In Israel, yellow ribbons are displayed — on trees, fences, car mirrors, clothing, and public landmarks — as a visible sign of support for the hostages and their families.
(Wikimedia Commons)

Brother Y, who serves with Global Catalytic Ministries, told MNN from Israel: “It’s a very, very complex scene with lots of emotions involved on all sides. Very few, though, are thinking that the war has ended.”

Some hostage families were horrified to see the physical state of their returned loved ones, while others grieved the loss of those they hoped to see alive.

“There’s mixed emotions there, but mainly joy and thankfulness for the American government and everybody who was instrumental in bringing the people back,” Brother Y says.

Most Israelis celebrated with the families of hostages who returned home alive yesterday, but the overall mood was bittersweet.

“I have personal connections – friends of my children, and children of my friends – both were kidnapped and assassinated or tortured and murdered from the Nova festival, etc.,” Brother Y says.

“I didn’t have anyone that came (home) alive, but I can feel their celebration. I can feel their joy.”

Simultaneously, “about 2,000 bona fide terrorists with gallons of blood on their hands were also released as part of the (ceasefire) deal,” he says, “so this is why I wasn’t emphasizing the joy.”

Monday’s exchange renewed international hope for ending the two-year war between Israel and Hamas. Supporters of the terrorist group, however, made “Quraysh treaty” their rally cry – “A time when, in the Quran, a covenant was broken,” Brother Y says.

“It was a temporary covenant to gain access and control, and then followed by a military conquest. They’re chanting this right now, basically saying, ‘We’ve gotten our reprieve. We’re going to come back bigger and stronger.’”

Pray for Gospel opportunities in the interim. “The prayer for believers is that God’s going to position His people – mature believers, praying believers, Gospel-focused, missions-minded believers – and that there’s going to be a wide-open door for the Gospel,” Brother Y says.

In the header image, Israel’s Teddy Stadium displays the words “Thank you President Trump” following a deal for hostage release and ceasefire in Gaza. (Wikimedia Commons)

The UN World Food Programme reports that from May to September 2025, nearly a quarter of Gaza’s 2.1 million people will be in level 5 catastrophic hunger. Now in July, the Hamas-run Palestinian Health Ministry reports that dozens of people have died who showed signs of hunger and malnutrition. Still, famine hasn’t yet been officially declared.

In the controversial narratives, how should believers respond with God’s Kingdom in mind? 

Number one, keep talking.

“God is merciful and compassionate and loves all people. We should be speaking about the challenging things,” says *Brother Y, a former IDF soldier serving with Global Catalytic Ministries. 

To him, Palestinians are oppressed by the unelected leaders of Hamas. He says concerning the war, “Could it have been avoided 100% if Hamas was not there? Yes, 100%. [It] could have been avoided altogether, completely.”

(Photo courtesy Global Catalytic Ministries)

A second Kingdom response is to seek the truth.

“Since there [are] so many casualties and real trauma, obviously emotions are going to be high,” says Brother Y. “It’s very difficult with what you’re being fed in the media to be balanced.”

He believes Israel and the region are in the world’s spotlight for spiritual reasons. “But there are political, geopolitical, [and] financial reasons as well why this get[s] spoken of in global media more than other conflicts with much higher death toll[s] and other issues.”

The furor makes it even more critical to stay grounded in prayer.

“We are crying that Maranatha cry: ‘Let your kingdom come,’” says Brother Y. Many times, that will mean something different than we expect.

“[In prayer] we go above and beyond our own ethnic background and our own geopolitical background, our preferences. We ask God, ‘What are you saying? What are you doing? Where are you going, and could you please take us with you? We want to collaborate and cooperate with you.’”

*Name withheld for security

Header photo courtesy of user Pastor Matt via Unsplash. 

“The Body of Christ needs to be engaged in fervent prayer,” he says. 

Questions like these are a good starting point:

• God, what are you saying? What are you doing? 
• Where are you going, and can we collaborate with you, even if it’s just through prayer?

“Many times, prayers will lead to action,” he says. 

People in Israel are not naive to where this conflict could lead. Brother Y’s own family just welcomed a new grandson into a sobering reality.

“I had to run with him to the bomb shelter less than 24 hours after he was born,” he says. “That brings a whole new perspective of ‘God we really need you.’”

He describes the Iranian regime’s vague threats — statements similar to “We haven’t even begun to use the weapons we own”— as psychological warfare.

Brother Y spoke this week with a friend from Iran. Despite the fear Iranians are experiencing, “They’re crying out for freedom…. Many are hopeful, hoping that this will topple this current regime and bring in freedom.”

(Photo courtesy of Dave Herring/Unsplash)

Brother Y believes his people have a strong calling to the nations. When the Gentiles joined Jewish-background believers in the early Church, Scripture says “the hand of the Lord was with them” (see Acts 11:19-30). 

“I believe, as it was, it’s going to be the same during our time when Jews and Gentiles collaborate together and take the gospel strongly,” says Brother Y. 

Still, there’s something he wishes more people understood. 

“We (Israel) have been faced with [the] Islamic desire to destroy us. We decided to take them at face value and just believe what they say, that as soon as they can nuke us, they will,” he says. “Many people around the world are so upset with Israel because they don’t understand that we are standing against global Islam. Not against the Muslims, but Islam and its agenda [which] is to subdue every nation.”

(Photo courtesy Global Catalytic Ministries)

He adds, “Don’t get me wrong: my nation as it is now is not a righteous nation as a nation. But God still uses the nation to ‘take the heat’ and stop this advance [of Islam].”

“But what we’ve seen throughout history [is] that what brought down kingdoms is the gospel. It’s as radical as elite units going into battle behind enemy lines — only the people going with Yeshua’s message are the ones giving their lives, not taking other people’s lives.”

Please pray

Pray for God’s will in Iran and Israel. Ask Him to bring this conflict to a clear and lasting resolution.

“Definitely pray for Israel that we will not trust in our army and in our own strength,” Brother Y says. “Whenever we did that [in the past], we were severely humbled.”

Pray also that believers will be sanctified. Brother Y points to how God dealt with Jerusalem and its enemies in Zechariah 12. 

“He needs to cleanse and to purge so all of us — in Iran, in Israel — that we will have a spirit of prayer, grace and supplication, that we will humble ourselves so that God can show mercy and compassion.”

Header photo of Jerusalem, Israel courtesy of Dariusz Kanclerz/Unsplash.