The Gaza War: Week 2
The Hostage Situation: On Monday, October 16, 2023, the number of hostages grew to 199. Noya Dan, a twelve year old girl with autism, is among the hostages. In an ‘X’ post appealing for help to find her, it described her as “sensitive, kind, funny, and a massive Harry Potter fan.” J.K. Rowling, author of the series, replied: “Kidnapping children is despicable and wholly unjustified. For obvious reasons this photo has hit home with me. May Noya and all hostages taken by Hamas be returned soon, safely, to their families.”
Admission of Responsibility: The head of Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, accepts full responsibility for the devastating Hamas attacks. He writes, “As the one who heads the organization the responsibility for this is mine. There will be time for investigations. Now we are fighting.”
One Family’s Resolve: “Why don’t you pick up and move? Because Israel is my home. I’d rather stay here, here where my army is a Jewish one, built out of necessity by the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of Holocaust survivors, and of Middle Eastern Jews from Egypt, Syria, Tunisia, Iran, Iraq, and many more who had no choice but to run for their lives. Our country is a country of survivors. And no one knows more than survivors how to fight for this place. So this is our plan: we will stay and fight” (Chavez Feldman).
Now, as never before, pray for and stand with Israel.
(Source: The Times of Israel)
