“I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them; neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed. I have wounded them, so that they could not rise; they have fallen under my feet. For You have armed me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me. You have also given me the necks of my enemies, so that I destroyed those who hated me.”
Psalm 18:37-40 (NKJV)

This week the political leader of Hamas, the most popular figurehead for the group, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in Tehran, the Iranian capital. This was a bold move that took out one of Hamas’s most senior figures and the assassination took place in the capital of the Iranian regime. It was right under the noses of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iran’s elite militant group that was supposed to be keeping Haniyeh safe.

It should be noted that it is not clear exactly who killed Haniyeh. All fingers point to Israel, but this is an accusation Israel has neither confirmed or denied. However, Iran and Hamas are holding Israel accountable.

Iran is the head of the snake in the axis of terror against Israel. Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and the IRGC, are all funded by the Iranian regime and are proxies for Iran to wage war against the Jewish state. People often look at the current situation as one between Israel and Hamas, but really it should be viewed as Israel against the Iranian regime.

The Islamic Republic’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led prayers for Haniyeh ahead of his burial in Qatar, having earlier threatened a “harsh punishment” for his killing.

Senior Hamas figure Khalil al-Hayya, the movement’s foreign relations chief, vowed during the ceremony that “Ismail Haniyeh’s slogan, ‘We will not recognize Israel,’ will remain an immortal slogan” and “we will pursue Israel until it is uprooted from the land of Palestine.”

If the world needed any more reminding that the Hamas terror group and the Iranian regime are committed to destroying the Jewish state. A foolish ambition that Israel, and the God of Israel, will never allow them to accomplish.

On the same day Israel also struck Hezbollah, killing Fuad Shukr, a senior military official within the Lebanese terror group. This alone may have been enough for Iran to want to retaliate, but it was nothing compared to Haniyeh’s death which happened on Iranian soil.

To top off a week of terror leader deaths, it was confirmed this week by the IDF that the 13 July 2024 airstrike on Mohammed Deif was a success.

Mohammed Deif was the head of Hamas’s military operations and the person directly responsible for the 7 October attacks. He was the one who orchestrated the deadliest attack against Israel since its inception and a few days after the attacks gloated that ‘Operation Al Aqsa Flood’ was a success. Deif was known as the ‘Living Martyr’ by Gazans as the IDF had tried and failed to assassinate him on multiple occasions, with him losing an eye and a leg in a previous attempt. However, this time it seems he was not lucky enough to escape death.

Israel has sent clear messages to its enemies that it is willing to target those at the highest levels of Hamas and Hezbollah. It has been noted by some observant commentators that Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei was looking nervous at the funeral of Haniyeh. And Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who has spent the last few years hiding in tunnels to avoid Israel, put on a brave face claiming he would be honoured to be ‘martyred’, a wish he may one day be granted if Israel continues these attacks on terror leaders.

Despite the bold moves Israel has made, it’s clear that Israel is wary of Iran’s response. There is no question that Iran will respond. It must respond to save face. Iran cannot allow Israel to penetrate deep into Iran and take out the leader of one of its terror proxies and let it go uncontested.

For this reason, Israel is on high alert.

We must continue to pray for the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) as they wage war with Israel’s enemies and defending the Jewish homeland. Ultimately, we know that God is the defender of Israel. We pray He will keep Israel safe and nullify the plans of the enemy. May God bless Israel in these challenging times.