They make shrewd plans against Your people,
And conspire together against Your treasured ones.
They have said, “Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation,
That the name of Israel be remember no more.”
~Psalm 83:3-4

Following last summer’s severe blows against Hamas during the Gaza Conflict, the terrorist group is busy re-arming and re-building terror tunnels that were destroyed by Israeli forces.  Indeed, while the eyes of the world are on ISIS, Hamas is steadily regrouping in an effort to attack the Jewish state again.

News has come out of Israel that, back in January, the Israeli Navy intercepted a boat in the Mediterranean Sea  carrying rocket-making materials from Egypt to Gaza.  Three Gaza men were taken off the boat, arrested, and questioned.  They admitted that the smuggling attempt was intended to provide materials to Izzadin Kassam Brigade, the military wing of Hamas, for building rockets and mortar shells.

Because of Egypt’s success in rendering smuggling tunnels from Sinai to Gaza unusable, Hamas has turned to smuggling materials via watercraft over the Mediterranean Sea.  Currently, Palestinian fishing boats are used in smuggling attempts.  They sail to the Egyptian coast, load cargo, then return to Gaza.

In addition to increased sea smuggling attempts, reports indicate that “a week does not go by” that Hamas does not carry out rocket-launching experiments into the sea.   Despite difficulties in smuggling weapons into Gaza, Hamas continues to domestically produce rockets, and it is believed they are receiving technological help from Iran to improve the range and accuracy of their rockets.

Meanwhile, last Monday the IDF destroyed the last attack tunnel discovered in last summer’s Gaza conflict.  However, Hamas is still diverting cement and other materials in efforts to re-build the tunnels.  They are also hard at work attempting to make them harder to detect by Israeli intelligence.  Thus, tunnels continue to be one of Israel’s greatest threats.

In Psalm 83, David pleaded with God not to remain quiet while enemies threatened to wipe Israel out as a nation.  Hamas’s charter promotes the killing of every Jew, and they persist in striving for that goal.  Let’s stand with Israel by getting on our knees.  Please pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122).