Israel bombs Gaza after US bombs Houthis and threatens Iran
Emblem of Hamas (Wikipedia)
Israel resumed bombing of Gaza:
March 18, 2025
Israel launched airstrikes across the Gaza Strip early Tuesday, killing at least 413, including women and children, according to hospital officials. The surprise bombardment shattered a ceasefire in place since January and threatened to fully reignite the 17-month-old war.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the strikes after Hamas refused Israeli demands to change the ceasefire agreement. Officials said the operation was open-ended and was expected to expand. The White House said it had been consulted and voiced support for Israel’s actions.
A senior Hamas official said Netanyahu’s decision to return to war amounts to a “death sentence” for the remaining hostages.
Izzat al-Risheq accused Netanyahu of launching the strikes to try and save his far-right governing coalition and called on mediators to “reveal facts” on who broke the truce. Hamas said at least four senior officials were killed in Tuesday’s strikes.
The White House blamed Hamas for the renewed fighting. National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said the terrorist group “could have released hostages to extend the ceasefire but instead chose refusal and war.”
Netanyahu’s office Tuesday said Hamas had “repeatedly refused to release our hostages and rejected all offers it received from the U.S. presidential envoy, Steve Witkoff, and from the mediators.”
The Israeli military ordered people to evacuate eastern Gaza, including much of the northern town of Beit Hanoun and other communities further south, and head toward the center of the territory, indicating that Israel could soon launch renewed ground operations.
“Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength,” Netanyahu’s office said. https://www.newsmax.com/world/globaltalk/war-hamas-hostages/2025/03/18/id/1203250/
(March 18, 2025) — The Iran-backed Houthi movement has strongly condemned Israel’s latest airstrikes on Hamas in Gaza, vowing to intensify its own actions in response. …
Israel’s airstrikes, which the military described as “extensive,” targeted Hamas strongholds overnight on Monday. Meanwhile, the United States has maintained operations against the Houthis in Yemen, retaliating after the group launched further attacks on U.S. aircraft carriers in the Red Sea. …
(March 18, 2025) — The Israeli Air Force carried out precision airstrikes on military targets in southern Syria on Monday night, hitting command centers, weapons storage facilities, and military vehicles associated with the Assad regime. …
Israel has repeatedly emphasized its commitment to preventing Iranian-backed groups and hostile forces from establishing a foothold near its northern border. The latest strikes underscore the ongoing efforts to counter security threats emerging from Syria, where Iranian proxies and other militant groups continue to operate. https://israel365news.com/401288/houthis-vow-retaliation-u-s-launches-hamas-task-force-and-israel-strikes-syrian-military-sites/
Sadly, this breaking of the ceasefire is NOT a surprise.
Shortly before he left office, US President Joe Biden declared that the ceasefire deal was how “permanent peace” would be attained in the region. In response to that, I posted:
Permanent peace will not come to the Middle East until AFTER Jesus returns. (Thiel B. Joe Biden announces Hamas-Israel deal and claims a “permanent” peace–but what about Daniel 9:27? COGwriter, January 15, 2025)
Related to that ceasefire deal, we put out the following related video:
Hamas Israel Ceasefire and Daniel 9:27
Peace at Last! Peace at Last! World News Item: Hamas and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire! But will this ceasefire really bring about peace in the mid-east? There are three phases to the ceasefire agreement. Is it possible that both Israel and Hamas will abide by the conditions set forth in all three phases? Would their past performance be any indication of their future performance? Dr. Thiel sheds the light of Bible prophecy on these world events in addition to giving us insight into a future peace deal spoken of in the book of Daniel. A peace deal between the King of the North and the King of the South. Will that peace deal result in peace? If the cease fire between Hamas and Israel and the peace deal between the Kings of the North and South don’t bring about peace – what will?
Here is a link to our video: Hamas Israel Ceasefire and Daniel 9:27.
In the October-December 2019 edition of Bible News Prophecy magazine, we had the following in an article about Gaza and the Palestinians:
Gaza and the Palestinians in Bible Prophecy
By Bob Thiel
The Palestinian-dominated areas of the West Bank and Gaza have been in the news a lot. A violent-prone group known as Hamas essentially runs the region called Gaza.
What will happen to Gaza? Does the Bible teach anything about the Palestinians? …
Bible Prophecy Tells About Gaza and Palestine
Zechariah had a prophecy of change coming to Gaza:
5 Ashkelon shall see it and fear; Gaza also shall be very sorrowful; And Ekron, for He dried up her expectation. The king shall perish from Gaza, And Ashkelon shall not be inhabited. 6 “A mixed race shall settle in Ashdod, And I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. 7 I will take away the blood from his mouth, And the abominations from between his teeth. But he who remains, even he shall be for our God, And shall be like a leader in Judah, And Ekron like a Jebusite. 8 I will camp around My house Because of the army, Because of him who passes by and him who returns. No more shall an oppressor pass through them, For now I have seen with My eyes. (Zechariah 9:5-8)
Some (see Matthew Henry’s Commentary, etc.) believe that this was fulfilled in the past. However, as future prophecies tell of a time Gaza and the Philistines having problems (see below), the above could still have future fulfillment. …
Some of those lands, Ashkelon (located 50 kilometres south of Tel Aviv, and 13 kilometres north of the border with the Gaza Strip), Ekron (modern Tel Miqne, which is 35 kilometers west of Jerusalem), and Ashdod (located 32 kilometres south of Tel Aviv, 20 km north of Ashkelon, and 53 km west of Jerusalem), are currently dominated by the nation of Israel.
Ashkelon, Tel Migne, and Ashdod are claimed to be part of Israel. They are not in the Gaza Strip (they are all north of it) nor part of the other Palestinian controlled region known as the West Bank. Therefore, it looks like the Palestinians will either control those cities again or be so numerous in it that they are the ones affected in Jeremiah 25. It is my current view that the Palestinians will gain land that the nation of Israel thinks it will continue to control. Since these are not lands currently considered to be ceded in a peace deal, this looks like losses from the State of Israel after the deal of Daniel 9:27 is broken (cf. Daniel 11:31). …
Amos specifically recorded a prophecy about Gaza:
6 Thus says the Lord:
“For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because they took captive the whole captivity
To deliver them up to Edom.
7 But I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza,
Which shall devour its palaces.
8 I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod,
And the one who holds the scepter from Ashkelon;
I will turn My hand against Ekron,
And the remnant of the Philistines shall perish,”
Says the Lord God. (Amos 1:6-8) …Also notice what Zephaniah prophesied:
4 For Gaza shall be forsaken,
And Ashkelon desolate;
They shall drive out Ashdod at noonday,
And Ekron shall be uprooted.
5 Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast,
The nation of the Cherethites!
The word of the Lord is against you,
O Canaan, land of the Philistines:
“I will destroy you;
So there shall be no inhabitant. (Zephaniah 2:4-5)Though there was a partial fulfillment near the time this was written, the time has not yet been when there was no inhabitant in Canaan, hence this prophecy is for the future. Gaza will change and be forsaken!
Although Palestinians will one day end up with more land that Israel now dominates, Gaza will be forsaken. One way I suspect that this could happen would be if a regional war occurred directly involving Iran and likely nuclear weapons.
That said, US President Donald Trump has had the US bomb Houthis in Yemen at least twice this month–plus he made threats against Iran:
18 March 2025
US President Donald Trump has warned Iran that it will face “dire” consequences if Yemen’s Houthis continue to attack international shipping lanes.
He said the Iranian leadership would be held responsible for “every shot fired by the Houthis”, which have long been backed by Tehran. The group later said it had targeted a US aircraft carrier three times in the past two days.
The Houthis first tried to attack the USS Harry S Truman in the Red Sea on Sunday following deadly US strikes on Yemen.
The Pentagon said it had struck 30 targets in Yemen since Saturday, in the biggest US military operation in the Middle East since Trump returned to the White House.
Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Monday: “Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN.
“And IRAN will be held responsible, and suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be dire!” …
Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani accused the US of “baseless accusations” against Iran, Reuters news agency reported. …
Washington has said some key Houthi figures were among the dead, although the group has not confirmed this. …
The Houthis also launched a ballistic missile that crashed into the water well short of the USS Harry S Truman, the official added.
On Monday, the group said that it had launched a third attack on the ship in just 48 hours – disrupting US military strikes that were preparing to launch.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to the BBC when asked about the group’s latest claims. …
The US also launched airstrikes against the group on Saturday and Sunday.
The Houthis said they would continue to target Red Sea shipping until Israel lifted its blockade of Gaza.
The group has claimed – often falsely – that they only target ships linked to Israel, the US or the UK in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyd2l17ygpo
The Bible points to an Iranian-led force, with at least some Syrian involvement, that will cause great damage to Jerusalem (Isaiah 22:6-9).
Jesus told of a time of wars and rumors of war in Matthew 24–and this could be one of them–but it will NOT be the Great Tribulation as “but the end is not yet” (Matthew 24:6).
However, the end is getting closer (cf. Romans 13:11). And if we see a certain deal confirmed this year (cf. Daniel 9:27), the countdown for the Great Tribulation will begin.
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.
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2025, 2026, or 2027? 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? A short video is available titled: Great Tribulation Trends 2025.
How Will Middle East Peace be Brought About? Can humans bring peace to the Middle East? Here is a link to a related video: Middle East Peace? When?
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God This free online pdf booklet has answers many questions people have about the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and explains why it is the solution to the issues the world is facing. It is available in hundreds of languages at ccog.org. Here are links to four kingdom-related sermons: The Fantastic Gospel of the Kingdom of God!, The World’s False Gospel, The Gospel of the Kingdom: From the New and Old Testaments, and The Kingdom of God is the Solution.
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 a related video: Gaza and Palestine in Prophecy.
Jerusalem: Past, Present, and Future What does the Bible say about Jerusalem and its future? Is Jerusalem going to be divided and eliminated? Is Jesus returning to the area of Jerusalem? There are also two related YouTube videos you can watch: Jerusalem To be divided and eliminated and God’s and Satan’s Plan for Jerusalem.
Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America? Where did those people come from? Can you totally rely on DNA? What about other peoples? Do you really know what will happen to Europe and the English-speaking peoples? What about Africa, Asia, South America, and the Islands? This free online book provides scriptural, scientific, historical references, and commentary to address those matters. Here are links to related sermons: Lost tribes, the Bible, and DNA; Lost tribes, prophecies, and identifications; 11 Tribes, 144,000, and Multitudes; Israel, Jeremiah, Tea Tephi, and British Royalty; Gentile European Beast; Royal Succession, Samaria, and Prophecies; Asia, Islands, Latin America, Africa, and Armageddon; When Will the End of the Age Come?; Rise of the Prophesied King of the North; Christian Persecution from the Beast; WWIII and the Coming New World Order; and Woes, WWIV, and the Good News of the Kingdom of God.
 |
Tweet |
|