Excerpt from upcoming novel: October 7th:
A Tale of Two White Toyota Vehicles
Da New Sees World Reportvia Daniyel enBemidbar Israel10/14, 2026
The pre-dawn air rushing through the cracked windows of the white Toyota Yaris carried the sharp scent of damp earth and desert dust. Crammed into the compact car, Miryam, Avigail, Libby, and Tamar sang over the thumping bass vibrating from the dashboard speakers, leaving behind the sterile corridors and fluorescent glare of Sourasky Medical Center. For the four Sackler nursing students, the drive south toward the Re’im forest was an escape—a rare weekend carved out of relentless clinical rotations to dance under the open skies during the final hours of Sukkot. Ahead of them lay the Supernova gathering, an open-air trance festival that had received its permits and finalized its last-minute relocation to the rural fields near the Gaza border only days before, drawing thousands to celebrate under the banner of the Tribe of Nova as the holiday transitioned into Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah.
A dozen kilometers away, beneath the same fading stars, a different reality unfolded in the narrow, shadowed streets of Khan Yunis. Yusef sat in the bed of an aged white Toyota Hilux alongside Ahmed, Ibrahim, and Muhammad, their hands gripping cold steel. In Gaza, life had long been defined by the persistent hum of overhead drones, the invisible grid of 24/7 aerial surveillance, and the multi-layered perimeter that sealed the Strip from the world beyond. Driven by deep-seated grievances, the enduring trauma of blockade, and years of militant indoctrination, the four operated under the conviction of an all-out assault against the system that confined them. In the dim light of dawn, explosive breaching charges, wire-cutters, and bulldozers shattered the multi-million-dollar barrier of concrete, subterranean sensors, and heavy steel fencing in minutes, opening jagged corridors through which armed teams surged into the borderlands.
The boundary between celebration and disaster dissolved just as the sun broke the horizon. At Re’im, the music was abruptly cut; sound engineers took to the stage microphones shouting instructions over the rising wail of rocket-warning sirens: “Tzeva Adom—hit the ground, cover your heads!” Dancers, initially assuming it was a standard rocket volley, lay flat in the dirt. But within minutes, the crackle of automatic gunfire drew near as armed squads arrived from the tree lines. Miryam and Avigail bolted on foot through the scrub, running blindly through the escalating chaos and smoke, while Libby and Tamar were overtaken near the perimeter and forced into the back of Yusef’s pickup as it turned back toward the border.
The Hilux sped west across the open agricultural fields, dust billowing behind its wheels, carrying the four fighters and their captives. Overhead, the low, mechanical thrum of the Israeli Air Force signaled the arrival of Boeing AH-64 Apache gunships dispatched into airspace thick with smoke, broken communications, and confusion. Operating under emergent combat directives to prevent cross-border abductions at all costs, the aircraft engaged vehicles racing toward the perimeter. Within seconds, a volley of 30 mm autocannon fire tore across the open ground, striking the speeding truck and ending the lives of everyone inside in an instant of devastating kinetic force...
To be continued:
What really Happened on October 7th? Why Did Hamas Operatives Choose to risk everything in the hopes of somehow achieving a better quality of life for their fellow "Semitic" Palestinian people?
John J. Mearsheimer is an internationally renowned American political scientist and R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago. A leading figure in international relations theory, Mearsheimer is best known for developing the theory of offensive realism, which posits that great powers seek hegemony in an anarchic international system to guarantee their own security. Over his career, Mearsheimer has been a prominent analyst of grand strategy, U.S. foreign policy, and Middle Eastern affairs—most notably co-authoring the influential 2007 book The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy.
The "Exodus" Mythos vs. Historical Realities of Land Ownership:
Like many Americans who grew up in the post-WWII era, Mearsheimer’s early understanding of the state of Israel was heavily shaped by popular culture, particularly the 1960 Hollywood film Exodus starring Paul Newman. The film presented a heroic, romanticized narrative: a benevolent state forged by idealistic pioneers carving out a homeland in an empty or welcoming desert.
Mearsheimer’s perspective fundamentally shifted as he delved into academic archival research and the work of "New Historians" (such as Benny Morris, Avi Shlaim, and Ilan Pappé). Historical land records from the British Mandate period reveal a drastically different baseline:
- Demographics and Land Ownership: During the late Ottoman and British Mandate periods prior to 1948, Jewish land purchases amounted to approximately 6% to 7% of the total land area of Mandatory Palestine. The remaining vast majority (~93–94%) was owned or cultivated by the indigenous Arab Palestinian population or designated as public state land under local usage.
- The Dispossession (Nakba): To convert an Arab-majority territory into a Jewish-majority state, Zionist forces utilized coordinated military tactics, including psychological warfare, strategic village expulsions, and forced depopulation during the 1948 war (the Nakba or "Catastrophe"), which displaced roughly 700,000 to 750,000 Palestinians from their homes.
The Enclaves: Gaza and the West Bank
The geography of modern Palestine was shaped by the armistice lines of the 1948 and 1967 wars:
| Territory | Strategic & Historical Context | Modern Terminology & Control |
| Gaza Strip | A narrow coastal strip that became a refuge for over 200,000 displaced Palestinians during the 1948 war. Blockaded by land, air, and sea since 2007. | Often described by human rights organizations and analysts as an "open-air prison." |
| West Bank | Captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War; contains major biblical sites. | Referred to as the "Occupied Territories" internationally, or as "Judea and Samaria" by Israeli authorities emphasizing ancient biblical ties. |
Why Hamas Attacked on October 7, 2023
In Episode 12 (Why Hamas Really Attacked Israel on Oct. 7), Mearsheimer outlines several driving factors behind the attack:
- Breaking the Status Quo: Hamas sought to disrupt what it viewed as a slow, permanent absorption of Palestinian land without any prospect of statehood.
- Preventing Regional Normalization: The impending Abraham Accords expansion—specifically potential normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel—threatened to sideline the Palestinian question permanently in regional diplomacy.
- Provocations in Jerusalem: Ongoing tensions and security raids at the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in East Jerusalem served as a catalyst and operational banner (Operation Al-Aqsa Flood).
- The Blockade & Settlement Expansion: Deepening blockades on Gaza and accelerating Israeli settlement growth and settler violence in the West Bank created conditions that Hamas exploited to mobilize its forces.
Netanyahu’s Strategy: Divide, Rule, and the Qatari Funds
Reporting across Israeli investigative media—including Haaretz and The Times of Israel—has extensively documented the strategic doctrine adopted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government over the preceding decade:
- Undermining the Two-State Solution: To prevent the creation of an independent Palestinian state, Netanyahu pursued a strategy of divide-and-rule. By keeping the Palestinian political leadership fractured between the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah and Hamas in Gaza, Israel could claim it had "no partner for peace."
- The Qatari Cash Mechanism: As part of this strategy, the Israeli government permitted and facilitated the regular transport of suitcased Qatari cash (ranging between $15M to $30M+ per month) into Gaza. Ostensibly designated for civil servant salaries and humanitarian fuel, the policy intentionally kept Hamas solvent and in control of Gaza, thereby cementing the geopolitical wedge between Gaza and the West Bank.
- Intelligence Warnings: Israeli intelligence reports and military officials had raised red flags months prior to October 7 regarding Hamas training operations and potential breach plans. However, military and political leaders largely dismissed the threat, operating under the assumption that Hamas was deterred and preferred economic stabilization over large-scale .
Israel’s Growing Isolation and the Prophetic Horizon
Why Israel is Increasingly Viewed as a Global Pariah; The wretched state of "Two State Solution" What factors should the International Community take into consideration before any attempts to reign in Israel, and the Western Nations from the ICC, ICJ, or Ultimately what does Ha Shem, the Holy God of Israel Witness from his heavenly throne, on precisely how the State of Israel, has repeatedly violated the eternal Torah of YHVH in dare quest to turn Gaza into a Laboratory Experiment on how to merchandise the military occupation of Gaza, and the West Bank to a world overrunning with despots who increasingly are seeking "Total Control" over the Global Cyst's "Plan Net Earth?
The international community's shift toward viewing Israel as a pariah state stems from the unprecedented scale of civilian suffering, mass displacement, and destruction across Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon:
- Humanitarian Catastrophe in Gaza: Independent UN experts, international human rights organizations, and proceedings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) have highlighted civilian casualties, widespread famine, and systemic destruction of medical and urban infrastructure. Measures restricted food, water, and fuel delivery, drawing condemnation from humanitarian agencies worldwide.
- Escalation in the West Bank and Lebanon: Surging violence by armed Israeli settlers, record state-sanctioned land seizures in the West Bank, and widespread air and ground campaigns in Lebanon have drawn widespread international censure.
- Diplomatic Realignment: European nations (such as Spain, Ireland, and Norway) formally recognized a Palestinian state, while the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for top leadership over war crimes allegations. Together, these moves signify a structural rupture between Israel and traditional international legal frameworks.
Gaza's Population and Casualties
- Pre-October 7, 2023 Population: Gaza’s population was estimated at 2.1 to 2.23 million residents by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) and the United Nations. Roughly half of the population was under the age of 18.
- Current Surviving Population in Gaza: The majority of Gaza's residents remain within the territory—estimated between 1.85 and 2.1 million people. Due to the near-total closure of borders, only an estimated 100,000 to 150,000 residents managed to exit (primarily via Egypt before the Rafah crossing was captured in May 2024). More than 85–90% of the surviving population has been internally displaced, frequently multiple times.
- Estimated Casualties:
- Total Palestinian Fatalities: Official tallies recorded by the Gaza Ministry of Health and reported by the UN document tens of thousands of deaths, with verified tallies exceeding 40,000 to over 60,000 direct deaths, of which women and children make up a significant majority of identified civilian victims. An estimated 10,000 or more remain buried under rubble or unrecovered.
Independent public health estimates (such as those discussed in The Lancet) suggest that indirect deaths—from malnutrition, lack of medical care, and disease—could push the eventual toll significantly higher. - Hamas/Militant Operatives Killed: Israel estimates it has killed roughly 15,000 to 20,000 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters. Hamas generally does not publish systematic casualty counts for its armed wing (the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades) and disputes Israeli figures, claiming lower military losses while emphasizing high civilian tolls.
Motivations and Context of the October 7 Attacks
Hamas leadership named the October 7 assault "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood." Public statements and analyses point to several primary motivators:
- Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa: Responding to perceived Israeli threats to the status of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and confrontations with Israeli security forces in East Jerusalem.
- The 16-Year Blockade: Seeking to break the ongoing land, air, and naval blockade imposed on Gaza since 2007, which severely restricted economic life and movement.
- Prisoner Exchanges: Capturing Israeli soldiers and civilians to exchange for the thousands of Palestinians detained or imprisoned in Israeli facilities.
- Disrupting Regional Normalization: Derailing diplomatic normalization accords (the Abraham Accords) between Israel and Arab states, which Hamas argued were sidelining the Palestinian national issue.
- Ideological Conflict: Hamas's charter and operational doctrine frame armed struggle as the primary mechanism to end Israeli occupation and establish an independent Palestinian state across historic Palestine.
Daily Interaction, Control, and Surveillance
- Physical Interaction Inside vs. Outside Gaza:
- Since Israel’s unilateral withdrawal in 2005, Israeli troops were generally positioned outside Gaza's perimeter fence, not patrolling city streets inside (unlike in the West Bank).
- Direct contact occurred primarily at militarized border terminals (Erez for individuals, Kerem Shalom for commercial cargo), along the buffer zone where warning shots and lethal force were often used against individuals approaching the fence, and during periodic military incursions or air operations.
- Surveillance Systems:
- Signals and Interception: Israel’s military intelligence (notably Unit 8200) maintains extensive signals intelligence capabilities.
Telecommunications in Gaza have historically routed through or relied on Israeli network backbones, allowing intercept of cellular calls, SMS, and internet traffic. - Hardware & Cyber Tools: Israeli-developed intelligence platforms (and commercial spyware firms such as NSO Group, famous for Pegasus) derive largely from Unit 8200 training and veterans.
In the Palestinian territories, facial recognition platforms (like Blue Wolf and Red Wolf in the West Bank) and automated target-generation systems (such as Habsora / "The Gospel") integrate continuous drone feeds, satellite imagery, and mobile signals.
Travel Restrictions, Passports, and Borders
- Travel into Israel: Prior to October 7, 2023, approximately 18,000 to 20,000 Gazans held permits to work in construction or agriculture inside Israel. Permits were subject to strict individual vetting by Israel's Shin Bet and COGAT and could be revoked instantly during tensions. Day-to-day shopping or general travel into Israel was prohibited.
- Travel Abroad:
- Gaza possesses no operational airport (Yasser Arafat International Airport was destroyed in 2001–2002) or seaport.
- Travel required exiting through either the Erez crossing into Israel/West Bank/Jordan (almost impossible for regular civilians, limited to severe medical cases or diplomats) or the Rafah crossing into Egypt.
- Crossing into Egypt required complex security clearances, long waiting lists, or exorbitant informal coordination fees. Even with a Palestinian Authority passport, Gazans faced heavy visa requirements and restrictions when entering Jordan, Egypt, and other nations.
Local Food Production and Maritime Limits
| Sector | Pre-October 7, 2023 Status | Post-October 7 Status |
| Farming & Produce | Produced significant quantities of tomatoes, cucumbers, citrus, and dates. However, prime farmland in the eastern "buffer zone" faced restricted access and live-fire risks. Heavy fertilizer, machinery, and water pump imports were heavily restricted under dual-use rules. | Over 60–70% of agricultural lands, greenhouses, and irrigation wells have been destroyed or rendered inaccessible due to combat zones and bulldozing. |
| Livestock & Poultry | Local poultry and egg production met much of the Strip's domestic demand, alongside small herds of sheep and cattle. Reliance on imported animal feed made the sector vulnerable to border closures. | Widespread death of livestock due to lack of imported feed, water, and bombardment; commercial farming has largely ceased. |
| Fishing Limits | Israel maintained a naval blockade, fluctuating the fishing zone between 3 and 15 nautical miles offshore. Israeli naval patrols enforced boundaries with water cannons and live fire; prime deep-sea fishing zones were off-limits. | Complete naval ban enforced; any coastal maritime activity is treated as hostile by naval forces. |
Water, Food Aid, and Public Health Impacts
- Water Infrastructure: Prior to the conflict, approximately 95–97% of water from Gaza's coastal aquifer was brackish and unfit for human consumption without desalination. Drinking water relied on commercial desalination plants, UN facilities, and three pipeline feeds from Israel's Mekorot company. The shutoff of fuel and electricity, combined with physical pipeline and facility damage, collapsed water pumping capacity, forcing widespread consumption of untreated groundwater.
- Aid Delivery Systems: Food supplies enter primarily through designated overland checkpoints (such as Kerem Shalom and Rafah when operational). Aid is managed and distributed primarily by UN agencies (notably UNRWA and the World Food Programme), as well as the Red Crescent and international NGOs. Deliveries have repeatedly bottlenecked due to inspection delays, active hostilities, lawlessness, and severe damage to internal road networks.
- Health and Nutritional Impact:
- Acute Malnutrition: The near-total absence of animal protein, eggs, dairy, and fresh produce has caused widespread acute malnutrition, particularly severe among toddlers, pregnant women, and the elderly.
- Micronutrient Deficiencies: Severe shortages of vitamins A, C, D, and iron have led to soaring rates of anemia, muscle wasting, compromised immune systems, and re-emergence of preventable diseases (e.g., jaundice, hepatitis A, skin infections, and polio threats).
- Developmental Damage: Prolonged childhood undernutrition carries permanent risks of physical stunting and irreversible cognitive developmental impairments.
A Biblical Prophetic Lens: The Gathering of Nations and the Role of the United States
From the perspective of our current geopolitical quagmire in the Middle East, in the context of Bible prophecy, the convergence of these historic dynamics reflects broader ancient revelations from the "Holy One of Yisrael:
"And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces..." — Zechariah 12:3
- The Gathering and the Fractures: Biblical prophecy envisions a end-times re-gathering to the historical Levant alongside intense international friction surrounding the physical borders of Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria.
- False Sense of Security: The reliance on tactical management, financial arrangements, and regional normalization agreements mirrors prophetic warnings regarding treaties offering "peace and safety" (1 Thessalonians 5:3) that crumble under sudden geopolitical convulsions.
- Unresolved Covenantal & Moral Debates: The clash between historical ownership, existential security, and prophetic destiny underscores why the land of Canaan remains the epicenter of global geopolitical tension—where temporal realpolitik directly intersects with ancient spiritual narratives.
Zechariah 14 and the Universal Coalition Against Jerusalem
In the prophetic tradition, the culmination of human conflict in the Middle East is detailed in Zechariah 14:1–3:
"Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle."
Unlike intermediate regional wars, Zechariah 14 describes a total, global military convergence ("all nations") centered directly on Jerusalem.
The Role of the United States: Attacker, Defender, or Absent?
The question of whether the United States will be part of this end-time coalition—either attacking, defending, or entirely absent—is a subject of significant study among prophetic scholars and geopolitical analysts alike:
- The Argument for U.S. Insecurity or Absence:
- Economic/Internal Decline: A prevailing view among prophetic commentators notes that the Western Hemisphere is not explicitly identified in biblical prophecy. Financial collapse, domestic political fracture, or severe military overextension could render the U.S. unable or unwilling to intervene globally.
- Diplomatic Isolation: As global pressure mounts over Israel's military actions, the U.S. faces escalating diplomatic costs for vetoing UN resolutions and providing military hardware. A future U.S. administration could alter course, withdrawing security guarantees or aligning with international mandates.
- The Argument for U.S. Alignment with the Coalition:
- If Zechariah’s statement "I will gather all nations" is taken literally, no modern superpower remains exempt. Should the U.S. submit to a global coalition or international peacekeeping mandate aimed at forcibly resolving the Jerusalem status dispute, it would transition from Israel's defender to part of the besieging force.
- The Prophetic Reality of Total Isolation:
- Prophetically, Israel's ultimate defense in Zechariah 14 does not originate from earthly allies or Western military superpowers. The text emphasizes that human alliances will completely fail, forcing Israel into direct reliance on divine intervention
- "Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations..."
"He which testeth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with you all. Amen."
