This weekend, Israel rejoiced to hear four Israeli hostages, whom Hamas kidnapped on October 7, were successfully brought home. On Saturday, Israeli forces carried out a detailed, risky, and complex operation in broad daylight in the heart of a civilian neighborhood in Gaza. The hostages were living in apartments, guarded by the families living there and Hamas terrorists. Noa Argamani (twenty-six) was held on the first floor of one building. Almog Meir Jan (twenty-one), Andrey Kozlov (twenty-seven), and Shlomi Ziv (forty-one) were held about 650 feet away in another apartment building. Hamas kept the three men together for the whole eight months in four different Gazan family’s homes.
Israeli forces decided to carry out the mission in daylight to surprise the Hamas guards. They also chose to enter both buildings simultaneously so Hamas’ guards would not kill the hostages when they heard Israeli forces in the area. The elite rescue squads practiced for days to foresee all scenarios. Argamani’s release went smoothly, but the troops attempting to rescue the three men were met with intense gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades. The car transporting the freed hostages got stuck, but secret Israeli ground forces and a targeted airstrike safely got them and their rescuers to the assigned helipad location. A helicopter then took everyone to Sheba Hospital in Ramat Gan where the hostages were found to be in good condition and joyfully reunited with their families.
One brave solider, chief inspector of the Yamam unit Arnon Zmora, was killed in the gunfight to extract the three men. The successful operation (originally called “Seeds of Summer”) was renamed “Operation Arnon” in his honor. He leaves behind a widow and two small children.
Please pray for Noa, Andrey, Almog, and Shlomi as their families and country welcome them back to Israel. Pray for their physical, mental, social, and spiritual healing. Also pray for the family of Arnon Zmora as their mourn his loss.
Hezbollah continues to launch rockets into northern Israel. Some have started hard-to-stop forest fires, burning large areas. The land is turning dry and arid as the weather is becoming hot, and the rains will not return until late fall. As a result, 2,500 acres of land in one area were ablaze. Some of it will take years to recover. Firefighters worked for hours to gain control of the wildfire despite the assistance of six planes equipped for firefighting. The fires came close to the cities of Kiryat Shemona and Katzrin.
Making matters worse, the rockets are reaching deeper into Israel and widening their effects on civilian residents in cities like Acre, Nahariyah, and Katzrin. Acre has not heard a siren for four months, and Nahariyah has not for five months. This past week, however, residents of Nahariya had to run to safe shelters three times in one day. One resident of Katzrin said,
We feel the north is in trouble. It’s closing on us, and we feel there’s no real answer or response to this situation. We feel it’s getting worse. The north is somewhat neglected and abandoned. Although we are strong people, we love our country, love our land, and love each other, we want to feel someone has our backs.
Please pray for the safety of Israeli civilians living under extended potential rocket fire. Pray for de-escalation of Hezbollah’s aggression on Israel’s northern border.
The Israeli Defense Forces recently showed a tunnel they found under Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital. Hamas terrorists dug this tunnel thirty feet below ground. It had a blast-proof door with a hole to fire a weapon from inside. Above ground, next to the tunnel, was a booby-trapped pick-up truck stocked with anti-tank missiles, explosives, and AK-47 rifles.
Israeli ground forces also entered Al Rimal, an upscale neighborhood in Gaza City. Hamas leadership lives and sets up their command centers in luxury homes there. The Israeli Defense Forces found thirty-five tunnel shafts beneath these houses where large amounts of weapons and underground command centers were located. Soldiers had to inspect each tunnel for booby traps and used specially trained dogs to search for explosives. Once inside the tunnels, the Israeli forces sought to capture Hamas terrorists, take control of their command centers, and capture their weapons caches.
Please pray for the safety and protection of the Israeli soldiers searching for Hamas terrorists and their weapons.
When one person says something, it may not seem so significant, but if you hear something similar from two or three different people in a short span of time, it stands out. As Paul noted, “Every fact is to be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses” (2 Corinthians 13:1). We have been hearing more stories more frequently of Israelis recognizing God—or seeking Him out—in the details of their lives.
Recently, one of our missionaries spoke with a couple of different ladies who came to our ministry events. Both women said they had been to our ministry center in the past but stopped coming when the pandemic hit and never came back—until after October 7. Each woman sensed a compelling need to return to regular fellowship with believers. We are encouraged to see the Spirit of God working in their hearts and drawing them back to Himself—because only in Him and through the Risen Messiah do we have hope for the future.
Please pray for them and for people around Israel struggling with disillusionment and wondering where God is in all the recent woes. Pray for us and other believers to boldly and humbly engage them so they may know the surety of God’s eternal love.
Three different ladies recently asked for prayer regarding their search for a new apartment. The housing shortage due to the hundreds of thousands of displaced Israelis fleeing rocket bombardment from the north and south has caused housing prices in the center of the country to soar.
Our English-language Bible study for women has just finished a series on Jesus’ seven “I Am” statements in the Gospel of John. On the evening when we studied what it means for Yeshua (Jesus) to be the way and the truth and the life, one of our young ladies named Yuval* was waiting at a bus stop on her way home when she saw a man get hit by a car right in front of her. As an eyewitness, she immediately called for an ambulance, which thankfully came right away. She wrote to us within ten minutes of the accident to tell how the topic of the Bible study had come into perfect clarity at this life-and-death moment.
Please pray with us for the man’s healing, and for Yuval’s spiritual journey as well.
A week ago, our ministry team went on a trip, split into several vehicles with random drivers who do not believe in Jesus. During the trip, we each had a conversation with our drivers. One driver named Avi* talked with us about general topics—about his daughters and his wife, about God, and even about Jesus. He told us he read the Bible and the New Testament in the past, and we felt he was very open.
Prayerfully, one of our missionaries asked him the classic question in Israel nowadays: “Where were you on October 7?” The story he told was extraordinary—he lived with his family in a settlement on the Gaza border, and his story of survival sounded like a miracle of God. We all had chills going through our bodies! At the end of the trip, one of our missionaries asked for his phone number, which he happily gave. Last week, Avi arranged to meet with Mitch Glaser (president of Chosen People Ministries) and one of our missionaries. Avi even took them to his settlement and told them his family’s story of the seventh of October.
Please pray God will reveal to Avi and his family how miraculously He saved them this day, and still wants to save them forever.
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June 2024 Newsletter