a video titled: When Does the 6000 Years End? 2031? 2035? Here is a link to the article in Spanish: ¿Tiene Dios un plan de 6,000 años?
The Arab and Islamic World In the Bible, History, and Prophecy The Bible discusses the origins of the Arab world and discusses the Middle East in prophecy. What is ahead for the Middle East and those who follow Islam? What about the Imam Mahdi? What lies ahead for Turkey, Iran, and the other non-Arabic Muslims? An item of possibly related interest in the Spanish language would be: Líderes iraníes condenan la hipocresía de Occidente y declaran que ahora es tiempo para prepararse para el Armagedón, la guerra, y el Imán Mahdi.
Is the Future King of the South Rising Up? Some no longer believe there needs to be a future King of the South. Might Egypt, Islam, Iran, Arabs, or Ethiopia be involved? Might this King be called the Mahdi or Caliph? What does the Bible say? Two videos of related interest are: The Future King of the South is Rising and The Rise and Fall of the King of the South. Here is a version the Spanish language: ¿Esta Surgiendo el Rey Del Sur?
Islamic and Biblical Prophecies for the 21st Century This is a free online book which helps show where biblical and Islamic prophecies converge and diverge. Here are links to related sermons: Seeing Christianity Through Islamic Eyes, Imam Mahdi, women, and prophecy, and Terrorism, Iran, and Fatima, Dajjal, Antichrist, Gold, & Mark of the Beast?, and Jesus and God’s Plan for Muslims.