Israel has a long history of commemorating tragedies, from the destruction of the temples to the Holocaust. Today, we add a day to our calendar of memorials—October 7, 2023. I don’t need to tell you what happened one year ago today. Elana and I still remember waking up in Geneva that day. We were supposed to head to Marseille to minister at a special Feast of Tabernacles celebration.

Yesterday, Elana and I traveled down to the site of the Supernova Concert Massacre.

Elana turned to me at 6:30 AM (already 7:30 AM in Israel) and told me that Ashkelon was suffering rocket attacks from Hamas. For us, that was no reason for alarm. Saying there is rocket fire is like saying, “It’s Wednesday.” Something is not right when rockets being shot at you is normal. However, it wasn’t long before we realized this was different. Even then, we had no idea that 3,000 plus terrorists had entered the country, killing 1,200 Israelis and taking 256 into captivity. We had no idea that daughters of Israel were raped, people were burned alive and the terrorists were celebrating murder as if they had won the lottery.

Today, Elana and I traveled to Kicar Hachatifim (Hostages Square), created shortly after October 7, in front of the Tel Aviv Museum. I parked the car and went to meet her there, and suddenly, the sound of sirens rang out. Hundreds took cover inside the museum as we heard three loud explosions. It was a reminder that while we may be commemorating what happened on October 7, the ensuing war is not over.

That is a strange thing for us. It is like commemorating the Holocaust in 1943—before it was over. Just last week, I stood on my balcony and watched as 180 ballistic missiles were shot from Iran. We never dreamed that the country that won the Six-Day War against three nations would still be fighting Hamas and Hezbollah a year later. But this war is different—the enemies do not care about their own people—they will sacrifice homes, jobs, and lives (of women and children) without shedding a tear. They are part of an Islamic death cult.

All day on the TV today, they are recounting both the tragic stories of death and captivity and stories of unparalleled heroism. There are so many stories of soldiers and citizens hearing about the attack and, without orders or organization, just taking off and heading south. I have met many of them and heard how they lost friends that day. On TV right now is Iris Chaim, the mother of Yotam, who was taken hostage. I stood with her in London when we both spoke at a rally to see the hostages released. A few months later, Yotam was accidentally killed by IDF soldiers who thought he was a terrorist after he escaped his captors. That was one of the lowest points of this year. But she immediately went on TV to say she forgave soldiers and encouraged them not to give up in the fight against Hamas.

Israelis today are dealing with a mixture of determination and exhaustion. The country is broken in many ways, yet we are moving forward against our enemies. Our resilience is because of the grace of God. Resilience is your only choice when most of your neighbors want you dead.

We keep our hope in Messiah Yeshua, doing our best to keep our eyes on him. God has not given up on this country and has made powerful promises about our future. He is faithful. Please continue to pray for the people of Israel.v