And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.Acts 26 : 11
BY LIRAN AHARONI
Wed, May 28, 2025 at 4:20 PM GMT+33 min read
Hamas’s political leadership has suffered blows, but its underground tunnel network remains a significant threat.
Six hundred days into the war that erupted on October 7, 2023, Israel has eliminated nearly all of Hamas’s senior leadership in Gaza, yet the group continues to wield strategic leverage through its extensive tunnel network and the captivity of 58 hostages.
These persecutions, beginning under Nero about the time of the martyrdom of Paul, continued with greater or less fury for centuries. Christians were falsely accused of the most dreadful crimes and declared to be the cause of great calamities—famine, pestilence, and earthquake. As they became the objects of popular hatred and suspicion, informers stood ready, for the sake of gain, to betray the innocent. They were condemned as rebels against the empire, as foes of religion, and pests to society. Great numbers were thrown to wild beasts or burned alive in the amphitheaters. Some were crucified; others were covered with the skins of wild animals and thrust into the arena to be torn by dogs. Their punishment was often made the chief entertainment at public fetes. Vast multitudes assembled to enjoy the sight and greeted their dying agonies with laughter and applause.
Wherever they sought refuge, the followers of Christ were hunted like beasts of prey. They were forced to seek concealment in desolate and solitary places. “Destitute, afflicted, tormented; (of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.” Verses 37, 38. The catacombs afforded shelter for thousands. Beneath the hills outside the city of Rome, long galleries had been tunneled through earth and rock; the dark and intricate network of passages extended for miles beyond the city walls. In these underground retreats the followers of Christ buried their dead; and here also GC 40.1 – GC 40.2
Since the fighting began, the Israel Defense Forces have systematically targeted the military wing of Hamas. Commanders such as Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, Marwan Issa, and Rafa Salama were killed in precision strikes, and Mohammed Sinwar, Yahya Sinwar’s brother, was killed in early May. By late May, only Ezz al-Din al-Haddad, commander of the Gaza City brigade, remained at large among senior operatives.
[22] But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ. [23] And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him: [24] But their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him. [25] Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket.Acts 9 : 22-25
Outside the Gaza Strip, Hamas’s political leadership has also suffered heavy blows. Ismail Haniyeh was reportedly assassinated in Iran, and Saleh al-Arouri was killed in Lebanon in back-to-back operations that reverberated through the “axis of resistance.” In their absence, acting Gaza leader Khalil al-Hayya and former politburo chief Khaled Mashal have taken the helm of ceasefire negotiations.
Hamas still has strategic tunnels in Gaza
Despite these setbacks, Hamas retains what analysts describe as its sole remaining “strategic weapon” — a sprawling underground network beneath Gaza. Sources told Asharq al-Awsat that the tunnel system still comprises defensive passages, attack routes aimed at IDF positions, command-and-control corridors and holding cells for Israeli captives. Pre-war estimates placed the network at some 1,300 tunnels spanning 500 km, with depths of up to 70 meters. Although the IDF has launched operations across all sectors of the Strip, it has yet to destroy the entire labyrinth.
Beneath the hills outside the city of Rome, long galleries had been tunneled through earth and rock; the dark and intricate network of passages extended for miles beyond the city walls. In these underground retreats the followers of Christ buried their dead; and here also, when suspected and proscribed, they found a home. GC 40.2
Hamas has recruited fresh fighters amid the fighting and, according to multiple reports!
Meanwhile, Israel’s military campaign has largely neutralized Hamas’s long-range rocket arsenals and eliminated hundreds of operatives at every level. Hamas has recruited fresh fighters amid the fighting and, according to multiple reports, repurposes unexploded Israeli ordnance to manufacture rudimentary munitions.
At the eleventh hour, when the work grows harder and the people are more hardened, there will be a variety of talent brought in. These workers will prove faithful and receive their penny. Sacrificing men will step into the places made vacant by those who would not be fitted for a place in the heavenly temple. These resources will continue to come in. The Lord will provide openings and facilities. He will call upon the youth to fill up the places made vacant by deaths and apostasies. He will give young men and women, as well as those who are older, the co-operation of the heavenly intelligences. They will have converted characters, converted minds, converted hands, converted feet, and converted tongues. Their lips will be touched with a living coal from the divine altar. If they will learn the lesson of walking humbly before God, if they will not seek to invent new plans, but will do that which the Lord has appointed them to do, they will be enabled to carry God’s plan onward and upward without narrowing it. 12LtMs, Lt 98a, 1897, par. 47
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;Isaiah 61 : 1
On the diplomatic front, Hamas has shown its first signs of flexibility in hostage-swap talks. The group, which long demanded an absolute end to hostilities, offered a temporary 70-day ceasefire and even floated a conditional proposal to relinquish governance of Gaza if all Palestinian factions agreed to a unified political settlement. Reports from Lebanon’s Al-Mayadeen suggest Hamas is willing to accept restrictions on its weapons development so long as it retains its existing arsenal.
Parents need to awake, and purify their souls by practicing the truth in their home life. When we reach the standard that the Lord would have us reach, worldlings will regard Seventh-day Adventists as odd, singular, straight-laced extremists. “We are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.” RH January 9, 1894, par. 10
Irony verse Golden Dome_ “Rome verse Babylon Dome”!
Hamas’s regional allies have likewise been weakened. Hezbollah in Lebanon has seen its influence curtailed by a new government and president demanding state control over arms. In Syria, Bashar al-Assad’s regime faces internal collapse, while in the West Bank, Jenin has become a more permissive arena for IDF operations. Iraqi militias—once a vocal threat—have held fire amid U.S. pressure. Only Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis remain actively engaged, launching missiles and disrupting Red Sea shipping.
Thus the message of the third angel will be proclaimed. As the time comes for it to be given with greatest power, the Lord will work through humble instruments, leading the minds of those who consecrate themselves to His service. The laborers will be qualified rather by the unction of His Spirit than by the training of literary institutions. Men of faith and prayer will be constrained to go forth with holy zeal, declaring the words which God gives them. The sins of Babylon will be laid open. The fearful results of enforcing the observances of the church by civil authority, the inroads of spiritualism, the stealthy but rapid progress of the papal power—all will be unmasked. By these solemn warnings the people will be stirred. Thousands upon thousands will listen who have never heard words like these. In amazement they hear the testimony that Babylon is the church, fallen because of her errors and sins, because of her rejection of the truth sent to her from heaven. GC 606.2
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.John 8 : 32
On the ground in Gaza, growing reports of hunger and hardship have eroded public support for Hamas. In some districts the group still enforces order by force, but in others Palestinians openly call for an end to the fighting. Israel has responded by piloting a new direct humanitarian-aid distribution model designed to bypass Hamas’s traditional role as arbiter of relief.
As the controversy extends into new fields and the minds of the people are called to God’s downtrodden law, Satan is astir. The power attending the message will only madden those who oppose it. The clergy will put forth almost superhuman efforts to shut away the light lest it should shine upon their flocks. By every means at their command they will endeavor to suppress the discussion of these vital questions. The church appeals to the strong arm of civil power, and, in this work, papists and Protestants unite. As the movement for Sunday enforcement becomes more bold and decided, the law will be invoked against commandment keepers. They will be threatened with fines and imprisonment, and some will be offered positions of influence, and other rewards and advantages, as inducements to renounce their faith. But their steadfast answer is: “Show us from the word of God our error”—the same plea that was made by Luther under similar circumstances. Those who are arraigned before the courts make a strong vindication of the truth, and some who hear them are led to take their stand to keep all the commandments of God. Thus light will be brought before thousands who otherwise would know nothing of these truths.
Conscientious obedience to the word of God will be treated as rebellion. Blinded by Satan, the parent will exercise harshness and severity toward the believing child; the master or mistress will oppress the commandment-keeping servant. Affection will be alienated; children will be disinherited and driven from home. The words of Paul will be literally fulfilled: “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” 2 Timothy 3:12. As the defenders of truth refuse to honor the Sunday-sabbath, some of them will be thrust into prison, some will be exiled, some will be treated as slaves. To human wisdom all this now seems impossible; but as the restraining Spirit of God shall be withdrawn from men, and they shall be under the control of Satan, who hates the divine precepts, there will be strange developments. The heart can be very cruel when God’s fear and love are removed.
As the storm approaches, a large class who have professed faith in the third angel’s message, but have not been sanctified through obedience to the truth, abandon their position and join the ranks of the opposition. By uniting with the world and partaking of its spirit, they have come to view matters in nearly the same light; and when the test is brought, they are prepared to choose the easy, popular side. Men of talent and pleasing address, who once rejoiced in the truth, employ their powers to deceive and mislead souls. They become the most bitter enemies of their former brethren. When Sabbathkeepers are brought before the courts to answer for their faith, these apostates are the most efficient agents of Satan to misrepresent and accuse them, and by false reports and insinuations to stir up the rulers against them. GC 607.1 – GC 608.2
Hamas, the organization behind the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, has been grievously weakened, as has the broader “axis of evil” to which it belongs. Yet Israelis remain painfully aware that 58 fellow citizens are still held underground by Hamas—some for 600 days now. Until every hostage is returned, whether to rehabilitation or to burial, the nation’s heart will remain incomplete.
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