Shalom Everyone - Here is the latest update for your urgent prayer attention as at  7 pm Sunday August 13th  

*  Israel's Cabinet approves UN resolution   Israel Today News

The Israeli Cabinet convened today to discuss the UN Security Council's resolution calling for a ceasefire in Southern Lebanon. There was an almost unanimous approval with Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz being the only minister to abstain. Prime Minister  Olmert recommended that cabinet ministers approve the resolution and saying that it is good for Israel and includes a series of diplomatic accomplishments.

The ceasefire is to take affect Monday morning at 7:00 am Israel time. This means that the IDF will stay on the ground for a period of a week or two in order for the international force to be deployed. According to the UN resolution, the UNIFIL force will increase from 2,000 soldiers to 15,000 and will get significant enforcement capabilities.  From the moment the ceasefire goes into effect, Israel will not initiate any offensive actions, but will reserve the right to protect itself if attacked.

The Likud party in Israel criticized the government and said that the UN resolution is a political victory for terrorism and a huge failure for the government. MK Israel Katz (Likud) said that if the government would approve and adopt the resolution, a million and a half people will have sat in bomb shelters for nothing and within a few years the war will be repeated. MK Limor Livnat (Likud) said that the agreement is bad for Israel and does not achieve any of the objectives set forth by the government.  MK Gilad Erdan (Likud) called for all cabinet ministers to oppose the decision which is a leadership failure for Olmert. Former Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said that this is the worst agreement Israel could ever have gotten, saying that "the UNIFIL force is a bunch of retirees and tourists. How exactly will they disarm Hizballah?"

"  Neighbors Smell Blood in Israeli Cease-Fire Acceptance    Arutz  7 

Arabs and Muslims from Iran, Hizbullah and the PA are celebrating Israel’s acceptance of the UN ceasefire, dubbing it a "surrender" and calling on Arab states to attack the new "weak" Israel.  “After one month of war against Lebanon's resistance, Israelis are the absolute losers and Hizbullah is the absolute winner of the war,” Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamida-Reza Asefi said Sunday. “The occupiers of Jerusalem failed, despite their military, economic, intelligence and diplomatic backings.” 

The Iranian official said the Islamic Republic of Iran is “very pleased” with the ceasefire, according to state-run Iranian news agency IRNA. He warned, though, that attacks on Israel would continue as long as “occupation lingers.” He declined to outline whether occupation included retaining sovereignty in regions such as the Galilee – which Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah has termed “settlements” in his wartime addresses. "Let us not forget that as long as there is occupation there is resistance," he added.

Hizbullah central council member Ahmed Barakat told Qatari newspaper al-Watan Sunday, "Today Arab and Muslim society is reasonably certain that the defeat of Israel is possible, and that countdown to the disappearance of the Zionist entity in the region has begun… If a mere organization succeeded in defeating Israel, why would Arab nations not succeed in doing so if they allied? Many Arabs and Muslims viewed Israel in a fictional way and the resistance has succeeded in changing this."

Barakat boasted that none of Hizbullah’s leadership were injured, and that the group still possesses thousands of rockets and other “surprises” for use in the days following the implementation of the UN ceasefire. He added that the remaining missiles and weapons allow Hizbullah to strike Israel from afar and do not require the group to be near Israel’s border.

Photos of Hizbullah-leader Hassan Nasrallah “hang everywhere in Ramallah,” according to Al-Jazeera, “covering the walls and shop fronts and plastered across T-shirts and demonstration banners.” The number-one song in Ramallah this summer, “blaring [repeatedly] out of shops and streets stalls,” is "The Eagle of Lebanon," referring to the Hizbullah chief.

“Secularists, Christians and Muslims alike refer to the Hizbullah leader as Palestine's newest and truest hero,” the Al-Jazeera report states. “Back at Manara square in Ramallah, Waleed Ayyoub is still selling the Nasrallah images to ‘all people of all ages - even little children.’ He is especially proud of a sale made to an Arab-Israeli woman from Haifa, fleeing the Katyusha attacks on her city.”

*  Haifa being bombarded with missiles

As I work to finish off todays report we have had to run to the bomb shelter every few minutes.  Rockets have struck several locations in the centre and suburbs of Haifa.  At least one apartment building has been destroyed and the TV news is showing an inferno as a number of cars are engulfed in flames.  At this time we have no reports of casualties.  

In Lebanon, the IDF soldiers are engaged in ferocious battles with Hizb'Allah.  Reports of casualties on both sides.  The way it is looking right now, it will be a miracle if the Ceasefire starts in the morning, let alone that it holds. 

*  Hizbollah: Countdown Has Begun to the End of Israel    Ynet News

As far as Hizbollah is concerned, they have won the war and Israel has suffered defeat. A senior Hizbollah official said yesterday, If a mere organization succeeded in defeating Israel, why would Arab nations not succeed in doing so? This is the rhetoric already spreading throughout the Arab world that is celebrating the coming "cease-fire" as a victory for Hizbollah and an encouragement to the Arab world to press in for the full obliteration of Israel.

Ahmed Barakat, a member of Hizbullah's central council, said in an interview to Qatari newspaper al- Watan that "Today Arab and Muslim society is reasonably certain that the defeat of Israel is possible and that countdown to the disappearance of the Zionist entity in the region has begun." According to Barakat, "This is the reason that Shimon Peres said it was a life or death battle and this is why the triumph of the resistance is the beginning of the death of the Israeli enemy. For, if a mere organization succeeded in defeating Israel, why would Arab nations not succeed in doing so if they allied? Many Arabs and Muslims viewed Israel in a fictional way and the resistance has succeeded in changing this."

Barakat further stated that none of the Hizbullah leadership was hurt and that the organization retains plenty of rockets and other 'surprises' for use the day after victory. He declared that the inventory would allow the organization to operate from afar and doesn't require proximity to the Israeli border.

Hizbollah leader Nasrallah said on Saturday that his organization would abide by the U.N. cease-fire resolution but continue fighting as long as Israeli troops remained in south Lebanon. However, CNN's Brent Sadler, quoting a source inside the Lebanese government, says that the two Hizbollah ministers clearly indicated that they do not accept the demand that the group disarm in southern Lebanon.

*  Moderately injured operative hospitalized in Israel, says Hizbullah fighters in the field  not informed of ceasefir  YNet News

Deputy hospital director: 'Any patient that enters our hospital receives best treatment possible'   The hospital in Nahariya received hundreds of injured Israeli civilians and soldiers in the recent month. Sunday morning, after receiving a 5:30 a.m. call from the IDF, the hospital received a patient of a different nationality: A Hizbullah operative, aged 27, suffering from shrapnel wounds in his chest and arms. After preliminary tests, the man's condition was declared moderate.  A number of hours later, the operative was transferred to the 'Poriya' hospital in Tiberias, in order to distance him from wounded IDF soldiers who are hospitalized in Nahariya. As expected, the operative's arrival in an Israeli hospital caused quite a reaction in the Israeli and international media. The man underwent medical tests with military  policemen standing guard at all times.
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*  Analysis: Ceasefire is Bad, Gov't Must Go   Arutz 7

Columnist Caroline Glick & int'l legal scholar Prof. A. Bayefsky analyze the ceasefire resolution, concluding it is an "unmitigated disaster" for Israel. Columnist Ari Shavit says Olmert must go.  The conclusions reached by Bayefsky [pictured] and Glick, which appear in a Jerusalem Post article authored by Glick, are summarized below:

* Responsibility for determining compliance is in the hands of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who has "distinguished himself as a man capable only of condemning Israel for its acts of self-defense while ignoring the fact that in attacking Israel, its enemies are guilty of war crimes."

* No mention of Hizbullah-patrons Syria or Iran, thus ignoring the regional aspect
of the war.

* Rewarding Hizbullah's aggression by giving international legitimacy to its demand for territory - namely, the Shaba Farms - via acts of aggression. Moreover, by allowing Lebanon to make territorial claims on Israel despite the fact that in 2000 the UN determined that Israel had withdrawn to the international border, the resolution sets a catastrophic precedent for the future.

* Though Israel had demanded an an arms embargo against Hizbullah, this issue is put off to a vague date in the future - and the power to oversee such an embargo is placed in the hands of the Lebanese government, of which Hizbullah is a member.

* The resolution calls upon Israel to withdraw all of its forces from southern Lebanon even before Lebanese and UNIFIL forces are fully deployed in the area - creating a vacuum allowing Hizbullah to reinforce its positions in south Lebanon.

* The resolution makes no operative call for the release of IDF soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev being held hostage by Hizbullah. "By relegating their fate to a paragraph in the preamble, which then immediately turns to Hizbullah's demand for the release of Lebanese terrorists held in Israeli jails, the resolution all but eliminates any possibility of their returning home."

* It should be assumed that Hizbullah's presumptive victory in its war against Israel will act as a catalyst for violence by Hizbullah allies in Iraq against the Iraqi government and coalition forces in the weeks to come.

* Iran emerges as the main victor in the current war.

* By handing a victory to Hizbullah, the resolution strengthens the belief of millions of supporters of jihad throughout the world that their side is winning and that they should redouble efforts to achieve their objectives of destroying Israel and running the US out of the Middle East.

*   Analysis: Government and IDF racked by unprecedent ed leadership crisis  By Jonathan Ariel  August 9, 2006
 
Relations between the country's political and military leadership are at the lowest point in the country's history, on the verge of a crisis. In addition, there is a growing lack of confidence between Chief of Staff Dan Halutz, the first CoS to hail from the air force, and many of his general staff colleagues from the ground forces, who say he and his "blue clique" [blue being the color of the air force uniform-ed] do not fully appreciate the nature of ground warfare.

According to informed sources, there is an almost total breakdown in trust and confidence between the General Staff and the PM's office. They have described the situation as "even worse than the crises that followed Ben Gurion's decision to disband the Palmach, and Golda Meir and Moshe Dayan's cynical decision to place all the blame for the Yom Kippur fiasco on the IDF's shoulders.

Senior IDF officers have been saying that the PM bears sole responsibility for the current unfavorable military situation, with Hezbollah still holding out after almost a month of fighting.  This plan was supposed to have begun with a surprise air onslaught against the Hezbollah high command in Beirut, before they would have had time to relocate to their underground bunkers. This was to have been followed immediately by large scale airborne and seaborne landing operations, in order to get several divisions on the Litani River line, enabling them to outflank Hezbollah's "Maginot line" in southern Lebanon.  According to these officers, Olmert was presented with an assiduously prepared and detailed operational plan for the defeat and destruction of Hezbollah within 10-14 days, which the IDF has been formulating for the past 2-3 years.

This plan was supposed to have begun with a surprise air onslaught against the Hezbollah high command in Beirut, before they would have had time to relocate to their underground bunkers. This was to have been followed immediately by large scale airborne and seaborne landing operations, in order to get several divisions on the Litani River line, enabling them to outflank Hezbollah's "Maginot line" in southern Lebanon. This would have surprised Hezbollah, which would have had to come out of its fortifications and confront the IDF in the open, in order to avoid being isolated, hunted down and eventually starved into a humiliating submission.  This was exactly what the IDF senior command wanted, as Israeli military doctrine, based on the Wehrmacht's blitzkrieg doctrine, has traditionally been one of rapid mobile warfare, designed to surprise and outflank an enemy.

According to senior military sources, who have been extensively quoted in both the Hebrew media and online publications with close ties to the country's defense establishment, Olmert nixed the second half of the plan, and authorized only air strikes on southern Lebanon, not initially on Beirut.

Although the Premier has yet to admit his decision, let alone provide a satisfactory explanation, it seems that he hoped futilely for a limited war. A prominent wheeler-dealer attorney-negotiator prior to entering politics, he may have thought that he could succeed by the military option of filing a lawsuit as a negotiating ploy, very useful when you represent the rich and powerful, as he always had. Another motive may have been his desire to limit the economic damage by projecting a limited rather than total war to the international financial powers that be.

Whatever his reasons, the bottom line, according to these military sources, is that he castrated the campaign during the crucial first days. The decision to not bomb Beirut immediately enabled Nasrallah to escape, first to his bunker, subsequently to the Iranian embassy in Beirut.
The decision to cancel the landings on the Litani River and authorize a very limited call up of reserves forced the ground forces to fight under very adverse conditions. Instead of outflanking a heavily fortified area with overwhelming forcers, they had to attack from the direction most expected, with insufficient forces. The result, high casualties and modest achievements.

This is the background of yesterday's surprise effective dismissal of OC northern Command Maj. General Udi Adam. According to various media sources, Olmert was incensed at Adam's remarks that he had not been allowed to fight the war that had been planned. Adam allegedly made these remarks in response to criticism against his running of the war, and the results so far achieved.

Olmert's responsibility for inaction goes much further. The US administration had given Israel the green light to attack Syria. A senior military source has confirmed to Israel Insider that Israel did indeed receive a green light from Washington in this regard, but Olmert nixed it.  The scenario was that Syria, no military match for Israel, would face a rapid defeat, forcing it to run to Iran, with which it has a defense pact, to come to aid.

Iran, which would be significantly contained by the defeat of its sole ally in the region, would have found itself maneuvered between a rock and a hard place. If it chose to honor its commitment to Syria, it would face a war with Israel and the US, both with military capabilities far superior to Iran's. If Teheran opted to default on its commitment to Damascus, it would be construed by the entire region, including the restless Iranian population, as a conspicuous show of weakness by the regime. Fascist regimes such as that of the ayatollahs cannot easily afford to show that kind of weakness.

As previously mentioned, Iran's military capabilities are no match for Israel's. Bottom line, all Iran could do is to launch missiles at and hit Israel's cities, and try and carry out terror attacks. If there is one thing history has shown, it is that such methods do not win wars. Israel would undoubtedly suffer both civilian casualties and economic damage, but these would not be that much more than what we are already experiencing. We have already irreversibly lost an entire tourist season. Any Iranian and Syrian missile offensives would be relatively short, as they are further form Israel, and therefore would have to be carried out by longer range missiles. These, by their very nature are much bigger and more complex weapons than Katyushas. They cannot be hidden underground, and require longer launch preparations, increasing their vulnerability to air operations. In addition it is precisely for such kinds of missiles that the Arrow system was developed.

The end result would be some additional economic damage, and probably around 500 civilian casualties. It may sound cold blooded, but Israel can afford such casualties, which would be less than those sustained in previous wars (for the record, in 1948 Israel lost 6,000, 1% of the entire population, and in 1967 and 1973 we lost respectively 1,000 and 3,000 casualties).

The gains, however, would be significant. The Iranian nuclear threat, the most dangerous existential threat Israel has faced since 1948, would be eliminated. It would also change the momentum, which over the past two decades as been with the ayatollahs. This could also have a major impact on the PA, hastening the demise of the Islamist Hamas administration.

Instead, according to military sources, Israel finds itself getting bogged down by a manifestly inferior enemy, due to the limitations placed on the IDF by the political leadership. This has been construed by the enemy as a clear sign that Israel is in the hands of a leadership not up to the task, lacking the required experience, guts and willpower. In the Middle East this is an invitation to court disaster, as witness by Iran's and Syria's increased boldness in significantly upping the ante of their involvement in the war.

Some senior officers have been mentioning the C-word in private conversations. They have been saying that a coup d'etat might be the only way to prevent an outcome in Lebanon that could embolden the Arab world to join forces with Syria and Iran in an all out assault on Israel, given the fact that such a development would be spurred entirely by the Arab and Moslem world's perception of Israel's leadership as weak, craven and vacillating, and therefore ripe for intimidation.

Seeing the once invincible IDF being stalemated by Hezbollah's 3,000 troops is a sure way to radiate an aura of weakness that in the Middle East could precipitate attacks by sharks smelling blood.

*   Urgent and Important update for prayer & intercession for our soliders   Thousands  of IDF soldiers continue to be engaged in ferocious fire fights with the relentless enemy.  Todays news of a probable expanded ground offensive will mean intensified contact with the enemy. We are being told to expect hundreds of  IDF casualties.  Already too many are being injured and more of our young men have been killed.  Our soldiers are doing an awesome job with all their heart, soul and physical strength.  We need to raise the level of prayer for all of the IDF soldiers. Stefan will most likely go back into Lebanon on Sunday.

Here are the names of  the believing soldiers currently in the army  ................  Please Protect them all Lord !

In Action in Lebanon

Adam Rosenfeld                 Aharon U                                Alon Williams                         Assi
Daniel Miller                       Daniel Boskey                        David Boskey                     
David Janis                         Dima Mazurovsky                   Eli Birnbaum
Eli Abramov                        Elisha Ben Haim                     Elisha U
Gidon Harveson                  Gill                                          Herman Haustein                   Heskel Intrater
Jed Cohen                          Joel Golden                            Jonathan                                Joshua Meyers                      
Leonid  0                             Luke Garawoski
Joshua U Leonid O             Mordy Wizeman                      Naphtali Greenburg
Pavel                                  Rami Morrison                         Reuven Miller                      Stefan Silver 
Yedidiya                              Yigal Gittelman                       Yotam Marcus                        Zev Sigilin
          
 
Girl serving in Lebanon:      Achinoam G. (paramedic)

In action in Gaza

Shmuel Belei                        Yossi Schweig

In action in West Bank

Mikey S                                                       Aaron Peisch
Ariel Weiss                                                    Chaim Malespin
Moshe Malespin                                            Daniel Miller
Rafi Neibur                                                    Yedidia Foredin
Joshua  Lazarus                                            Lior Sperendeo
                                                                                            
In action  -  location unknown

Ariel Birnbaum                         Aaron Randleman                      Asael                                                       
Eli Abramov                              Eli Chopinsky                              Effie
Fyodr                                        Kolya Rybin                        
Kosta                                        Lior S.                                                      
Matti Shoshani                         Marco                                          Messele E            
Michael Lazrus                               Nabil Netanel                              Nadav  Marcus
Oriel Danielson                        Pniel Zuela                                  Rodrigo                                   
Solomon E                               Tom D                                          Uriel D.                                  
Yigal Gittelman                        Yehuda B                                    Yoni Janis

Girls in the army

Hila Halamish         Moriel Lazarus               Marina  M                 Tamar
Leah Seguin           Rebekka Loveall            Josie                       Anina Serby
Melanie                  Devorah Mizrachi           Avigail Shomron      Maggi Garowaski
Adi Shoshani          Rachel                            Betty Ashel             Marina M     
Karina Q                  Natalya  A.                       Riki K                      Bat Ami G.


In training boot camp

Avi Shishkoff             Jordan Silver 
Aviel  Y.                    Josh H.                     Ofir R


*  Financial Assistance is urgently needed in the north of Israel

As well as a tragic loss of life and serious injuries, this war is exacting an enormous financial cost.  There are massive practical needs here in Haifa and the northern towns.  Our congregation, Tents of Mercy is a excellent channel for you to add practical assistance to your prayer and solidarity support.  Channelling your donations through a Messianic ministry like TOM  not only meets the physical needs of the people but helps the Messianic believers to establish relationships with unbelieving Israel and gives us the opportunity to share the love of God with those who are hurting, mourning lost loved ones, and in bewilderment at what is taking place in their midst.  Please send your humanitarian aid donation directly to the Tents of Mercy bank account -  details below.  If that is a problem, please contact us.

Bank Leumi 
Jerusalem Avenue 18
Kiryat Bialik,  Israel
Tel: 04-871-4311
Branch: 874
Account Name:   Tents of Mercy ( 9A Lachish St, Kiryat Yam D, Israel 29000 )
Account #:     01404253
Routing Number:   LUMIILITXXX


*  You can sign this petition  - it may help   http://www.PetitionOnline.com/1victory/


For the coming Kingdom

David & Josie 

Send a hug to the IDF! Also some chocolates. Like many little acts of kindness, it costs nothing.
Just click   http://office.websense.co.il/campaign/h asp?gid=eg    A sweet antidote to the hatred.

We want to recommend you watch the excellent coverage that Fox TV News are giving 24/7.
And you can watch Israel news on your computers here at www.jerusalemonline.com
For up to the minute news updates   www.haaretz.com
 



David & Josie Silver
Out of Zion Ministries
Mt Carmel
Israel
www.out-of-zion.com