Inside Israel News
Week of February 11, 2025
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Three Malnourished Hostages Released from Hamas Captivity
After 491 days in captivity, Hamas released Israelis Eli Sharabi, Or Levy, and Ohad Ben Ami. They were paraded on a stage, surrounded by Hamas militants, and made to give interviews to a Hamas “reporter.” It was immediately obvious the hostages were tortured and starved. Initial assessments speak of significant loss of weight through malnutrition. Their images were reminiscent of Holocaust survivors in concentration camps.
President Isaac Herzog said the emaciated state of the hostages is “what a crime against humanity looks like,” and their condition reinforce the urgency to release the remaining hostages and complete the ceasefire deal. He continued, “the whole world must look directly at Ohad, Or and Eli—returning after 491 days of hell, starved, emaciated and pained—being exploited in a cynical and cruel spectacle by vile murders. We take solace in the fact that they are being returned alive to the arms of their loved ones.”
Ohad Ben Ami returned to his wife who was also taken captive on October 7, 2023 but released in November 2023’s hostage exchange ceasefire deal. Eli Sharabi did not know his wife and two teenage daughters were killed in their home in Kibbutz Be’eri. Or Levy and his wife Einav were at the Nova music festival and fled to a roadside bomb shelter, where Hamas terrorists killed Einav and kidnapped Or. They left a three-year-old son these past sixteen months with relatives. It is unclear whether Or knew of his wife’s murder before his release Saturday. Two of these hostages came back to empty homes.
Please pray for these three men as they have gone through many horrible months and still undergo suffering at the loss of their family members. Please pray for their slow recovery and for their families to walk beside them during this time. They need the love of Yeshua, the Healer of the broken-hearted.
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Israel Appoints New Military Chief of Staff
The New Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff will be Eyal Zamir, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz chose him to replace the current Chief, Herzi Halevi, who recently resigned. Zamir has served in three prominent posts in the IDF command: deputy IDF chief, Southern Command chief, and military secretary of the Prime Minister. When former defense minister Benny Gantz chose Halevi in January 2023, Zamir was the second choice. Israel believes he will do an excellent job in leading the Israel Defense Forces during these strategic times.
Please pray for wisdom and strength for the new IDF Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir
Drone Protype Delivers Blood for Transfusions on the Battlefield
Israel’s Ministry of Defense has been developing a drone that can deliver up to 15 pounds of blood for emergency transfusions on the battlefield. The amount of blood that can be delivered to an IDF medic is enough to enable five to six blood transfusions, and the quick time of arrival would help to save an injured soldier’s life. Loss of blood on the battlefield is the main cause of death for soldiers and, during the current war, battlefield deaths as a result of loss of blood was only 7 percent—much less than other wars in Israel and around the world. This drone would hopefully reduce that percentage even further by safely delivering blood in a matter of minutes.
Please pray for soldiers who were injured while defending Israel, that they would recover speedily.
Fruit from the Frontlines
Chosen People Ministries Staff Make Disciples in Israel
It is always a joy for our ministry to bring the good news of the gospel to people around us, yet—beautifully—in the midst of this dark period for Israel, God’s light and truth have been shining through, bringing men, women, and families to faith in Yeshua (Jesus)! We rejoice with Heaven over their redemption, and we are honored to walk with them in their faith journey. Here are just a few stories from our staff.
Several months ago, one of our staff met Batya.* She is from one of the cities in the south of Israel that Hamas attacked on October 7, 2023. She was home that day and locked in the safe room all day. (Imagine terrorists roaming the streets while you are hiding and praying—even though at that time, she was an atheist.) It was a terrifying day that left her questioning a lot. Not long after, she heard about Jesus for the first time in her life. She had many questions and, as she searched, she became overwhelmed by His love. She explored the prophecies and found they were fulfilled by Yeshua. Batya desires to grow in her faith, study the gospels, and continue learning from Jesus—and our staff is so thankful for the opportunity to disciple her!
Irit,* an Israeli who came to faith during Covid, reached out to pone of our staff for prayer and mentorship just before she was to be baptized. They prayed together for her family, particularly for her parents who, though divorced, both said they would attend her baptism—and they did! Jesus has been radically transforming Irit’s life from the inside out and she has blossomed into an eager and enthusiastic evangelist to her people! As she has grown in her relationship with Yeshua, she has faced harsh criticism especially from her mother, saying she does not even recognize her anymore. (The changes the Lord has brought are glorious and God-honoring!) However, Irit continues to love the Lord, stand strong in her faith, and pray for her family’s salvation. Our staff was happy to rejoice with her recently when she was encouraged to discover that a cousin living outside of Israel has come to faith in Jesus and a childhood friend of a close family member is now also a born-again believer!
Another staff member told about a young man named Paul,* a social media influencer with over 250,000 followers, who recently came to faith in Yeshua. Our staff started discipling and mentoring Paul, and they are seeing how God is already using his platform to reach others with the gospel. Our staff is praying for his spiritual growth and also for his impact. Please pray with us for these new believers as they continue to build a solid foundation of faith in Yeshua.
Pray that God would guard and grow them as they seek Him for each step of life and the future. Pray for their families to come to faith. And pray for the Lord to guide our staff as they disciple them. Thank you!
Serving Meals Leads to Talking about Jesus
As Bible study and brunch attendance booms, figuring out how to provide sufficient food within our staff’s budget can occasionally be challenging. Even Jesus understood that hungry, tired bodies need physical nourishment as well as spiritual. Food is the first way our staff ministers to participants who battle traffic after a long day of work or study in order to fellowship and learn from God’s Word together. Food also fosters camaraderie and worshipful table conversations long before sitting down to study Scripture collectively or to offer and receive prayer.This was the case at our ministry’s recent ladies’ brunch when a Chinese Israeli friend told how, in her remote village, Jesus revealed Himself to her in a dream, leading her and her Muslim family to faith. Soon afterwards, a young Jewish Israeli believer told how she, too, was saved through a dream, and an older Jewish Israeli believer lady, forty-plus years in faith told how she was saved as a teen. It was moving and worshipful hearing each of their testimonies, while they gathered around the tables as one.
Pray for wisdom and resources because our ministry knows this level of meaningful fellowship, vulnerability, and growth would be missed without these meals. Thank the Lord with us for God’s faithful provision so far, and pray with us for His continued provision as our numbers increase.
Jesus Reveals Himself to Israelis in Dreams!
One of our team recently spoke at her local congregation about three young Israelis she has spoken to in the past couple of months who have given their lives to Yeshua after He revealed Himself to them in dreams or visions when they had planned on taking their lives. One of the three, Esther,* comes from a religious community. After the service, a believer came up and said how encouraged she was to hear about how the Spirit of God is moving. She and her family live among many religious families, and they constantly pray for them to come to faith in Jesus. This was just the encouragement she and her family needed to keep praying and not lose heart!
God is moving! Please pray with us for the Lord to continue to reveal Jesus to people in areas closed to the gospel, including the ultra-Orthodox and Muslim communities, the hostages still in captivity, and even the Gazans.
*Name changed
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