Israel has kicked off its heaviest push yet into Gaza Cityâafter weeks of âshaping operationsââwhile also striking in Yemen and reportedly backing Druze fighters in southern Syria. At the same time, a ceremony beneath Jerusalemâs Old Cityâattended by Secretary of State Marco Rubioâlit up a very different front: history, faith, and narrative. Hereâs the fast tour through what matters and why.
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 The war just shifted gears
Over the last week Israel hammered Gaza City with air and artillery, flattening high-rises Hamas used as observation posts and command nodes. That was prelude. As of last night, IDF Merkava columns pushed in en masse with heavy air coverâwhat looks like the start of the full ground thrust many assumed began weeks ago.
Whatâs different now:
Tempo: From pin-point raids to multi-brigade advances.
Purpose: Clear and hold, not just attrit.
Civilians: Israel had urged evacuations for weeks; Hamas intimidated and manipulated many into staying as human shields.
 âShapingâ is over. The main act just walked onstage.
Israel also continues long-arm strikes into Yemen to blunt Houthi launches and interdiction attemptsâreminding everyone this conflict has regional plumbing.
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A northern wrinkle: Druze in southern Syria
Multiple reports say Israel is arming and paying several thousand Druze fighters in Syriaâs Suwayda region. The likely aims:
carve a buffer against jihadi networks and Iranian proxies,
stabilize Druze communities adjacent to the Golan, and
pressure Damascus while U.S. political heat rises on the Assad regime.
If true, itâs classic Israeli realpolitik: empower local actors who can both hold terrain and deny sanctuaries to the worst people in the neighborhood.
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 Hostages, threats, and hard truth
President Trump warned Hamas that using hostages as above-ground shields would mean âall bets are off.â Hamas has played the human shield card from day one, and as fighting tightens around Gaza City, the danger to the captives sadly increases, whether underground or in tents. Two sober realities:
Hamas wonât voluntarily release all hostages;
âPressure campsâ outside the PMâs residence donât move Hamasâthey help Hamas by showing internal Israeli division.
A miracle remains possible. Absent that, rescue and relentless pressure are the only paths that have ever worked on terror kidnappers.
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 The âG-wordâ and how headlines get made
When a UN panel labeled Israelâs conduct âgenocide,â many outlets headlined it as fait accompli: âIsrael committing genocide in Gaza,â and only later added the âUN inquiry saysâ clause. That ordering isnât accidental; itâs framing. The same pattern appears with the phrase âoccupied Palestinian territoryââbaked into the body names themselves, bias pre-installed.
A few counters you wonât see on those front pages:
Population reality: Gazaâs population grew for years; Israel has sent in food and medicine even while fighting.
2005 withdrawal: Israel pulled out of Gaza entirely for nearly two decades.
Military necessity vs. malice: Collapsing tunnels and neutralizing rooftop fire isnât the same as targeting civilians as civilians.
No one should be casual about civilian harm. But precision and intent matterâand so does honest language.
 Under the Old City: a tunnel, a text, and a statement
While rockets and headlines flew, another story unfolded under Jerusalem. Secretary of State Marco Rubio joined Israeli leaders to inaugurate a newly opened pilgrimage tunnel linking the City of David to the Western Wallâan archaeological artery that strengthens the historical case for an ancient Jewish Jerusalem.
The press called the event âextremistâ because the City of David organization is settlement-friendly. Watch the speeches and youâll hear⊠basic statements about history, law, and Godâs promises. Whether you agree the temple stood on todayâs Temple Mount or nearer the Gihon Springs, the archaeology keeps saying the quiet part out loud: the Jews didnât arrive in 1948.
 Stones donât tweet, but they do testify.
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 The Gaza map keeps changing
The IDFâs own sequencing shows a slow squeeze: Rafah sealed and cleared, buffer zones bulldozed, then methodical bites northward. The carve-outs will likely remain. When a terror army embeds in apartments and alleys, the land you can live on shrinks until your militants stop using it as a launchpad. Thatâs cruel mathâbut itâs Hamasâs math.
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 Quick answers to common questions
âWhy doesnât Israel just take Gaza in weeks?â
Booby-trapped stairwells, IED belts, tunnel networks, and hostages make speed the enemy of success.âCut Gazaâs internet already.â
Itâs a live intelligence hose. Israel harvests signals and patterns from the traffic. Turning it off cuts both ways.âTwo-state solution?â
The UN votes it like a spell. History says every concession to Hamas is treated as proof of weakness, not a path to peace.âArabs in Israel?â
Roughly one in five Israeli citizens is Arabâvoting, serving, studying, and running businesses inside Israel proper.
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What to watch next
Gaza City blocks: Expect grinding, building-to-building clearing with casualty spikes when tunnel nodes are found.
Northern front: More rocket trades with Hezbollah; keep an eye on Mount Hermon / Golan movements.
Damascus diplomacy: If Druze gains hold, watch for Assad-Israel rumblings about territory swaps and tacit understandings.
Jerusalem narrative: The tunnel opening is just the startâarchaeology will keep undermining convenient modern myths.
Bottom line
The kinetic phase in Gaza City has truly begun.
The information war remains as vicious as the street fight.
Under the streets, stones keep speakingâabout covenant, continuity, and belonging.
And for families of hostages and soldiers, the stakes arenât theoretical; theyâre mortal.
Pray for the captives. Pray for wisdom in Israelâs war cabinet. Pray for justice without vengeance, strength without cruelty, and an end state that keeps evil from regenerating.
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