Transcript [00:01] [Music] [00:07] the head of Israel's National Security [00:08] Council said the country expects another [00:10] seven months of fighting in Gaza to [00:12] achieve the claimed objective of [00:13] destroying Hamas joining me now to [00:15] discuss his recent visit to Israel is [00:18] National Religious broadcasters [00:19] president and CEO Troy Miller Troy [00:22] welcome back friend hey good to be with [00:25] you again thank you you know I'm really [00:27] glad to hear that you were able to make [00:28] it to Israel and safely return it's one [00:30] of my goals for I'd say the next 24 [00:33] months I'm trying to figure out when I [00:34] can join a trip to go to the Holy Land I [00:37] was reading some stories yesterday and I [00:40] was so glad to see that you would be [00:41] joining me because there's a lot of [00:42] information that's coming out now about [00:44] the status of Hamas and their Fighters [00:46] over 50% of them have been killed by the [00:49] IDF what did you see when you were [00:51] there yeah so we had a chance to go down [00:54] next to the Gaza Strip again on our our [00:56] first day there and most of the fighting [00:59] has moved to the South focusing in on on [01:02] Rafa there there was a little bit of hot [01:04] spots up north the day we were there we [01:06] actually had a couple of Rocket attacks [01:08] but as far as we know and with the folks [01:10] that we met with the the fighting really [01:12] is concentrated to the South now and the [01:14] briefings that we got they really think [01:16] there are just three or four brigades [01:18] left in Hamas and and Israel has really [01:21] put a damper on their ability to attack [01:23] in the future yeah so I thought it was [01:25] interesting the IDF has unfortunately [01:28] lost 300 soldiers during the war since [01:31] October 7th but Hamas their their [01:33] casualties are estimated between 9 and [01:36] 16,000 there were about 25,000 Hamas [01:40] fighters in Gaza before October 7th so [01:44] they're now no longer directly [01:45] confronting IDF soldiers when they go in [01:49] and try to explore the tunnels or the [01:51] different things that they're doing to [01:52] try to move the war to completion now [01:55] Hamas is taken to only executing [01:56] ambushes because apparently they don't [01:58] have enough people or infrastructure to [02:01] take on the IDF in a head-to-head [02:03] confrontation that's an excellent [02:05] development but they're still talking [02:06] about seven more months the [02:08] international pressure has been extreme [02:10] the propaganda also extreme Troy talk to [02:13] us about what you think will happen [02:15] next well yeah and Hamas is still you [02:17] know deploying their tactic to use human [02:20] Shields and to operate out of places [02:22] where civilians are and that's that [02:24] that's been a big problem big issue for [02:26] Israel it's really slowed down the [02:28] operation but I I really think Israel's [02:30] resolved the one thing that we heard [02:32] from people pretty much across the board [02:35] there is the support for Israel to [02:36] finish this operation and to finally put [02:39] Hamas out of business is at least what [02:42] we saw and heard there was very strong [02:44] from the from the population those in [02:47] the in the government and and pretty [02:48] much all the NOS that we met there's [02:50] really one solution for Israel and [02:52] that's to make sure that Hamas can never [02:54] do another October [02:55] 7th yeah and I think the the lack of [02:58] focus on the return of the hostage Mees [03:00] is what disturbs me the most there are [03:02] two small children a baby of 6 months [03:04] old on October 7th and then a little boy [03:07] who is just over a year old and those [03:09] two children their siblings they were [03:11] taken on October 7th and we've not [03:13] gotten any updates internationally on [03:15] their status from Hamas in fact Hamas [03:18] has said Troy that they don't think they [03:19] could gather 40 people together for a [03:22] ceasefire trade so it's a dire [03:25] circumstance and the Israelis are now [03:27] finding dead hostages as they move [03:29] further south into the country when do [03:31] you think there will be maybe an [03:34] international push to actually discuss [03:37] because that's the reason why the idea [03:38] is there the [03:40] hostages well look if if the United [03:43] States and European union and other [03:45] nations would have kept the pressure up [03:47] on Hamas I believe we would have had the [03:50] majority of those hostages if not all of [03:52] them home by now the fact that the US [03:54] and and the world continues to look at [03:57] Israel as Israel's the blame for this [03:59] and and really you don't hear anybody [04:01] talking about the hostages except Israel [04:03] uh Israel has tried to pursue several [04:06] avenues for hostage releases you said [04:09] Hamas I think is unwilling they know [04:11] this is their one bargaining chip to [04:13] maybe save what's left of their [04:14] organization but I really put this on [04:16] the blame and and mostly on the blame of [04:18] the administration here for abandoning [04:20] those including four Americans that are [04:22] still being [04:23] held for Americans I mean it's almost as [04:27] if they're not there because Troy we [04:28] never hear about them all I hear is [04:30] about the Palestinian children the [04:32] Palestinian deaths the bombed out nature [04:34] of Gaza and how the IDF especially BB [04:37] Netanyahu PM there that he actually [04:39] wants to continue the war to save his [04:41] political career which is [04:43] ludicrous yeah that's just ridiculous [04:45] and and that's again that's an American [04:48] Western propaganda that's not the [04:50] feeling across Israel Israel is really I [04:53] think United in their resolve to end [04:56] this so this doesn't happen again they [04:58] do not want to repeat October 7th and we [05:00] forget that right now while Israel is is [05:04] hopefully closing in on finishing off [05:05] Hamas you still have Hezbollah we were [05:07] up in Samaria and you still have [05:10] Hezbollah up on the leban Lebanese [05:12] border uh up there bombing almost every [05:15] day firing Rockets into Israeli Villages [05:18] across that whole Samaria Galilean area [05:21] up there so there's a lot going on and [05:23] again I put it on the American [05:25] Administration to not put the pressure [05:27] on Hamas their top leaders are not in [05:30] Gaza they're in cter and turkey and [05:33] other places and we should be putting [05:35] pressure on them to end this war and to [05:37] get the hostages home I think if we'd [05:39] have kept that resolve we might have [05:41] this finished already yeah you know we [05:44] would have much further progress in [05:47] getting hostages back certainly I think [05:49] the the mission to destroy Hamas because [05:52] it's just a proxy for Iranian [05:54] terroristic interests the mission to [05:56] destroy them is a a lofty one but it is [05:59] one that that the Israelis cannot [06:01] actually back down on because if they [06:03] leave a functioning Hamas hierarchy [06:06] there with enough soldiers to implement [06:09] their reign of terror there is only [06:11] future October 7th they actually have [06:13] said October 7th was just the first [06:16] foray that they would like to do it [06:18] again and again and again until the [06:20] entire nation state of Israel [06:22] experiences what the Border towns [06:24] experienced on that day I mean with that [06:26] kind of a statement against Israel's [06:29] interest there's no way they can stop [06:31] the war at this point which is why we [06:33] need to have a different president in [06:35] November of this year um I wanted to ask [06:37] you a little bit about where where you [06:39] see that going we have we have such a [06:41] strained relationship between BB [06:43] Netanyahu and President Biden do you [06:45] think he'll pivot on that before the [06:46] election to try to get back some of his [06:48] constituents in the Jewish [06:50] Community well I I would hope he would [06:52] but look this Administration has shown [06:55] over and over again that the only people [06:57] they listen to is the far-left extremist [06:59] in their party and that's who they're [07:01] pandering to now so I I think with the [07:04] funding they're trying to get and with [07:05] the direction they're getting you know [07:07] they they try to Pivot on the border and [07:08] the far-left really came vocal out and [07:11] they sort of backed down on that as well [07:13] so I I really don't see them supporting [07:16] Israel between now and the end of the [07:17] war because I think it's too much too [07:19] damaging for them on their major donors [07:22] who are extremists on the [07:24] left yeah but then that leaves Jewish [07:26] Americans who have traditionally been [07:27] Democrats with kind of no home unless [07:30] they're willing to come to the GOP side [07:32] and there's a possibility with the law [07:34] fair being executed against Trump a lot [07:36] of people are rethinking their political [07:38] allegiances well also in the [07:40] anti-Semitism that's gone on across [07:42] college campuses and around the country [07:45] with little to no response you know from [07:47] the administration just kind of lip [07:49] service response from them that's not [07:51] going unnoticed in the Jewish Community [07:53] I I heard that over and over meeting [07:55] with people in Israel even on my plane [07:57] flying back with Jewish folks that live [07:59] in New York City talking about they [08:01] would say look I'm liberal I'm [08:02] Progressive I've been that way my whole [08:04] life but my party has abandoned me I [08:07] can't believe that we're dealing with [08:08] this now after all of these years and [08:11] I'm dealing with it from the people I [08:13] thought were on my side and that message [08:15] is resonating loud and clear in the [08:17] Jewish community and I think unless the [08:19] administration pivots that message is [08:21] going to come out loud and clear in [08:23] November yeah I think you so I agree [08:26] with you 100% And as you're talking [08:28] about your time there in Israel is there [08:30] anything else you can share with us that [08:31] would give us insight into the mood [08:33] there how people are living their [08:35] everyday lives under a wartime footing [08:37] it's just been such a tough situation [08:39] for them it has been a tough situation [08:42] you know there's over a hundred we we [08:44] met with the ministry of Tourism who's [08:45] in charge of actually the displacement [08:48] of Israeli citizens out of their [08:50] Villages and communities and getting [08:51] them relocated around the country and he [08:53] told us there's over a 100,000 Israelis [08:56] now from both the samarit Sam and Judea [09:00] area as well as those are still hav it [09:02] moved back down into Southern Israel [09:04] next to the Gaza War scattered [09:07] throughout all of Israel but Israel the [09:09] people their resolve is firm and solid I [09:11] I've never seen so much support for an [09:14] Administration and for a government and [09:16] For A Cause than I've seen in Israel but [09:18] they really do feel alone and I think [09:20] those of us in the Evangelical Community [09:22] one thing we tried to communicate to [09:24] them is you're not alone we have [09:26] thousands of churches praying for you [09:28] praying for Israel we have people that [09:30] are helping to support they're bringing [09:32] supplies and I think they were they're [09:34] really understanding that you know I'm [09:37] so glad you said that Troy and I'm so [09:39] glad you conveyed that to them because [09:40] there really are millions of Americans [09:43] who support Israel we don't control [09:45] media channels you know on CNN MSNBC we [09:49] don't have spaces there to tell the [09:51] truth but all over the country polling [09:53] shows 80% of Americans from all age [09:56] groups it's a little lower percentage in [09:58] the younger age groups but in totality [10:00] 80% of Americans support Israel and we [10:02] need to make sure that they know that [10:04] because it can't be easy for them to [10:05] fight a war and to see the Biden [10:07] Administration speaking out against them [10:09] instead of supporting them in their [10:10] efforts to secure their [10:12] country that that's exactly right so I [10:15] just encourage people if you're near in [10:17] a Jewish Community let them know that [10:19] you support them let them know that [10:21] you're standing by them and that you're [10:22] praying for them them they really need [10:24] that's the thing they need to hear the [10:25] most from us right now is to know [10:27] they're not alone I think think we will [10:30] be very encouraged to do that I always [10:33] love to tell people full disclosure I am [10:34] a member of National Religious [10:36] broadcasters and we love conference this [10:39] year I can't wait to talk to you about [10:41] more here and please do come right back [10:44] to us if you're back in Israel or for [10:46] any of your major breaking news stories [10:47] at nrb is nrb.org.np [10:59] that's Troy Miller nrb president and CEO
