At 6:30 a.m., as the sun rose over southern Israel, sirens shattered the quiet of Shabbat and the final morning of Simchat Torah, a day meant for joy and worship.
Within minutes, more than 3,000 rockets rained down.
Then came the unthinkable—hundreds of Hamas terrorists poured across the border, invading 22 Israeli communities and turning a morning of peace into a morning of slaughter.
They shot families as they ran for shelter.
They burned homes with people inside.
They stormed a desert music festival where young people were dancing to celebrate life—and murdered 364 of them in cold blood.
They took mothers, children, and grandparents hostage, dragging them into Gaza’s tunnels of darkness.
By nightfall, 1,200 people were dead and 250 were missing.
The Sabbath of joy became a day of ashes.
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” — Psalm 34:18
The Faces Behind the Numbers
Lianne, Noiya, and Yahel Sharabi—a mother and two teenage daughters—were murdered before the eyes of their husband and father, Eli, who spent 491 days in captivity. When he emerged, his first words were, “I’ve come back from hell.”
Shiri and Yarden Bibas, with their red-haired boys Ariel (4) and Kfir (9 months), were dragged into Gaza. Videos showed the babies in terrorists’ arms. Their bodies were returned this year.
At the Nova music festival, Millet Ben Haim hid for six hours in a field while gunmen hunted her. She says she avoids mirrors because “I don’t recognize the woman I see.”
Holocaust survivor Haim Raanan, from Kibbutz Be’eri, called October 7 “a second Holocaust.”
These are not statistics.
They are stories etched in the soul of Israel—and of anyone who believes life is sacred.
What Has Happened Since
Israel buried its dead and went to war.
Entire communities moved into temporary housing.
Children draw pictures of their kidnapped classmates.
Mothers sit by empty beds with folded laundry no one will ever wear again.
The Bring Them Home campaign became a nation’s heartbeat—faces of the missing covering every streetlight.
When a hostage returns, strangers line highways waving flags and singing “Am Yisrael Chai”—the people of Israel live.
And yet, as the world’s sympathy faded, Israel’s faith did not.
This is why Never Forget must still be spoken out loud.
Faith in the Fire
As believers, we see more than geopolitics—we see spiritual warfare.
Hamas is not a political movement; it is a murderous force of evil.
Evil does not negotiate; it devours.
And yet, amid the rubble, faith still breathes.
Israeli pastor Tesfalidet Kahasi said,
“We are used to sirens—but this was something terrible, something we had never seen before. Still, we hold hands—Arabs, Jews, Gentiles—we drank the same Spirit.”
Franklin Graham urged Christians to
“pray for every hostage to be set free and for peace to cover this land.”
Pastor John Hagee warned that those who excuse terror
“make common cause with evil.”
In Kibbutz Be’eri, a woman kneels beside the ruins of her home and whispers the Shema:
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”
Faith has become defiance.
What “Never Forget” Means Now
To say Never Forget is not a slogan—it is a covenant.
It means we remember what evil did and Who still reigns.
It means we refuse moral fog in a world that excuses terror.
It means our prayers become action—speaking, giving, standing with Israel.
Never Forget means:
We remember the children who cried out and the God who heard them.
We remember the light that no darkness could extinguish.
We remember that silence helps the oppressor, never the victim.
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May those who love you be secure.’” — Psalm 122:6
A Call to the Modern-Day Esther
Esther stepped forward when her people faced annihilation.
She used her voice when silence would have been safer.
That is our calling today.
As Christian Women For Israel, we stand in prayer, advocacy, and faith—for the hostages still captive, for the families still grieving, for Israel’s right to live in peace.
We will speak truth when the world grows weary of it.
We will remember when others move on.
We will love God’s people as He commanded.
