“I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” (Isaiah 46.4b)

Israel’s work to eradicate Hamas continues to intensify, some 300K Israeli reservists stand ready to roll into Gaza. Over 1,300 innocents were killed in the attack and the toll of Americans murdered continues to grow. The number of Americans lost now stands at least 27. Some 17 Americans remain unaccounted for. And the stories of those slaughtered or kidnapped continue to tear at the heart.

Will the Call for Violent Jihad Tomorrow Be Heeded?

Friday will be a good indicator of the depth of support for the Hamas terrorists. Former Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal is calling for a Day of Jihad tomorrow, for not only protests in the streets, but for the Arab nations encircling Israel to join the fight.

“To all scholars who teach jihad … to all who teach and learn,” he said, “This is a moment for the application [of jihad].”

Hamas as well is raising the call. Current leader Mohammed Deif said, “We declare next Friday, ‘The Friday of the Al-Aqsa Flood,’ as a day of general mobilization in our Arab and Islamic world and among the free people of the world. … It is a day for sacrifice, heroism, and dedication, and to earn the honour of defending the first Qibla of Muslims, the third holiest mosque, and the ascension of the trusted Messenger.”

Here in the U.S., Joe Biden has ordered DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Attorney General Merrick Garland to work to boost security and address threats to the Jewish community. The NYPD is certainly taking the threat seriously. New York Post reports, the NYPD has ordered all cops to report in uniform Friday, and be prepared for deployment.

Meanwhile, we’ve all seen the pro-Hamas outpouring on many of our nation’s campuses. The Daily Wire reported that, “The largest network of campus anti-Israel groups is organizing a ‘Day of Resistance’ on Thursday to rally support for the deadly Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel, calling the murder of nearly 1,000 Israelis, including women and children, a ‘historic win for the Palestinian resistance.’” You can read more about these calls to protest and violent jihad HERE.

When is the brutal slaughter of children and women a historic win for anyone but Satan?

At Columbia Univ., an Israeli student was beaten with a stick Wednesday when he confronted a woman who was tearing down fliers containing the pictures and names of Israelis kidnapped by Hamas.

Jerusalem Post Confirms the Burning and Beheading of Children

You don’t want to believe it. You hope it’s one of those bits of propaganda out of the fog of war. Nonetheless we have to accept the unimaginable atrocity is true. The Jerusalem Post has confirmed via verified photos of the bodies “reports of babies being burnt and decapitated in Hamas’s assault on Kfar Aza are correct.

The Jerusalem Post can now confirm based on verified photos of the bodies that the reports of babies being burnt and decapitated in Hamas's assault on Kfar Aza are correct.

May their memory be a blessing.https://t.co/LaVs1aXR50

— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) October 12, 2023

The Prime Minister’s office also released some of the photos it showed Secretary of State Blinken.

The White House added to the wiggle room that existed to discount the claim of atrocities Wednesday evening when it had to backtrack comments made by Joe Biden that he had seen the pictures of decapitated children. The White House says Biden was only describing what he had been told by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Secretary of State Blinken declared from Tel Aviv, “As long as there is the United States, Israel will never be alone.”

"As long as there is the United States, Israel will never be alone."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken addresses reporters in Tel Aviv, Israel. pic.twitter.com/GEd5rF6Xja

— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) October 12, 2023

Getting Out of Israel … and Thanking Trump?

Donald Trump’s Abraham Accords are paying off this week in a crucial, if subtle way. Americans trying to get out of Israel are being hampered by American airlines cutting flights out of the Jewish State. Congressional representatives, such as Michael Lawler (R-NY), have been calling for the Pentagon’s help. Lawler told MSNBC, “It is very, very difficult to get people out, and the military needs to help expedite that removal.” Finally, Thursday, a day after Politico reported there were no plans to organize an evacuation of Americans, the White House announced its arranging charter flights out of Israel starting tomorrow. 

Fortunately, thanks to the peace accords, thousands of Americans have already been able to get flights from Israel to now-friendly Arab nations. At least according to Yitz Friedman, with the Washington-based American Accountability Foundation. He was able to get out of dodge through United Arab Emirates. Something that would not have been possible just a few years ago.

The Stream Looks at the War

New on The Stream today concerning the War in Israel:

John Zmirak offers a history lesson in “How Israel Can Avoid Committing Liberal Suicide.”

Stream contributor Nolan Lewallen has Part Two of “The Gaza Disaster: How We Got Here, How It Will Be Resolved.”

Jerry Newcombe says hold your horses with talk of the end of the world in “Armageddon? Not So Fast.”

Keep returning to the Stream for more on the war and its implications.

Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of The Stream, co-author, with John Zmirak, of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration and co-author of the counter-terrorism memoir Hostile Intent: Protecting Yourself Against Terrorism.