Amir Tsarfati: After 15 months Hamas, Still Exists

Shalom from the beautiful Jezreel Valley! This is the last time that I will be able to share with you that greeting for a while. Sunday, I leave for the first of my many tours in 2025! I will be teaching a week from today, January 16, with my dear friend Pastor Barry Stagner as we join for An Evening of Bible Prophecy at Calvary Chapel Inverness in Florida. Two days after that, we will be boarding a ship for our Discovering Daniel and Revealing Revelation Caribbean Cruise. This will be a wonderful week of teaching combined with enjoying the beauty of the islands. For those of you who are joining us, I can’t wait to meet you.

Once we are back on land, I will be speaking at One Church Home in Fairview, Tennessee, on Wednesday, January 29, before heading to the west coast for the annual Proximity Bible Prophecy Conference. This sold-out gathering on Saturday, February 1, will hear messages by Pastor Jack Hibbs, Pastor Barry Stagner, Pastor Mike Golay, and me. The prophetic clock is ticking, and you don’t want to miss this event. I’ll wrap up my teaching time in the United States with Sunday morning messages on February 2 at Calvary Chapel East Anaheim.

Before I head back home, however, I’ll be stashing myself away in Santa Monica for four days. There, Steve Yohn and I will meet to create an overview of the next Nir Tavor series and plot out its first book. These are always wild, enjoyable times, and it will not take long for the walls of my room to be covered with giant white Post-It notes filled with ideas and plans. While I love The Sick Man’s Rage and its sales are going well, I must admit that I cannot wait until this next Nir Tavor series launches in the spring of 2026. It will be unlike anything you have read before!

The MidEast and Global Update

There is so much going on in the world and the events feel like they are continuous. That is why I urge you to subscribe to my Telegram channel. Not only will you see news and visuals there that would be censored on any other platform, but it is the one place you can turn to get all the essential information about Israel, the Middle East, and much of what is happening around the globe. Also, a lot of what I am reporting today in this newsletter comes from Telegram and also from my CONNECT MidEast Update from Tuesday entitled “Middle East Tensions Escalate: Gaza, Hezbollah, Syria & Global Shifts in 2025.” Please take time to watch that video which will take you deeper than I am able to go in this venue.

Gaza’s Disappointment
There is a lot of disappointment going on in the Middle East. Some of the most disappointed are found in Hamas in Gaza. The terrorists had hoped that their actions on October 7 would be the beginning of the end for the Israeli regime. That didn’t happen. Their Plan B focused on getting world opinion against Israel as Hamas fought hard against them. That also didn’t pan out. Sure, much of the world turned against Israel, but that was bound to happen anyway. Most of the United Nations would condemn Israel just for putting sour cream and onion chips in the Gazans’ humanitarian supplies when they had asked for barbecue. But, as a whole, the UN could never find a way to shut Israel down. And, rather than making a stand against the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Hamas might as well have exchanged their fatigues for bull’s-eye patterns.

However, it must be admitted that after 15 months Hamas still exists. But credit cannot go to them for their survival. That honor is reserved for the Biden administration in Washington, D.C. This is Israel’s disappointment in the conflict. They could have gotten back the hostages and finished off Hamas months ago, but the American government slow played everything. Biden’s cronies used the threat of an arms embargo to force Israel into fighting with only one hand, while the other hand they demanded be used to provide humanitarian supplies to the Gazans. Because all humanitarian aid goes through Hamas, Israel became the first nation in history forced to feed and supply the enemy they were fighting. Incoming president Donald Trump has promised that it will be very different with him, promising that there will be “hell to pay” if the hostages are not immediately returned. We pray that it is true.

Meanwhile, the fighting in Gaza continues. Currently, much of the battle is taking place in the northern part of the region. The IDF raided Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Hania last month, causing an international uproar. The usual international pearl-clutchers quickly condemned Israel for their policy of consistently attacking innocent places designated for healing. Obviously, these are people who understand nothing about Gaza or Hamas. More than 240 terrorists were arrested from within the hospital. Just a few days ago, one of these prisoners admitted in an interview that the Kamal Adwan Hospital was a hideout for terrorists, a stash for weapons of all types, and a base from which raids were carried out. It’s time this war is over. Hopefully, after January 20 we will be able to finish it off.

Lebanon’s Disappointment
There is disappointment in Lebanon amongst many when they look to the south of their country and still see the flag of Israel waving. People question, “Weren’t they supposed to be out?” Yes, according to the ceasefire, Israel was to move out of Lebanon. However, there was a caveat added that during the withdrawal, any enemy war materiel found that could be used against Israel would be destroyed by the IDF. Unfortunately for Hezbollah, we keep finding rockets and missiles and all sorts of weapons stashed everywhere along our path. So, the IDF must take out the Hezbollah troops who are hiding the weapons, then we must destroy the weapons themselves. But progress is taking place. The Lebanese army is moving into Naquora, just to the north of the Israeli border, even as the IDF is moving out.

But it isn’t the Israelis that the Lebanese need to be most worried about. Rather than looking south, everyday Lebanese folk should be keeping their eyes to the east in Syria. The new de facto head of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, no matter how much he seeks to moderate his look and his tone, is al-Qaeda at heart. Numerous radical groups are currently having their way in the broken-down country, but they aren’t content to stay on their side of the Syria/Lebanon border. Said one radical terrorist last week, “We can take Lebanon in two hours.” Said another, “All of the coastline of Lebanon is Syrian.” With strong leadership, it’s possible to stand up against a terrorist onslaught. But Lebanon has no leader. Despite attempting to elect a president a dozen times, Lebanon’s presidency has remained vacant since 2022. Today, parliament is gathering once again to elect a president. One candidate is pro-Hezbollah, one is anti-Hezbollah, and one is a military candidate who could be a compromise between the two. Will the thirteenth vote be a charm? I’m not counting on it. As of the first vote today, no decision has been made.

Turkey’s Disappointment
If there was one person dancing the Halay at the fall of Syria, it was Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The tension between the president and Syrian President Bashir al-Assad was great, so Erdoğan had high expectations when his counterpart fled to Moscow. There were two hopes he held. First, he wanted the Syrian National Army (SNA) to be the primary military force, instead of the jumbled mess of Iranian-backed militias. Second, he wanted the new Syria to help him finish off the Kurds once and for all. Instead, Syria’s military is not the SNA, but a hodge-podge of radical extremists made up of ISIS, al-Qaeda, other terror groups, and former members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), al-Sharaa’s radical group out of which he formed the government. And the Kurds are being left alone. Erdoğan recognizes that he is in trouble. He is Muslim brotherhood, therefore not a radical Islamist. This may open him up to conflict as ISIS and al-Qaeda establish themselves to his south. He also sees the Turkish lira dropping and the negative financial growth of his nation. Any hope he may have had of benefitting from an alliance below his border looks unlikely to pan out.

Unfortunately, this downturn for Turkey puts Israel at risk. In a report recently submitted to the Israeli government, the Nagel Committee warned that Israel must prepare for a war against Turkey. Erdoğan has always had a passionate hatred for our country, but now he also has the added pressure of financial devastation. In Israel, he sees a potential cash cow. Despite his economic struggles, he is able to scrape up enough lira to develop long-range missiles with a flight distance that can easily reach Israel. This doesn’t surprise anyone who has read Ezekiel 38. The Bible is always so much more accurate than the news.

Russia and Iran are Disappointed
When Russian President Vladimir Putin came to help Bashir al-Assad defeat the rebels in the Syrian civil war, he assumed that his nation would receive the fat contracts during the rebuilding of the country. That’s not happening. In fact, Russia is clearing out of Syria as quickly as they can. They have enough to deal with in Ukraine, and the last thing they want is to get drawn into a battle with the Islamist crazies who are setting up camp in Syria. For Russia, Syria was a huge pit that they dumped massive amounts of cash into only to now have to write it off as a loss. Iran is in the same place as far as pouring money into Syria, but they dumped their cash into building a network of radical militias. Those, too, have collapsed and Iran is left with empty hands. But Iran also understands that the time for their nuclear aspirations is very short. In-coming President Trump will not allow Iran to go nuclear. So, whether he does anything about it himself or he just takes the shackles off of the Israeli Air Force, the party is about to end for Tehran. The ayatollahs are scrambling to protect their nuclear program, recently touting new secret air defense systems around sensitive areas. They better be good, because sometime in the next few weeks they are going to get a serious workout.

The Liberal Left is Disappointed
Goodbye, Prime Minister Trudeau. We’ll consider you the first world leader casualty of the new Trump era. The near decade you have been in office has greatly changed Canada. Let’s see if the conservatives who are currently leading the polls will have the ability and alliances to change it back.

A reactionary conservative swing isn’t only taking place in Canada. In Germany, the right is leading polls. In Austria, the president has tasked a far-right leader with forming a government, while in the Netherlands the right has already taken over the government. Why is this happening? People are finally realizing what open borders, anti-police, nanny state, immigrant-favoring, soft justice, environmentally radical, word-canceling policies will get you. They know because they’re living it, and it isn’t good. The Islamists, who have made quiet immigration part of their soft invasion and takeover of Europe, are realizing that they’ve been discovered. Expect there to be a lot more Islamic violence in western Europe, Canada, and the United States in the months to come as the invaders shift tactics from quiet to loud.

America is Not Disappointed
The November elections in America created a political explosion with a blast wave that swept over the entire earth. We are in unprecedented times witnessing unprecedented events. Already, world leaders have forgotten about the Biden administration and are going to pay their respects to the president-elect at Mar-a-Lago. Putin, Xi, Khamenei, Erdoğan, Kim are all now forced to look at the timetables for their international intrigues to see if they need to speed them up, slow them down, or scrap them altogether. All of this is because this one man is coming into office.

This is also why I am praying so hard for the safety of Donald Trump. Iran is still determined to avenge the death of Qassem Soleimani. Al-Qaeda has infiltrated the United States and is undoubtedly planning something big. Abdul Rahman Al-Qaradawi, son of Sharia extremist Yusuf al-Qaradawi, visited the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus after the fall of Assad and said that the al-Aqsa flood would reach the entire world. The “al-Aqsa flood” was what Hamas called their October 7 attack. The number of terror attacks are increasing, and it is reasonable to assume they will become more coordinated as an ever-growing number of terrorist personnel infiltrate the west. We must pray for God to thwart the evil plans of these murderous beasts before they happen.

As rosy as it looks for most of America with the change in Washington, there is one area that is very disappointed right now. That is Los Angeles. Wildfires have swept through the vast metro sprawl destroying vegetation, homes, and businesses. In many areas, there is still no containment in the spread of the flames. High winds and unusually dry conditions created the perfect conditions for the devastation. However, it wasn’t all natural. The crazy policies of the liberal left seeded the ground for this inferno. Controlled burns, brush clearing, and better control of water in reservoirs all would have kept fuel low and firefighting resources high, but each area has been hugely hindered by leftist, environmental activism. In addition, money was denied to firefighting preparations that would have allowed the purchase of large planes that could have dropped massive amounts of water on the fires. Instead, the fires were fought with the limited shots of water that helicopters could spit at them, and that could only take place the second night due to the high winds. For those affected by the fires, a huge portion of them have had their wildfire insurance canceled over the last four years leaving them now dependent upon a broken state system that is going to collapse under the weight of this devastation. Lunatic leftism is a mental disease and we are seeing in California the natural results of their policies.

Ministry Updates

On Monday, I had a great Q & A with Pastor Barry Stagner, and on Tuesday, as I mentioned above, I gave an important update on the Middle East. Wednesday saw me with Steve Yohn on CONNECT Authors’ Corner where we talked about my favorite book that I’ve written, Israel and the Church. All of these are available for your viewing on YouTube.

The reviews for The Sick Man’s Rage have been pouring in on Amazon. Thanks to all of you who have left your rating and your comments. According to many of the reviewers, this is their favorite of the books to date. Pick up your copy today!

Because of my travel schedule, my online schedule is going to be hit and miss for a few weeks. However, there are still shows that we’ve recorded that will release while I’m in the United States. To keep up with the schedule, you only need to check our website.

Thank you for your support and your prayers. I’m very excited to get back on the speaking circuit. I know God has some amazing things planned this year. It is such an encouragement to know that you are lifting me up with your prayers.

Awaiting His Return,

Amir Tsarfati

Amir Tsarfati, a Jewish Christian, is the founder and president of Behold Israel, a news site to correct the scarcity in trustworthy reportage on issues and events impacting Israel, and to resolve the uncertainty about who or what to believe.

The views expressed in opinion articles are solely those of the author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Black Community News.