[Today’s Prayer] “No Ceasefire Without Disarmament”… Israel Eliminates Hamas ‘Gaza Leader’

The Israeli military announced that it had killed Izz al-Din al-Haddad, a leader of the Palestinian armed group Hamas and its military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades. As negotiations over Hamas’s disarmament remain deadlocked, Israel continued its attacks on the Gaza Strip.

On the 16th (local time), the Israeli military announced al-Haddad’s death, stating, “Al-Haddad worked to rebuild Hamas’s capabilities and planned numerous terror attacks against Israeli civilians and military forces.”

Al-Haddad was appointed as the new Hamas leader after former Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar was killed in May of last year. He was known as virtually the only surviving member of the Hamas leadership that led the October 7, 2023 attack against Israel. Having survived multiple Israeli assassination attempts and operating in secrecy, he was nicknamed “the Ghost of the Al-Qassam Brigades.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement the previous day that they had carried out a targeted airstrike against al-Haddad, stating that “he refused to comply with the agreement led by U.S. President Donald Trump regarding Hamas’s disarmament and the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip.” Israel appears to have targeted al-Haddad in order to pressure Hamas into implementing the ceasefire agreement, including disarmament.

Since the ceasefire took effect last October, the second phase of the ceasefire has shown little progress. According to the proposal suggested by President Trump, the second phase includes Hamas’s disarmament, the withdrawal of Israeli forces, and the establishment of a transitional governing body in Gaza.

Prime Minister Netanyahu reportedly approved the operation to eliminate al-Haddad about ten days earlier and met at least twice with Nikolay Mladenov, representative of the International Peace Committee for Gaza. On the 13th, Mladenov stated, “The phased ceasefire agreement has become paralyzed due to Hamas’s refusal to disarm.”

An Israeli official told The Washington Post, “In recent months, al-Haddad focused on restoring Hamas’s military capabilities while openly violating the existing ceasefire agreement.”

(omitted)

Even after the ceasefire last October, Israel has continued carrying out near-daily airstrikes in Gaza. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, 857 people have been killed in Gaza by Israeli airstrikes since last October.

Source: Nate News

“Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.”— 1 Peter 5:14

We hear the news that amid stalled negotiations over Hamas’s disarmament, the Israeli military carried out an airstrike in Gaza and killed Hamas leader Izz al-Din al-Haddad.

God, although the war that began three years ago entered a ceasefire last October, the ceasefire has shown little progress. Please have mercy on the residents of Gaza who continue trying to live their lives in such circumstances.

As al-Haddad, who openly violated the existing ceasefire agreement and focused on restoring Hamas’s military power, has been killed, may Hamas’s disarmament — which has brought suffering upon Gaza — be accomplished quickly so that the ceasefire agreement may be fulfilled. Also, lead Israel to value every life in Gaza, so that true peace may come upon the Gaza Strip.

May the Israeli and Palestinian churches become churches that greet the suffering souls of Gaza refugees with a kiss of love even now amid their hardship. Beyond their own peoples, may they rise as churches that greet one another’s war-torn peoples with the love of Jesus and proclaim the peace of Christ.

May the global church also pay close attention to the situation in Israel and Gaza, striving for unity, praying for true peace to come upon Gaza, and raising up watchmen who proclaim the blessed news of Jesus even more boldly.

And through this, may disciples filled with the love of Jesus be established in both Israel and Gaza, spreading peace to the nations!