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Milton strengthened rapidly Monday into a Category 5 hurricane on a path toward Florida, threatening the densely populated Tampa area with a potential direct hit and menacing the same stretch of coastline that was battered by Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago.

The center of the storm could come ashore Wednesday in the Tampa Bay region, which has not endured a head-on hit by a major hurricane in more than a century. Scientists expect the system to weaken slightly before landfall, though it could retain hurricane strength as it churns across central Florida toward the Atlantic Ocean. That would largely spare other states ravaged by Helene, which killed at least 230 people on its path from Florida to the Appalachian Mountains.

As evacuation orders were issued, forecasters warned of a possible 8- to 12-foot storm surge (2.4 to 3.6 meters) in Tampa Bay and widespread flooding from 5 to 10 inches (13 to 25 centimeters) of rain in mainland Florida and the Keys, with as much as 15 inches (38 centimeters) in places. The Tampa metro area has a population of more than 3.2 million people.

The United States will not ease its "pressure" on Israel and Arab leaders to reach a deal on hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza, Vice President Kamala Harris said in an interview released Sunday.

Washington is working with Israel on humanitarian aid and "the need for a deal to be done which would release the hostages and create a ceasefire. And we're not going to stop in terms of putting that pressure on Israel and in the region, including Arab leaders," Harris told CBS' "60 Minutes."

When asked by Whitaker if the US has a "real, close ally" in Netanyahu, Harris responded that the "better question is: do we have an important alliance between the American people and the Israeli people?"

"And the answer to that question is yes."

There is a “direct and immediate connection between pressure on Israel and Hamas’s appetite for negotiations” on a hostage deal, says government hostage point-man Gal Hirsch, hinting at recent decisions by France and the UK.

He says that he would like to get all the hostages released at once, though Plan A is still the staged proposal presented by US President Joe Biden.

“But we are unable to get to effective negotiations with Hamas, which torpedoes talks all the time,” says the ex-general. “I am happy that this is said publicly by our friends in the US, including US Secretary of State [Antony] Blinken, [Middle East czar] Brett McGurk, and others.”

Though he laments pressure put on Israel in March “by our friends,” Hirsch speaks at length about the US contributions to hostage talks.

The Biden administration has been offering to compensate Israel for refraining from striking certain targets in Iran as part of its planned response to the regime’s ballistic missile assault last week, Israel’s Kan News reported Sunday.

“You can call this a ‘compensation/temptation package’ which the U.S. government is offering Israel in the past days,” said Amichai Stein, the channel’s diplomatic correspondent.

He cited informed sources saying that American officials have offered extensive diplomatic backing and a large, additional package of military assistance if Israel complied with the Biden administration’s requests.

“We consider the US our ally, and are always ready to listen,” a source told Kan. “At the same time, we will do everything necessary to protect the citizens of Israel and Israel’s security.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calls a security briefing after the government meeting marking the anniversary of the October 7 attacks, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.

The meeting seems to be urgent, as a scheduled meeting between Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot was postponed at the last minute.

Hamas fired five rockets at central Israel from Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip, the IDF said on Monday, following the rocket sirens that sounded in the area starting at 11:00 a.m. local time.

Alerts sounded in Tel Aviv, Kfar Chabad, and Rishon Lezion, among other localities in the country's center. 

The military noted that rocket impacts had been identified.

"We have an obligation to respond to Iran - and we will," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a recorded message broadcasted on Israeli media channels on Saturday night.

"No country in the world would have accepted such an attack, and neither will Israel," he added.

"Twice already, Iran has fired, and we have intercepted hundreds of missiles from the largest ballistic missile attack in history. No country in the world would have accepted such an attack, and neither will Israel, and we will respond to these attacks," he concluded.

Former President Trump on Friday said that Israel should attack Iran’s nuclear facilities while mocking President Biden’s answer earlier this week on the subject.  

While speaking at a campaign event in Fayetteville, North Carolina, he said when Biden was asked about Israel attacking Iran, the president answered, "’As long as they don’t hit the nuclear stuff.’ That’s the thing you wanna hit, right? I said, ‘I think he’s got that one wrong. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to hit?’" 

Trump went on to say that nuclear proliferation is the "biggest risk we have."

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is set to visit Washington on Tuesday as the United States seeks to weigh in on the scope of Israel’s anticipated retaliatory strike against Iran.

“Whoever thinks that a mere attempt to harm us will deter us from taking action, should take a look at [our achievements] in Gaza and Beirut,” Gallant said Sunday, less than a week after Iran attacked Israel with ballistic missiles.

“We are powerful in both defense and offense, and this will be reflected in the manner of our choosing, at the time and place of our choosing,” he said as he visited the Nevatim Air Force base.

The head of the US Central Command, General Michael Erik Kurilla, arrived in Israel amid tensions in the Middle East.

Local media reported that will participate in the coordination of the Hebrew State's response to Tuesday's Iranian attack.

... Israel [is] prepar[ing] its response to the massive attack by the Islamic Republic, which will be “serious and significant,” armed forces officials said...

The Israel Defense Forces continued its campaign to degrade Hezbollah in Lebanon on Saturday as it targeted command centers, weapons caches, tunnels and more, and as the military said it believed it had killed at least 440 Hezbollah operatives since the start of ground operations on Monday.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said in a statement that Israel “must continue exerting pressure on Hezbollah and creating additional and lasting damage to the enemy. Without relief and without allowing a respite for the organization.”

The army said on Saturday said it had struck Hezbollah operatives overnight in a command center embedded in a mosque in southern Lebanon’s Bint Jbeil, located within the Martyr Salah Ghandour Hospital compound.

A senior U.S. State Department official told CNN earlier in the week that Israel has not promised the Biden administration that an attack on Iran’s nuclear sites is "off the table." He added that Washington hoped to see wisdom alongside strength, but there are no guarantees."

U.S. President Joe Biden suggested on Friday that Israel should consider alternative targets rather than attacking Iranian oil fields in response to the Islamic Republic’s massive ballistic missile attack on the Jewish state earlier this week.

Earlier this week, Biden said he opposed Israel targeting Iranian nuclear sites as well.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivered a rare Friday sermon defending this week’s missile attack on Israel that deepened fears of a regional war, while praising the “logical and legal” Hamas-led October 7 invasion and massacre in southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza and fueled violence throughout the Middle East.

Speaking in front of tens of thousands at a mosque in the capital Tehran, Khamenei said Iran-backed armed groups in the Middle East “will not back down” even after Israel recently killed a spate of terrorist leaders.

In his first public Friday sermon in nearly five years, Khamenei spoke in Arabic to discuss fighting against Israel by the Iran-aligned “axis of resistance,” including Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Palestinian terror group Hamas.

The US military said it carried out 15 strikes on Friday against targets linked to Iran-aligned Houthi fighters in Yemen, where residents reported blasts at military outposts and even an airport.

Central Command, which oversees US forces in the Middle East, said the targets were tied to Houthi offensive military capabilities but did not detail whether that included missile, drone, or radar capabilities.

In a post on X, Central Command said the strikes occurred at about 1400 GMT.

(photo: AFP)

US President Joe Biden on Thursday told reporters in Washington that the idea of Israel striking Iran’s oil in retaliation for Tuesday’s ballistic missile attack was “in discussion,” as reports indicated that Israel was determined to strongly respond, but had not yet decided on the scope and timing.

Speaking to reporters as he headed to his Marine One helicopter on the South Lawn of the White House, Biden was asked if he supported Israel striking Iran’s oil facilities.

“We’re in discussion of that. I think — I think that would be a little — anyway,” Biden responded, adding that Israel would ultimately make its own decisions on how to respond to Iran’s massive missile strike.

“First of all, we don’t allow Israel. We advise Israel. And there’s nothing going to happen today. We’ll talk about that later,” Biden said.

(photo: Reuters)

The Biden administration believes it is appropriate for Israel to continue with its ground and air attacks on Hezbollah for now, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Thursday, even as he acknowledged the risk of the operation in Lebanon expanding beyond Israel's current aims.

Israel sent troops into southern Lebanon on Tuesday after two weeks of intense airstrikes in a worsening conflict that has drawn in Iran and risks sucking in the United States.

Speaking at a regular press briefing, Miller said the nature of all conflicts was "fluid" and "unpredictable," and therefore, it was impossible to say how long it would take Israel to achieve its stated goal of clearing Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon, allowing it to return Israelis displaced from their homes across the border by months of rocket fire.

US President Joe Biden doesn’t back an Israeli retaliatory strike on Iran’s nuclear strike but has striven to build a broad international consensus for a response to the Islamic Republic’s missile strike against the Jewish state Tuesday.

"We'll be discussing with the Israelis what they're going to do, but all seven of us (G7 nations) agree that they have a right to respond, but they should respond proportionally," Biden told reporters before boarding Air Force One. He said he would be speaking soon with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but did not give a timeline for that call.

“Iran is way off board,” he said. “There is going to be some sanctions imposed on Iran,” he stressed.

Israel may respond to Iran’s major Tuesday ballistic missile attack by striking strategic infrastructure, such as gas or oil rigs, or by directly targeting Iran’s nuclear sites, media reports said on Wednesday, citing Israeli officials.

Targeted assassinations and attacks on Iran’s air defense systems are also possible responses, Axios reported.

An attack on Iranian oil facilities could devastate the country’s economy, and any of the considered responses could mark another escalation, almost one year into the ongoing war that began when the Hamas terror group attacked Israel in October 2023.

The Israel Defense Forces announced on Wednesday that another division, the 36th, was joining its ground operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon, as the Iranian terror proxy continued to launch rocket barrages across the border.

According to the IDF, some 100 rockets were fired at northern Israel during the morning hours, which followed Tuesday night’s second-ever direct attack on Israel by Iran.

In the latest barrage, around 10 rockets were launched at the Western Galiliee and Haifa Bay area.

In considering what the October 2, 2024 annular eclipse could possibly mean as a "sign" (cf. Luke 21:25, Genesis 1:14), it seems there is a parallel here with what happened with the annular eclipse last year on October 14, 2023 and what is happening with this eclipse. Both of these eclipses were annular eclipses which are nicknamed "ring of fire" eclipses because at maximum eclipse the edge of the sun is still visible outside of the disk of the moon that blocks the rest of the sun.

The 2023 annular eclipse happened one week after Hamas' terrible October 7 attack on Israel. The 2024 annular eclipse is happening shortly after Israel made a major offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon and also right after Iran just unleashed an attack of ballistic missiles against Israel. Even though the path of full annularity of the 2024 annular eclipse passes mostly over the water, the timing of when it is occurring still seems to be significant. The eclipse is occurring at the time of the new moon that indicates the start of the Jewish month of Tishrei. The first day of Tishrei is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, which is also known as the Feast of Trumpets.

In addition to this, Iran also attacked Israel earlier this year on April 13-14, 2024. This was less than one week after the April 8, 2024 total eclipse.

While the Bible is clear that there will be celestial signs, it is not so clear on how they should be interpreted. Still, based on the evidence above, these signs all seem to be referencing in some way military conflict and war. This definitely involves Israel, Iranian proxies (Hamas and Hezbollah), and Iran. And it seems at some point, Israel will deal with Iran's nuclear program. It is not fully clear yet whether that will happen in this season or at a later point. But given the two major Iranian projectile/missile attacks on Israel this year, Israel is certainly not going to keep putting up with it without a response. And Israel is already at least considering striking Iran's nuclear program in response to the most recent missile attack.

This way of looking at these signs seems to align with what Jesus said about "wars and rumors of wars" in Matthew 24:6.

For more background on this topic, earlier this year we released an article titled, "A Biblical Framework for Understanding the 2017 and 2024 Total Solar Eclipses and What the Eclipses Indicate Could Be Coming to the United States." This article looks at these eclipses through a scriptural lens that strongly takes into account Matthew 24 and Luke 21.

In another article, we pointed out some possible connections between last year's annular eclipse and what it might mean for the United States and that it could warn of an attack on cities in the United States. Thankfully, much prayer and intercession has been made over the last year, and perhaps that has prevented anything more major from breaking out. Still, it is possible this warning that was given last year could be a factor for events that could happen involving the United States in this next season. That article is available here, "The Prophetic Significance of the October 14, 2023 Annular Eclipse Across the United States."

In a different article, it has also been pointed out that the 2017 total eclipse seems to in part point to a pattern of war that references the World War I eclipse over Europe. This at least in part seems to have relevance for the conflict between Ukraine and Russia and the possibility that NATO could be pulled into it. (We need to be praying if that can be avoided.) This pattern also seems to point to military conflict involving Iran which has at least partially come to pass given recent events in the Middle East. There seems to be a specific warning here to the United States as well, since the 2017 eclipse look place over the US. The article is available here, "Did the 2017 eclipse contain a warning of a conflict involving Ukraine? What does that mean for the United States?"

In the event that the current military conflicts involving Israel in could lead to a peace deal between the Israelis and the Palestinians (which seems unlikely in the short-term but should not absolutely be ruled out), the 2017 and 2024 total eclipses are a warning to the USA as described in this article, "The 2017 and 2024 Solar Eclipses: The Warning of a Major New Madrid Earthquake If America Facilitates a Two-State Agreement That Divides Israel."

One additional article about these topics is also available here, "The Biblical Significance of the August 21, 2017 and April 8, 2024 Total Solar Eclipses, and the Warnings of Coronavirus, War, Earthquakes and Famine." In the addendum of this article, there is a brief discussion of how the 2017 total eclipse where the solar corona appeared seems to have been a warning of the Coronavirus.

Given all of these things, we still need to be praying for God's mercy and trusting in Jesus. Our intercession is often a factor in why some things are delayed, prevented, or lessened. Although there may be some things that cannot be prevented. At the same time, as these challenges come on the world, Jesus will give grace and strength to His body the Church as it seeks Him in this next season.

IDF Chief Spokesman Daniel Hagari at 8:30 p.m. following Iran's massive ballistic missile attack on Israel on Tuesday said, "We do not now see other aerial threats from Iran...So we issued instructions to [the Israeli populace] leave safety areas."

"During our defense, we shot down not a few [many] of the threats. There have been some hits in central Israel and in other parts of the country. We have not heard that there are wounded persons," said Hagari.

Further, he said, "Do not give recordings or information about where there are hits," as it provides intel to the enemy.

Iran is planning to attack Israel “imminently” with ballistic missiles, an anonymous senior White House official tells Israeli and US media.

The official says that “we are actively supporting defensive preparations to defend Israel against this attack. A direct military attack from Iran against Israel will carry severe consequences for Iran.”

The Israel Defense Forces warned residents of Southern Lebanon on Tuesday not to venture south of the Litani River, hours after IDF tanks rolled across the border to begin a limited ground operation against Hezbollah.

“Intense fighting is ongoing in Southern Lebanon, during which Hezbollah militants are using the civilian environment and population as human shields to launch attacks,” Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, head of the Arab Media Branch in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, tweeted in Arabic.

The military launched limited raids into southern Lebanon late on Monday night against Hezbollah forces and infrastructure positioned along Israel’s northern border, hours after the security cabinet was said to approve plans for the newest phase of the war against the Lebanese terror group, in a move that the US appeared to express its support for.

In the early hours of Tuesday morning, the IDF said that a “targeted and limited” incursion had begun several hours earlier, focused on Hezbollah targets and infrastructure in a number of Lebanese villages along the border that posed an immediate threat to Israeli towns on the other side of the Blue Line.

Ground troops operating inside southern Lebanon were being assisted by air and artillery forces, the military said, adding that the operation was based on plans drawn up by the IDF’s General Staff and Northern Command.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday told his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant that the United States supports Israel’s limited ground operation against Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a rare direct message to the Iranian people on Monday, saying Israel “stands with you,” as it aggressively fights the Islamic Republic’s proxies across the region in response to their attacks on the Jewish state.

“Every day, you see a regime that subjugates you make fiery speeches about defending Lebanon, defending Gaza. Yet every day, that regime plunges our region deeper into darkness and deeper into war,” the premier said in an English-language video statement, which was also disseminated with Persian subtitles.

Saying Iran’s “puppets” were being eliminated, Netanyahu added there was “nowhere in the Middle East Israel cannot reach. There is nowhere we will not go to protect our people.

“With every passing moment, the regime is bringing you — the noble Persian people — closer to the abyss,” he said. “The vast majority of Iranians know their regime doesn’t care a whit about them. If it did care, if it cared about you, it would stop wasting billions of dollars on futile wars across the Middle East. It would start improving your lives.

The US doubled down on diplomacy Monday as the IDF weighed ground campaign to destroy Hezbollah forces in southern Lebanon, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country was facing fateful and historic days.

“Diplomacy remains the best and only path to achieving greater stability in the Middle East,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Washington, adding that "the United States remains committed to urgently driving these efforts.”

He acknowledged that the Israeli assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah last Friday made “the region” and “the world safer.”

Israeli special forces have conducted targeted raids in Southern Lebanon to gather intelligence and prepare for a possible ground incursion, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

The raids have been going on for months and have included entering Hezbollah’s vast tunnel network in advance of a potential ground operation that could launch as early as this week, according to the report.