Displaying items by tag: ceasefire

After months of deadlock, there are new signs that Israel and Hamas could be moving closer to a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal. The USA, Qatar, and Egypt are reporting greater willingness by both sides to conclude a deal. Talks are reportedly in a decisive stage. Israel’s defence minister has indicated that they are close to an agreement, though challenges remain, including far-right Israeli cabinet opposition and Hamas's conditions. A three-phase plan proposes releasing civilian and women hostages, with Israeli troop withdrawals and a mechanism for displaced Gazans to return. Subsequent stages include freeing remaining hostages and a broader troop withdrawal. Of 96 hostages in Gaza, 62 are believed to be still alive; a hundred others have been freed through negotiation or military action. The negotiations have been given a new push by Donald Trump’s election; he has warned that a ceasefire deal should be reached before he takes office, because otherwise ‘it’s not going to be pleasant’.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, brokered by the USA, began on 27 November, with thousands of  displaced people cautiously returning to southern Lebanon. The truce calls for a sixty-day withdrawal period for Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters from southern Lebanon, with the Lebanese army deploying extra troops in the region to oversee the ceasefire and reclaim control. However, Israeli officials have warned that any breaches by Hezbollah would prompt immediate military action. Hezbollah claimed ‘victory’ in its first statement since the ceasefire, vowing readiness to confront Israeli actions. The conflict, which began in October 2023 but has escalated since September, has devastated Lebanon, with over 3,800 killed and nearly 16,000 injured. Caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati has called for unity after what he said was the ‘most cruel phase in Lebanese history’. For a view on how this truce might affect the conflict in Gaza, see

A UN-backed report has revealed that Gaza is facing a man-made famine, prompting pressure on Israel to uphold its legal obligations by allowing sufficient humanitarian aid into the region. The UN's human rights chief suggested Israel may be using starvation as a weapon of war - potentially a war crime. Israeli officials deny this accusation, claiming that they are letting in all the aid offered by the US and the rest of the world. However, the huge backlog of aid lorries at the Egypt-Gaza border has forced some nations to use less efficient air drops. Palestinians have struggled to access aid; some have even drowned or been crushed in pursuit of supplies. The US navy plans to construct a temporary pier for sea delivery, highlighting the necessity of better access routes. In another development, on 25 March the UN Security Council voted for an immediate ceasefire; for the first time, the USA abstained rather than vetoing the resolution. See

On 30 November Israel and Hamas struck a last-minute agreement to extend their ceasefire for a seventh day. Both sides agreed to extend the truce, with Hamas releasing more hostages and Israel receiving a list of those to be freed. So far, 97 hostages have been released by Hamas and 180 prisoners by Israel: however, there are reports that israel has been arresting more Palestinians. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/28/arrests Washington hoped the truce could be extended further to free more hostages and let more aid reach Gaza. The ceasefire has allowed 220 lorries a day to bring in humanitarian aid to the strip, but two-thirds of its residents are homeless and more than 15,000 have been killed during the Israeli campaign. The USA has urged Israel to specify safe zones for Palestinian civilians if and when its offensive resumes. Meanwhile, soon after the agreement three people have been killed and six injured by Hamas gunmen in Jerusalem: see

Six years into an armed conflict that has killed and injured over 18,400 civilians, Yemen remains the largest humanitarian crisis in the world and the world's worst food security crisis (20.1 million people, two-thirds of the population, need food assistance). On 2 August the warring parties agreed to extend a UN-brokered truce for another two months. The truce has brought the longest period of relative calm in over seven years and a significant decrease in civilian casualties and increased humanitarian access. The UN is seeking an extended and expanded truce to provide a platform for further trust-building, discussions on economic priorities, and establishing a permanent ceasefire. Turning the truce into a political agreement is challenging due to deep mistrust, competing agendas among the groups vying for power, and different ideas about what a peace process looks like. Pray for the UN to successfully reopen roads and negotiate nationwide salary payments.

Psalm 122:6 tells us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.  Currently Israel is undergoing significant upheaval whilst still facing threats from Palestinians in Gaza. 

Having seen 11 days of relative peace following a ceasefire agreed between Israeli and Palestinian forces, the Israeli military confirmed an aircraft attack in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday 16^th June, retaliating against incendiary balloons deployed by Hamas.

The attack comes barely two days after the ousting of Israel's former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The attack reportedly targeted Hamas armed compounds in response to incendiary balloons that were deployed from the area. The balloons caused 10 fires in fields of southern Israel, Reuters reported.

An unwieldy coalition calling itself “Change” has removed Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, after his most recent 12-year run. The eight-party coalition ranges from ultra-right religious nationalists to the secular hard-right, through the centre-right and residue of Israel’s left, to ally for the first time with an Arab Islamist party.

The new government will be led initially by Naftali Bennett, a champion of Jewish settlement. He is opposed to any Palestinian state and wants to annex most of the occupied West Bank and stands to the right of Netanyahu.

Yair Lapid, a former TV anchor and voice of liberal secular Israelis, whose party came second to Netanyahu’s Likud, is supposed to take over from Bennett as premier in 2023 and has provided what glue the coalition has.

Netanyahu’s removal from office has been met with dismay by some evangelical Christian groups whilst others have reaffirmed their support for Israel and a desire to stay out of day-to-day politics. 

Meanwhile, Netanyahu continues to challenge the legitimacy a the newly formed Israeli coalition, calling it the result of “the greatest election fraud” in the history of democracy.

Pray: that His peace may reign over the land of Israel (Psalm 122:6)
Pray: for Naftali Bennett as the new leader of the Israeli Government.  Pray@ that God will Provide him and the Government with the knowledge needed during these most difficult of times.
Pray: that the ceasefire may endure and that a peaceful resolution to this complex conflict may still be found.

Sources / More: The Financial Times, USA Today,

Armenia has begun handing over liberated territory to Azerbaijan as part of a peace accord that ended six weeks of fierce fighting over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Residents of Azerbaijan's Kalbajar district have been occupied by Armenian forces for decades. Now they begin a mass exodus of the mountainous province in the days leading up to the official withdrawal day at the end of November. Some set their homes on fire rather than leave them for Azerbaijanis. A Russian peacekeeping contingent has set up checkpoints and positions as part of the terms that Armenia yields territory which Azerbaijan's forces gained in the fighting. Putin told his Azerbaijani counterpart to take care of churches, monasteries and shrines in areas that Azerbaijan gets under this cease-fire agreement. Moscow's peacekeeping mission, which the military said included soldiers who previously were stationed in Syria, comprises some 2,000 troops for a renewable five-year mission.

BAKU/YEREVAN -- Deadly fighting between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces over the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region has intensified as both sides blame each other for the collapse of a third attempt at a cease-fire.

Azerbaijan and Armenian reported civilian casualties in urban areas on October 28, two days after a U.S.-brokered cease-fire was to go into effect.

Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said 21 civilians were killed and 70 injured in Smerch multiple-rocket system attacks on the city of Barda, located in central Azerbaijan outside the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Four civilians were reportedly killed in another attack on the city on the previous day.

The Armenian Defense Ministry accused Azerbaijani forces of attacking civilian areas in Nagorno-Karabakh, including the shelling of a hospital and maternity clinic in the enclave’s main city, Stepanakert. The rocket attacks caused damage but inflicted no casualties. One civilian was killed and two others were injured in a rocket attack on the nearby town of Shushi (Susa).

Both sides denied the other's claims that civilians were being targeted.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said urban areas had been hit and that one volunteer from the Azerbaijan Red Crescent Society was killed in the shelling. Two other volunteers were injured.

"Alongside thousands of civilians, the ICRC witnessed intense shelling in urban areas on both sides of the front line today, leading to death, destruction, injuries, and desolation," it said in a statement.

"These latest exchanges signal that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict risks spiraling out of control," it warned.

Both sides have claimed the other is targeting civilians during a month of intense clashes that have drawn in world powers seeking to halt the worst fighting the region since a 1994 cease-fire.

More at: https://www.rferl.org/a/armenia-azerbaijan-urged-to-seek-lasting-cease-fire-as-diplomatic-efforts-continue/30916763.html

Pray for the hostilities to cease and for a return to negotiations.

Pray for the safety of civilians living in the disputed regions.

Pray that external interference will be brought to light and that this war does not escalate further.

Please, earnestly pray for the people of these countries, so that God's peace may descend on the borders and reconciliation may be established between the neighboring fighting countries.

Eight armed drones and three ballistic missiles hit Riyadh, the Saudi capital, on 24 June. On 22 June a Saudi-led coalition had announced both sides intended to meet in an attempt to re-establish a 2019 deal that ended earlier fighting. Tensions between the two former allies in Yemen's war has surged after the expiry last month of the six-week ceasefire prompted by the pandemic. The Saudi-led intervention in Yemen has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed the country to the brink of famine. The media reporting on the most recent attack stated, ‘The Houthis said they had hit the Saudi defence ministry and a military base, while a Saudi-led military coalition said it had shot a missile down, making no reference to targets’. The area is currently quiet.

Libya, a major oil producer, has been mired in turmoil since 2011 when Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in a NATO-backed uprising. In the first week of June the warring sides began new ceasefire talks in Libya. On 14 June the Turkish foreign minister and his Russian counterpart decided to put off the talks during a phone call; however, they said that it was important to prevent another failed ceasefire. Pray that there will be constructive positive talks for a lasting ceasefire without any more postponements. Pray for a spirit of unity to flow through all communication between the Iranian foreign minister, Turkish president Erdogan, and Russian president Putin. Pray also for an end to the heavy clashes that erupted recently despite a unilateral ceasefire proposal by Egypt.