
IN THIS ROUNDUP
Israeli Ballistic Missiles Launched from the Red Sea to Qatar
Israel launched long-range ballistic missiles from eight F-15 and four F-35 Israeli Air Force fighter jets in a recent Israeli strike on Hamas leaders at their meeting place in Doha, Qatar. Though Israel was targeting Hamas senior leadership that lives in and is welcomed in Qatar, it appears that no senior Hamas leader was killed in the strike. Qatar is also the mediator for the hostage and ceasefire negotiations. The jets did not enter surrounding Arab country airspace and instead launched the missiles from the Red Sea—the other side of the Arabian Peninsula. The ballistic missiles reached into space over Saudi Arabia to not violate their airspace.
Please pray for the negotiations in Qatar to be successful in releasing the hostages and securing a ceasefire.
Dual Israeli/Russian Citizen Released from Hezbollah Militia in Iraq
After two and a half years of being held in Iraq by a pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia group called Kataib, Elizabeth Tsurkov was released and flown to Israel. Holding Israeli and Russian citizenship, she landed in Israel and her medical team will follow the same protocol for her that was done for hostages coming out of Gaza. After more than a year of diplomatic and intelligence coordination between the USA, Israel, and Iraq delegations, her family was overjoyed to be reunited with her.
Elizabeth Tsurkov was born in St. Petersburg to Jewish dissidents who were sent to a prison in Siberia. Her family moved to Israel when she was a young child. She earned degrees from Hebrew University, Tel Aviv University, and University of Chicago; later, she began her Ph.D at Princeton focusing on Middle Eastern affairs, ISIS, and the Syrian civil war. While on a research trip for her studies in Iraq, she was kidnapped in March of 2023 and held since.
Please pray for her health and healing as she adjusts to her freedom and returns to her family.
Dead Sea Scroll Analysis
Computer science scholars from Tel Aviv University have developed a new method of analyzing ancient texts like the Dead Sea Scrolls. By assessing scroll fragments of handwriting, the software will be able to detect if some fragments belonged to a particular portion of the scroll or written by a specific scribe.
Since the miraculous find in the caves of Dead Sea, the preserved scrolls have been studied and researched under controlled conditions. As there are thousands of fragments from 950 manuscripts, the project is immense, and the new computer technology will be a tremendous help. Professor Nachum Dershowitz, who developed the method along with Berat Kurar-Barakat, said, “One of the great unsolved challenges has been comparing and matching handwriting across different fragments or scrolls. This remains one of the field’s giant questions.” Studying the fragments will reveal new information about and understanding of the Jewish people, their literacy, and their life during the Second Temple period.
Praise God for His Living Word that is true yesterday, today, and tomorrow!
Rosh Hashanah Greetings to Special Tenants
As Rosh Hashanah is approaching, it is starting to feel like the holiday season in Israel. You can hear people greet each other by saying ‘Shanah Tovah’ (Happy New Year) and the sound of the shofar blowing in the street. Cakes with apples and honey are being sold in all the bakeries, symbolizing a sweet new year. Make sure you get a chance to dip apples in honey in celebration of Rosh Hashanah!
Our staff in Tel Aviv made holiday gift packages for the tenants whose building took a direct hit from an Iranian ballistic missile. The gifts were an extension of solidarity and support as they are going through this difficult time. Our staff warmly greeted them in our facility and sat for a coffee to hear their stories. These precious people went through such a traumatic event. Some lost their homes, and one lost her home and business. Our hearts are broken for them, and we hope to help them rebuild and find hope for the future.
We ask for your prayers of comfort and provision for these people as they wait about a year or more before they can move back into their apartments. Please pray that we can be a safe place for them to come talk to, and that they find hope for their future.