Paradigm Shift As Israel Targets Hamas Inside Qatar
The dramatic Israeli strike on Tuesday targeting a meeting of Hamas’s senior political-terrorist leadership in Doha, Qatar, code-named “Summit of Fire,” represents a paradigm shift in the nearly two-year-long war, moving to strike the terror group on the territory of one of its chief patrons and decision-makers.
The strategic importance of the operation was signaled by a photo released by the Shin Bet, showing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz inside the intelligence organization’s special operations command center from which the joint Shin Bet-IDF mission was managed.
The IDF and Shin Bet stated that the leaders targeted in Doha have been directing the war, are directly responsible for the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, and that measures were taken to mitigate harm to civilians.
Oded Ailam, a former head of the Counterterrorism Division in the Mossad and currently a researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCSFA), told JNS that the timing of the strike was driven by several factors, including recognition in Israel that the hostage negotiations had reached a dead end.
“The timing now is mainly from the recognition on the Israeli side that we are reaching a stalemate in the negotiations conducted by the existing external leadership, mainly Khalil al-Hayya, Zaher Jabarin, and Hussam Badran,” Ailam said.
“Paradoxically, they are presenting a rigid stance, which is not typical for external leadership. Usually, the internal leadership is more rigid and determined, but here they are blocking any possibility of compromise that arises from time to time. Eliminating them could motivate Hamas to accept the Trump deal, especially (Hamas terror chief in Gaza) Izzadin Al-Hadad, who is the most decisive factor in the Strip today,” he added.
Ailam argued that the strike also serves to demonstrate Israel’s unwavering resolve to achieve its war aims.
“Israel is creating a demonstration of intent; that we are serious about what we said–the total elimination of Hamas. And the proof is that we are not afraid to do something we have almost never done before and take responsibility for an aerial kinetic attack on a country that is not defined as an enemy state,” he stated, noting the last comparable strike was in Tunisia targeting PLO headquarters in 1985, though Tunisia was considered an enemy state at the time.
The current strike, he stressed, was a direct threat to the Hamas leadership in Gaza holding the hostages: “The idea is to project uncompromising determination. A message to the captors: if you harm the hostages, your fate will be similar to the fate of those who were eliminated abroad. In other words, you will have no place to hide.”
Crucially, Ailam assessed that an operation of this magnitude and sensitivity could not have been carried out without American coordination. “There is a very interesting aspect here that the attack in Doha is an attack very, very close to the American Al Udeid Air Base, which is the largest American military base in the Middle East. Qatar is an ally of the U.S.,” he said.
He added, “I don’t see any possibility that such an attack was carried out without coordination with the Americans. The meaning from (U.S. President Donald) Trump’s perspective is that he is not afraid. He is saying, ‘Okay, they will bark. They will make a lot of noise in the media, but in the end, Qatar’s capabilities are limited.’ Let’s not forget, it is a country of 250,000 citizens. They can’t exactly fire missiles at America or Israel. Their capability will probably be mainly in the media sphere.”
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office stated, “Today’s action against the top terrorist chieftains of Hamas was a wholly independent Israeli operation. Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility.”
The strike puts a glaring spotlight on Qatar’s deeply destructive role.
Signs of the Times
The Death Of Repentance: Just 3% Of Church Sermons Teach About Sin
The consequences of avoiding sin in our pulpits are playing out across American society. If people do not see themselves as sinners, they see no need for repentance. If they see no need for repentance, they see no need for a Savior. And without a Savior, the cross becomes a symbol stripped of meaning, and the church becomes nothing more than a community club with hymns.
A brand-new national survey has delivered a shocking revelation: while most Americans still believe sin exists, far fewer are willing to admit they themselves are sinners. The Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University released its 2025 American Worldview Inventory last week, polling 2,000 adults this past May.
The results expose a troubling reality–our culture has grown comfortable acknowledging sin in the abstract while denying its personal weight. And this disconnect, many experts argue, is the fruit of years of silence in America’s pulpits.
That silence is not theoretical. Research from a few years ago found that just 3% of sermons in American churches even mention sin. Three percent. When the church avoids its most foundational truth, the people it serves inevitably lose sight of their need for repentance and salvation. We are now watching that play out on a national scale.
The numbers are devastating. According to the 2025 survey, 84% of Americans affirm that sin is real. Yet among born-again Christians, only 74% confessed to being sinners. Among Protestants, 66%. Catholics, just 50%. And among non-Christians, a mere 36%. The conclusion is inescapable: Americans know sin exists, but most refuse to see it in themselves.
The Church’s Silence on Sin
George Barna, the veteran researcher behind the study, was blunt: churches have suppressed the truth about sin for fear of offending, and the results are catastrophic. The purpose of the church, he reminded us, is to teach God’s ways–not to entertain, not to placate, not to tickle ears. But when only a sliver of sermons even address the reality of sin, people are left ignorant of their deepest need.
The Bible doesn’t whisper about sin–it shouts. From Genesis to Revelation, the narrative of redemption is meaningless without it. Adam and Eve’s rebellion, Israel’s idolatry, the prophets’ constant warnings, Christ’s death on the cross–all center around one undeniable truth: humanity is lost in sin and in desperate need of a Savior. Remove sin from the equation, and you no longer have Christianity. You have a hollow shell that looks religious but denies its power.
The Comfortable Lie of “Basic Goodness”
The 2025 survey revealed another troubling theme: while many admit sin exists, the vast majority still cling to the belief that people are “basically good at heart.” Even 70% of born-again Christians hold this view. Among Catholics, that number rises to 82%. But Scripture paints a far darker–and more accurate–picture: “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10).
To say people are “basically good” is to dismiss the depth of our rebellion against God. It’s a soothing lie that allows us to excuse disobedience while feeling morally upright. Barna called it what it is: a cultural comfort, a dangerous strategy that allows us to minimize the seriousness of sin. And by avoiding the truth, we are not sparing feelings–we are endangering souls.
The National Consequences
This is not just about individual faith. The consequences of avoiding sin in our pulpits are playing out across American society. If people do not see themselves as sinners, they see no need for repentance. If they see no need for repentance, they see no need for a Savior. And without a Savior, the cross becomes a symbol stripped of meaning, and the church becomes nothing more than a community club with hymns.
The cultural decay around us is not accidental. The family breakdown, the rise in lawlessness, the loss of moral clarity on issues as basic as life, gender, and truth itself–these are the direct fruits of a church that no longer confronts sin. When the watchmen remain silent, the city burns.
The Path Back
But it is not too late. As Barna rightly said, sin is not a difficult concept to understand. What is needed is courage–courage from pastors to preach the whole counsel of God, courage from parents to teach their children about sin and grace, and courage from believers to admit, “I am a sinner in need of a Savior.”
Reintroducing sin into the national consciousness may sound harsh in an age that prizes self-esteem, but it is actually the most loving act the church can offer. To tell a sinner he is “basically good” is like telling a terminal cancer patient he has a clean bill of health. The disease will still kill him. But to speak truth–to say, “You are sick, but there is a cure”–is to give life.
A Call to Repentance
America is reaping the bitter harvest of pulpits that refused to preach the truth. Today’s 2025 survey confirms what earlier research had already exposed: when churches neglect the subject of sin, people may still believe in its existence–but they will never apply it to themselves. And when people no longer see their personal need for forgiveness, they see no need for Christ.
But the solution remains the same as it always has: repentance. The church must return to its mission of proclaiming sin, judgment, grace, and forgiveness. If we want revival in this land, it will not come through clever marketing or cultural relevance. It will come through brokenness, confession, and the blood of Christ.
The time for silence is over. The time for soft sermons is past. America’s hope lies not in pretending we are “basically good,” but in bowing low before a holy God and admitting the truth: we are sinners, in need of a Savior.
Overwhelmed By Design, Scientists Turn To Aliens Instead Of God = ET Phone Home
The headlines almost sound like science fiction-but they’re real. A new report out of the Daily Mail reveals that scientists, faced with mounting evidence that life on Earth is far too complex to have emerged by chance, are now entertaining a shocking alternative: that aliens may have seeded life on our planet billions of years ago.
Gog and Magog Update
Escalation in Israel and Gaza: Jerusalem Attack, Hamas Preparations, and Historic Foreign Ministry Gathering
Tensions in Israel and Gaza are rising as Hamas claims responsibility for a Jerusalem shooting that killed six civilians and orders fighters to prepare for a prolonged battle. Meanwhile, Israel’s Foreign Ministry held its first staff gathering beyond pre-1967 lines in Mishor Adumim.