IDF units and civilian emergency response teams deployed around the Gaza border region remained on alert Tuesday as a tense cease-fire between Israel and Gaza-based terror militias appeared to be holding. However, the IDF launched a series of drills, scheduled to run through Thursday, simulating war with Hamas, in the hope that the drills themselves would deter Hamas from further provocative action but also in order to be ready in case deterrence fails.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement Tuesday following the summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, saying he “commends the abiding commitment of the US and President Donald Trump to the security of Israel, as expressed at the meeting between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The friendship between Israel and the US has never been stronger. Prime Minister Netanyahu also very much appreciates the security coordination between Israel and Russia and the clear position expressed by President Putin regarding the need to uphold the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement between Israel and Syria.”

According to media outlets associated with the Assad regime in Syria, forces loyal to the regime have taken control of territory near the border with Israel which gives a view into the Israeli zone of the Golan Heights. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli Defense Ministry on the report.

The commanding officer of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Basij militia addressed leaders of Gaza-based terrorist groups in a video conference Monday, telling them that “US President Donald Trump’s threats against Iran and Palestinian resistance groups don’t scare us.” He added that he was proud of the Gazan terrorist groups as “The youths of Gaza have deprived the leaders of the occupation of sleep.”

Israel’s Red Sea resort city of Eilat welcomed the first flight to its soon-to-be officially opened Ramon international airport on Monday. When the airport, only 18 km north of Eilat, is fully operational in March of 2019, it will accept all incoming air traffic, freeing up for development a large area of prime real estate near the beach where the current airport is located.

There appears to be a strong undercurrent in Europe pulling constituencies towards a boycott of the Jewish state. The question, now, is whether a tipping point is approaching whereby the spigot of trade is shut-off by the European Union, Israel’s largest and most important economic partner.

The Middle East has been the worlds leading supplier of hydrocarbons for decades, but that could be changing. With the advent of competitively priced alternatives to oil and changing policy prerogatives, some analysts have speculated that oil demand will experience a peak in the near future. This high level of uncertainty for future levels of demand has important implications for security, geopolitics, markets and policy.

We are excited for this month’s WFJ issue and hope you will be, too. A key issue in our times and in the time up to our Lord’s coming is the battle for truth. Dr. Jürgen Bühler tackles this important issue head on, as he digs into the workings behind demonic deception and how to withstand the assault against biblical truth.