“May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.” For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, “Peace be within you.” For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your prosperity.” (Psalm 122:6-9)
A few days ago marked the one-year anniversary of the horrors of the October 7th attacks at the hands of Hamas and other militants on the south of Israel. On the day of commemoration, I was in the holy city of Jerusalem. The city of peace. A city that today has no peace.
October 7, 2023. What can be said about what transpired that day and over the past year? And about what happened on that horrific day a year ago?
In the months following, it became increasingly clear that women positioned in stations along the Gaza border called “spotters” - female soldiers in the Israeli defense forces - had warned numerous times about increasingly suspicious activity from Hamas and other militant groups before October. The Wall Street Journal reported how their concerns were dismissed despite numerous increasingly vehement warnings having been raised, ultimately resulting in the death of 50 soldiers at the Nahal Oz base, including 15 observers, who were shot or burned to death by militants.
The attacks that day were not only by breaches along the security fence along the Gaza border but included assaults on Israel by land, sea, and air. The attacks, perpetrated primarily by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths, primarily Israeli citizens, but included many international people as well. Many said the day was Israel’s 9/11 - and it was the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.
It took days and even months to understand the magnitude of the attack that day, which also resulted in more than 240 people being taken hostage back into Gaza. On October 8th, Israel declared war for the first time since 1973 and the Yom Kippur War. Survivors of the attacks talked about how it took hours, sometimes as long as 7-8 hours, for Israeli soldiers to arrive. Not only was October 7th Shabbat (a Sabbath day), where many in Israel forgo using electronics including telephones, radios, and televisions - it was also the Jewish festival of Sukkot, and many soldiers were on leave or had been reallocated to other regions like the northern border, leaving the area around the Gaza Strip almost entirely unprotected.
Almost 1,200 people were killed during the assault, which included families attacked in their homes in kibbutzim along the border. There also was a massacre at the Nova Music Festival where well over 300 people were killed, a large number being Israeli nationals but also including foreigners. A March 2024 United Nations report found evidence that some of the people there were victims of sexual violence before they were killed. The following day - when Prime Minister Netanyahu declared the goal of the eradication of Hamas and demanded that all food, water, gas, and electricity be wholly cut off from Gaza until every hostage be returned home, marked what became known to many in the world as the Israel/Hamas War. Weeks later the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) began a ground invasion by sending in troops and armored vehicles. The limited access of humanitarian assistance and aid has caused a catastrophic humanitarian crisis that continues to this day.
What has happened in the past year?? Trauma, fear, and abandonment have been felt by many of the Jews in Israel, and utter deprivation, devastation, and massive civilian deaths across Gaza. Now a broader Middle East War looms on the horizon as there have been exchanges of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, Iran, and the Houthis in Yemen with questions about what might come next.
Today, Jews around the world are mourning - they are grieving the loss of life that took place on October 7th, a year ago, when roughly 1,200 people were killed and 240 people were taken captive.
May we grieve alongside every person who lost a loved one on October 7th - having empathy for their suffering.
October 7th was by no means the starting point of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict - but it was a day that changed history.
The atrocities that were committed on October 7th were evil.
It is right for us to condemn and speak out against them. The one-year marker is a day when we commemorate every life lost in the kibbutzim along the Gaza envelope, the more than 300 lives taken in the massacre at the Nova Music festival, the men and women and children who lost their lives that day.
Today is also a day where we mourn and grieve alongside the people of Gaza - and the families and loved ones of the more than 42,000 people who have been killed over the past 12 months. Mourn with those who mourn.
We remember every mother and father who has buried their child. Every child who has lost one of their parents or has become an orphan. God have mercy on the death and destruction that has transpired in Gaza and in the killing on October 7th. Trauma upon trauma.
Jesus gave a very clear exhortation in the sermon on the Mount. He said:
Our role in being peacemakers - on the year marking the October 7th attacks - as a way to honor every single person who lost their life and whose blood has been shed is to not be silent amid injustice.
Speaking up means saying "no" to violent attacks wherever they may be. Speaking up means saying “NO” to any more violence, death, and destruction. It means being motivated and compelled to engage by praying for peace, giving to organizations that are advocating for peace, and acting to support efforts that are calling for a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire. It means demanding a future that will allow for Jewish people to have safety and security – and for all Palestinians in Gaza and the rest of the occupied territory to have the opportunity to live – and not fear being killed by bombings or military attacks or settler violence - and have the chance to flourish… it means longing, praying, working, and seeking for peace to come.
Children are paying the heaviest price of this war. Children in Gaza have faced months of relentless bombing and are being killed at an unprecedented rate. They are dying because of hunger and disease. They have lost homes, loved ones, and feelings of safety and security. The situation has never been more desperate - 96% of the population faces severe food shortages because of the ongoing violence, displacement, and restrictions on aid. On top of this, according to Save the Children, over 20,000 children are currently missing in the chaos of war. Thousands are presumed dead beneath the rubble. Children face the greatest consequences of war.
The UN published a report that states more grave violations against children were committed in Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel than anywhere else in the world last year... The report on children and armed conflict verified more cases of war crimes against children in the occupied territories and Israel than anywhere else, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, Somalia, Nigeria, and Sudan.
For those living in Gaza - it is hard for us to understand what it must be like to live under nearly daily bombardment for a year. Mothers write the names and ID numbers of their children on their bodies in markers so they might be identified if or when they are killed in an airstrike.
For many in Israel, October 7th has been called the Israeli September 11th. It reinforced a fear of extinction – and reminded Jews in Israel and around the world – that their very presence is vulnerable and under threat.
October 7, 2023, was not only a turning point day for Israel – it was a turning point for us in the church as well. People in Palestine are saying, “Where is the church?” Mitri Raheb says Palestinian Christians have not lost faith in God – their faith in God is strong! But they have lost faith in the global church. What does this say about our witness?
Each of us has a role to play in contributing to bringing about peace. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Pray for the peace of Gaza. Pray for the peace of Israel. Pray for the peace of Palestine. May God go before us and make straight the path toward peace. If you would like more ways to engage, learn more, serve, and volunteer to join us on a solidarity trip to the Holy Land, reach out to us at Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP). May peace come quickly.
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