The Lord is my light and my salvation—
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
    of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When the wicked advance against me
    to devour me,
it is my enemies and my foes
    who will stumble and fall.
3 Though an army besiege me,
    my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
    even then I will be confident.

4 One thing I ask from the Lord,
    this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
    and to seek him in his temple.
5 For in the day of trouble
    he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
    and set me high upon a rock.

6 Then my head will be exalted
    above the enemies who surround me;
at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy;
    I will sing and make music to the Lord.

Psalm 27

It is Day 5 of the Israel-Gaza War. The first rush of adrenalin has worn off and now the sheer weariness of it all is beginning to set in. I am beginning to suffer from cabin fever, as we have been ordered to shelter indoors with doors locked. Unnoticed, autumn has arrived and we should be outdoors enjoying the beautiful cool, fresh weather, but no one can this year.

On Saturday morning, the 7th October 2023, at 06:30 hours, I woke to the sound of booms overhead. At first I thought it was my friend’s kids banging around upstairs, but when our sirens began to blare, I realized we were under attack. All that morning the sirens and booming continued as those lucky enough to have shelters took cover in them, and the rest of us (including myself), hunkered down in our safest room. I should explain that only those houses built after the Gulf War of 1991 have shelters, and the public shelters are too distant for most of us to be able to reach them in the 90 seconds we have before the rockets and missiles strike.

Shock and horror took hold as the news began to filter in. This was no ‘normal’ missile and rocket attack (yes, they are normal for us!), but something far, far worse. As the around 3000 rockets and missiles were flying into Israel that morning, some 1500 or more Hamas operatives and Gazan civilians were breaking through the perimeter fence around Gaza and infiltrating our southern regions, mercilessly murdering everyone they could, raping women, killing children, babies, and the elderly and infirm. They killed whole families. They also captured a still unknown number of hostages including children, babies and even aged Holocaust survivors, taking them back to the Gaza Strip. They massacred around 250 young people attending a music /rave festival in the desert while the remaining 2000 or so literally ran for their lives under fire. The full extent of the barbaric and demonic rampage is only now coming to light as Israel has at last managed to retake those communities. Whole families have been massacred and their bodies mutilated, children decapitated and the elderly murdered in their beds. We are not seeing this on the mainstream media in Israel in sensitivity to the families impacted and in order not to create mass panic. Some footage however is reaching the social media and foreign news. What I have seen is stomach turning. I have had to make a conscious effort not to watch these images.

Some are likening this to the 9/11 attack on the twin towers in the USA. With all due respect, this is nothing like it, it is much worse. In proportion to the population, the Israeli death toll of 1200 so far is approximately 10 times more than that of the 9/11 attack in the USA. But it is not about statistics or numbers however. This is not just an isolated terror attack, it is an ongoing, all-out war and it affects every Israeli in a very personal way. Towns and cities in the entire southern half of the country, up to about Hadera and Wadi Ara, and also in some parts of the north, have been hit by rocket and missile fire. So far 300,000 reservists and volunteers, men and women, have been called up, and the mobilization of an additional 360,000 is in progress. Every family and individual is impacted. For every person called up there is a family left at home, wives (or husbands and grandparents or other family members) coping with traumatized children in a war situation. All schools, universities, kindergartens and daycare centers are closed.

The economy has come to a halt with only essential services, such as supermarkets, pharmacies and gas stations still open. Even those businesses and services that are open, are barely functioning as many of their workers have been called up and supply lines have been broken. When I went to the supermarket on Monday the shelves were empty of fresh produce, meat, eggs and bread. Bottled water was disappearing fast. I saw one woman take the last can of baby formula. She was begging for more, but there was none. That evening the Home Front Command broadcast a warning telling us to stock up with enough food, medicine and water for at least 3 days. This caused a panic-buy that evening and now supermarkets are having to ration some items.

The hospitals are treating over 3000 injured as well as the normal load of the ill. Many doctors and nurses and other staff have been called up to fight. At least one hospital was hit by a missile and at least one other is in the process of moving its patients into the underground bunkers.

The airport, though repeatedly targeted, has not been hit as yet, but all foreign airlines are no longer flying into Israel (for insurance reasons apparently). Some countries are arranging special flights to rescue their citizens. The Israeli government has covered the insurance of the 3 Israeli airlines, El Al, Israir, and Arkia, which are still flying, and even putting on extra flights, in an attempt to ferry returning Israelis home.

I should also explain this phenomenon. Unlike in most places when war breaks out, Israelis do not flee abroad. On the contrary, Israelis who are abroad for whatever reason, even some of those living abroad, return in order to help their families or to join the armed forces. Israel is a family. We fight and squabble just like any other family, but when the family is threatened we come together. When your family is in danger, you just want to be there. This time, because of the Succot holiday, many were abroad on holiday or visiting family. Nearly all want to come home.

The great fear here is that war will open up on other fronts. Already there has been some sporadic fire across the border from Hezbollah in Lebanon and today, from Syria. Iran is repositioning equipment and troops in readiness for a potential attack via Iraq and Syria.

Last night President Biden broadcast a speech pledging US support for Israel. We have already received a huge supply of ammunition and other military equipment from the States. The USS Aircraft carrier, “the General Ford”, carrying around 5000 US fighters and +/- fighter jets and other aircraft, plus its accompanying warships, arrived off the coast of Israel. Another carrier strike group may also be ordered to reposition here in the next days. This show of strength is intended to send a strong message to Iran, Syria and their terrorist proxies, and it is hoped it will head off a regional conflict in which Israel will come under attack from every side. There is no intention of the US actively joining the battle, at this point anyway.

As I write Israeli forces are relentlessly attacking Hamas in Gaza. The goal is to destroy the Hamas military apparatus and bring down the Hamas political hold on the Strip. (This is not only necessary for our survival but ultimately for the good of the Gazan population as well). The roar of fighter jets overhead is continuous, there is active artillary fire, and preparations are being made for an imminent ground incursion.

At the beginning of the war, the international press was, on the whole, reporting events fairly sympathetically towards Israel, but as the casualties and damage in Gaza grows we are already seeing a swing. It could once again start to paint Israel as the aggressor against the ‘poor’ Gazans.

Already we are beginning to hear the old, familiar calls for proportionality and a ceasefire. It is important to understand that this is war. In war one doesn’t aim for ‘proportionality’, one aims to win. We are fighting for survival and this time, Hamas, crossed a red line. No one here wants another ceasefire, (we cease and they fire!) which at best last months or even just days. This time, we want to see Hamas crushed and removed from power, and we will not stop until this is accomplished. There will be civilian lives lost, much property destroyed and a terrible humanitarian crisis in Gaza. We don’t want this but we have no choice. I want the world to understand this. We are fighting for survival. We didn’t start this war. They have brought it on themselves.

Israel is not ‘occupying’ Gaza as the press loves to say. Israel withdrew every last settler and soldier from Gaza in 2005. Since then, especially since Hamas wrested control there, we have been forced to severely limit the import of goods and the passage of people in and out of the Strip, in order to prevent the smuggling of weapons. Nevertheless, thousands of Gazans have been allowed to cross into Israel every day in order to work and many were also coming for medical treatment, often given for free by Israeli hospitals. Since the current war started, Israel has switched off the electricity, water and fuel supplies to Gaza, and closed the border. This may seem unconscionable but why should we continue to supply them with these things which they use in the fight against us?

We also hear much talk about the ‘innocent civilians’ in Gaza. Although there are no doubt some ‘innocent’ in Gaza, the fact is that many of these so-called ‘innocent civilians’ have been complicit in supporting this horrendous Hamas regime and have participated in the brainwashing of generations of children in a violent culture of hatred against all Jews. As the early successes of Hamas in this war became known, we saw these ‘innocent civilians’ out on the streets celebrating and spitting on the Israeli hostages as they were paraded half-naked by their captors.

We do not know how all this will end or how long it will last or how many more people on both sides will die, be injured or traumatized. I do know that we will never be the same again. It is not the time to be pointing fingers but the time will come when some hard questions must be answered. How was it that we were caught by surprise? How was our intelligence so wrong? How were our border defenses so easily overcome? However I do know Israel will survive, because the Bible prophesies this and God has promised.

Many are asking why has God allowed this terrible thing to happen? I don’t know the answer, but I do know that He has his purposes and nothing man can do will stop them from being fulfilled. He will bring good out of this and He will protect and save Israel. But, I do think it is a wake up call, not only for Israel but for the whole world, and especially the church of true believers in the God of Israel. I have been much encouraged to hear of the mobilization of prayer intercession in many churches and groups abroad, even some who have until now not shown much interest in Israel. We are being called to get on side with God, to share in the spiritual battle for the kingdom of heaven which centers on Israel.

Here are some specific prayer points: Pray for:

  1. the existential survival of Israel through which God is working out the end-time events leading to the ultimate redemption of the world. Satan is trying to destroy Israel and derail the redemption plan of God;
  2. the leaders in the government and military, that they will come together in a Unity Government and make good decisions concerning the way forward;
  3. the armed forces, army, navy and air force, and all the police, rescue workers and others on the front lines;
  4. the protection of our infrastructure, electricity, water, and transport systems;
  5. the injured, the bereaved and the hostages. Also for the many who are still desperately searching for their loved ones ( the exact number and identity of the hostages is not yet known, nor are all the dead identified);
  6. the fearful and the traumatized. Many have experienced and seen horrendous things, and though they may have escaped physical injury, the psychological injury is grave. Seasoned soldiers, medics and rescue workers, and Zaka members (the organization that collects the dead and body parts) are saying they have never experienced anything so horrendous;
  7. the functioning of the Christian churches and Messianic congregations in view of the fact that many of the leaders, including pastors and elders, are currently serving in the military, often on the front lines. Pray for their protection and for their families at home. So far I have heard of one believing soldier killed. There may be more;
  8. all the believers both here and in the Gaza Strip that we will know God’s protection and comfort at this time. That we will not give into fear and anxiety, will support one another and be lights in our communities.
  9. That the gospel will continue to go forth and that many in Israel and in the Gaza Strip and other Palestinian areas will be saved, and that God’s Name will be glorified.

Thank you for all who are praying with us. We need your prayers more than ever. I will close with this prayer which seems very apt: