Article

Israel At War

October 7, 2023
Luke Hilton
3 min read
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As of 6:31 AM this morning, Israel is at war. In the words of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “this is not an operation, not a round of fighting, this is war” (paraphrased from the Hebrew translation). 

Exactly 50 years to the day since the Yom Kippur War of 1973, and on the Sabbath and high holiday that marks the end of Sukkot, Hamas began firing rockets by the thousands at Israel, and infiltrated Israeli towns in the southern region. At the time of this writing, at least 40 Israeli citizens have been killed, although some reports place the numbers even higher. 

There are (at least) dozens of Hamas terrorists still at large inside Israeli towns in the south, shooting, killing and kidnapping Israelis. Since it is the sabbath and some of the news networks are not operating at full capacity, information is still limited. Reports are even coming in that Hamas is in control of several Israeli villages in the south, and that they have kidnapped dozens of Israelis and taken them hostage to Gaza.

At the time of this writing, (information is changing very rapidly due to the evolving situation), here are the facts: 

  • Hamas has fired  2,500 rockets into Israel in the last 8 hours. 
  • Hamas terrorists have infiltrated Israel, and at the time of this writing, many are still at large, shooting, killing and kidnapping Israeli civilians and soldiers. There are reports that Hamas is currently in control of three Israeli villages in the south. 
  • At least 40 Israeli civilians have been killed and 700 wounded, both by rocket fire and Hamas terrorists. 
  • Reports are surfacing of an IDF general who was kidnapped and taken to Gaza, as well as other Israeli civilians and citizens. 
  • Images of brutal murders and kidnappings are sweeping social media. At this time, it is unclear which are true, and which are propaganda, potentially prepared by Hamas ahead of time to be used as a fear tactic. 
  • The IDF has begun striking Hamas targets inside Gaza, and Prime Minister Netanyahu has ordered the Israeli military to find and neutralize all of the terrorists who have infiltrated Israeli towns. 

Please pray for Israel. As God promises in Psalm 121….

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth….Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep...The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

Make sure to follow The Israel Guys on social media to keep up with the rapidly evolving situation in Israel. 

Thank you for praying for and standing with Israel. Stay tuned for more information coming soon. 

Luke Hilton

Originally from Virginia Beach, VA, Luke discovered his passion for Israel at age of 16. Since then, he's shared the story of Israel's restoration across the globe through speaking tours, films, and articles, inspiring Christian Zionists to stand in support of Israel.

Luke is based out of Israel, serves as Director of Marketing for HaYovel and is an author and show host for The Israel Guys.

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