A lot is said and reported on Israel’s current war with Hamas. The international media, as well as global leaders, aren’t bashful about throwing around terminology such as genocide, ethnic cleansing, and innocent civilian casualties.
This terminology is not once used to describe the horrifying and barbaric attack Israel endured on October 7th, but rather it is erroneously (or intentionally) used to describe Israel’s actions since October 7th, all aimed at defending its civilian population and eradicating terrorism from its borders.
However, whenever innocent civilians are mentioned, somehow the conversation is always about the innocent civilians in Gaza, while conveniently leaving outside of the conversation the fact that 240 innocent Israeli civilians are currently held captive inside Gaza.
It’s difficult to describe the profound ways in which Israel is internally dealing with the trauma of October 7th, especially with the knowledge that our people are held hostage by barbaric emissaries of evil.
Witnessing the intent with which 240 Israeli hostages are being left out of the conversation and forgotten about, the heartbreak and desperation lead Israel to ensure they are not forgotten about, that the people of Israel will cry out for their release until they are all home.
The stories of their capture are horrifying, the possibilities of what our people, including babies, children and the elderly might be experiencing in captivity truly keep our nation up at night.
Israel’s moral compass can be summarized in three words: Sanctity of life.
We cherish each person as though he were the whole world. That is the perfect reflection of our Lord’s character. Yeshua said he would leave the ninety-nine to go find the one.
Our prayers are the only weapon we have to find against the unspeakable evil the enemy has brought into our land.
The enemy came to kill, steal, and destroy. However, as believers in Jesus, we have the authority to pray, intercede, reclaim in His name, and demand the enemy return what he has stolen.
Pray with us, with the whole house of Israel, for the safe return of all Israeli hostages, from youngest to oldest.
May the Lord heal the hearts of His people and make them whole again by restoring our people back to us.
Beit Hallel is a Messianic Jewish congregation in Ashdod, led by pastor Israel Pochtar, serving holocaust survivors and the poor and needy locally and throughout the nation of Israel, while building up the body of Messiah in the promised land of Israel.