Families of Hostages Fly to The Hague to Accuse Hamas of War Crimes
Families of hostages prior to their flight to The Hague on February 14, 2024 (Source: Hostage and Missing Families Forum)
This past week, families from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum and representatives of the Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights flew to The Hague in the Netherlands. They will submit to the International Criminal Court (ICC) charges of war crimes against Hamas terrorists who took more than 250 hostages, 136 of them still being held in Gaza. Yarden Bibas, whose brother and family are still captive, called Hamas terrorists “the successors of Hitler.” She also said, “All of humanity must stand firm in the face of a global terrorist army.” Lawyers with the group helped draft 1,000 pages of eyewitness accounts and evidence of the crimes Hamas terrorists committed on and following October 7. They say Hamas broke the Geneva Convention laws amounting to war crimes with charges against them for kidnapping, sexual violence, torture, and other serious allegations.
Please pray world leaders will hold Hamas leaders accountable for their crimes.
Hamas Soldiers Surrender
Nukhba force commander and the tunnel where he surrendered (Source: Shin Bet Spokesperson, IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)
Three Hamas terrorists, one of them a commander in the elite Nukhba unit, surrendered to Israeli forces who found them in a tunnel in Khan Younis. Though the three Hamas fighters were armed with explosives, one of them claims, “We decided that we don’t want to fight and as soon as the army comes, we would surrender.” The former Hamas commander explained he became part of Hamas’ military wing in 2009. During interrogations, the commander said to other Hamas fighters, “I recommend to everyone to surrender, because your destiny is to die.” The Shin Bet, Israel’s security agency, reports, “We will continue to act and strike at Hamas terrorists from above and below ground.”
Please pray for other Hamas fighters to surrender and stop the killing and hatred.
Medical Staff Learn from Hospital’s Quick Responses to October 7 Massacre
Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital (Source: Dr. Avishai Teicher via the PikiWiki – Israel free image collection project)
The October 7 massacre tested Israeli hospitals’ preparedness for mass emergencies. Soroka University Medical Center (SUMC) in Beersheba is one of the closest major hospitals to Gaza and treated the largest number of people on October 7. It is twenty-five miles from the Gaza Strip, and Hamas terrorists reached only six miles from the hospital during their rampage through southern Israel. All the while, the hospital was under constant rocket bombardment. Between 7:30 am and midnight on October 7, Soroka treated 676 patients injured by Hamas terrorists. Patients arrived by ambulance, private car, and helicopter. The hospital cared for 120 critically wounded patients, performed ninety-six surgeries, used 200 units of blood, and brought in additional blood supplies.
Medical staff at Soroka realized they needed to grow from and teach others the lessons learned during this unprecedented emergency. By 8 am, the hospital declared a mass causality event and called in all the medical staff. They also requested help from medical professionals in neighboring cities. The hospital reorganized so severely wounded patients could access trauma care, surgery, and internal imaging within areas fortified against rocket attacks. By the next day, they transferred less critical patients to other hospitals, making room for more patients and relieving the staff of the quantity of patients to tend to.
The hospital also set up an information center, in person and by phone, to help the hundreds of families desperate to find their loved ones. Soroka also took steps to care for its staff, some of whom had family killed or taken hostage. The hospital immediately set up a daycare center to care for their children while they worked.
Praise God for the quick reactions of this hospital and for all the medical and administrative staff who worked tirelessly since the beginning of the war, saving hundreds of lives. Pray what they learned will help other medical centers respond quickly in emergencies.
Building an Online Presence for Jesus
Overlooking Jerusalem, Israel (Source: Mor Shani/Unsplash)
A young man recently contacted one of our staff to say he heard him speaking about Jesus online. The young man said, through our staff’s testimony and words about Jesus over these last few months, he now believes Jesus is the Messiah! He wants to get connected to a local congregation.
Please pray for his discipleship and growth. Pray many more Israelis will discover an increasing social media presence of believers’ testimonies and scriptural truths.
