Friday night, just after the beginning of Shabbat, air raid sirens and rocket interceptions were heard in Jerusalem and the surrounding towns for the first time in many weeks. Dramatic footage shows one of the rockets being intercepted over the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism and third holiest in Islam.

One hostage’s mother has begun a hunger strike to put additional pressure on the government for the hostages’ release via diplomatic measures. A huge demonstration also took place in Tel Aviv Saturday night for the release of the remaining hostages.

Tragically, three hostages were shot by IDF soldiers in a charged incident in northern Gaza which is still under investigation. The IDF’s Chief of Staff took personal responsibility for the incident and offered his condolences to the families of the hostages.

Operationally, the IDF continues to make progress against Hamas. During fighting in northern Gaza over the weekend, Israeli forces discovered a shaft leading to a terror tunnel hidden under a baby’s crib.

Tragically, an Israeli reserve duty volunteer was killed by a Hizballah rocket over the weekend. The situation on Israel’s northern border continues to escalate.

A recent poll of Americans ages 18-24 shows that over half of the age-group believe that Hamas’ October 7th attack against Israel was justified and nearly that many also answered “yes” when asked whether university students should be allowed to call for a genocide of Jews without suffering consequences.

Please pray for comfort for the families of the hostages and the soldier who were killed. Please pray for continued success and protection for the IDF. Lastly, please pray for the world to see the truth about Israel and Hamas!