On 7 October 2023, the people of Israel awoke to a nightmare. At daybreak on Simchat Torah, over 6,000 armed terrorists used the cover of withering rocket fire to infiltrate the Gaza border fence and invade southern Israel. In a wave of atrocities, they killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostage back into Gaza. The Hamas onslaught ignited a major conflict that forced Israel to defend itself on seven fronts from Iranian-backed Islamist militias. After two full years of fighting, the war is now winding down, and the Gaza border communities are finally starting to recover and rebuild their lives.

In response to the October 7 massacres, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem swiftly mobilised our global constituency to stand with Israel in three main ways:

1) Urgent Relief and Recovery Aid
2) Solidarity Worldwide
3) Global Prayer

Our timely actions have built a strong testimony of Christian care and concern for Israel over the past two years of war. As the fighting ends and a new year approaches, the ICEJ offers this overview of our global response to the past 24 months of Israel’s longest war.

FIRST YEAR OF WAR

After the shocking Hamas invasion on October 7, 2023, the ICEJ immediately went into crisis response mode to provide urgent relief aid to the traumatised nation. Thanks to our generous Christian donors worldwide, we were able to offer practical assistance to scores of Israelis over the first year of war, when thousands of families were evacuated from their homes on the southern and northern borders. This emergency aid included:

Food: The ICEJ sponsored food distributions for thousands of evacuated families; provided meals and cookouts for security and first-responder teams; and leased two food delivery trucks.

Evacuees: We provided relief aid for thousands of displaced Israeli families; donated house-warming gift packages and store vouchers for evacuees; gave games and toys for children; funded respite stays for families to escape the fighting; offered group activities for youths and disabled Israelis; and sponsored school classrooms, scholarships, tutors, workshops, books, playgrounds and trauma care for evacuated children.

Emergency Equipment: We provided protective vests and helmets for hundreds of emergency first responders; funded equipment and training for emergency workers; donated eight fire-fighting ATVs and a large van to emergency responders; supplied hundreds of advanced communication devices to civilian emergency responders; and installed dozens of red alert systems for kindergartens.

Holocaust Survivors: We provided meals and trauma care for Holocaust survivors; and donated new protective shelters, an ambulance and a back-up generator to our Haifa Home for Holocaust Survivors.

Medical Equipment: We donated four ambulances, two medi-cycles, paramedic kits, defibrillators, intensive-care beds, stretchers, protective gear and other medical supplies to hospitals, clinics, first-responders, and search & rescue teams.

Trauma Care: We provided trauma therapy to scores of children, youths-at-risk, elderly, disabled and others; funded horseback riding therapy sessions and equipment for hundreds of children and adults; invested in PTSD recovery homes and clinics; funded development of new virtual reality visors to treat trauma victims; and offered trauma relief to first responders shaken by their experiences in caring for others.

Bomb Shelters: We donated 33 new bomb shelters on the northern and southern borders, and completely renovated 169 underground community shelters in northern Israel.

Community Support: We provided assistance and mentors to struggling small businesses; supported programs to help unemployed Arabs, sponsored resilience training for medical staff to rebuild trust between Arabs and Jews; and supported Golan Druze families impacted by a lethal Hizbullah rocket strike.

Hands-On Projects: Our staff and several hands-on tours volunteered their time to visit the wounded; pack food boxes for evacuee families; deliver aid baskets to the elderly; harvest fields and orchards for farmers; and drive pregnant Israeli women to the hospital to give birth.

Aliyah: We assisted over 3,000 Jewish immigrants in making Aliyah, including funds for over 500 Aliyah flights to Israel; and funded Aliyah seminars and a Global Call Center to assist new immigrants, plus mentors for arriving students.

SECOND YEAR OF WAR

During the war’s second year, the IDF slowly rolled back the Hamas threat in Gaza, allowing Israeli communities in the western Negev to begin returning home. Local leaders asked for our help to rebuild facilities that will enhance their quality of communal life, to attract old families back and draw newcomers. So, over the past year the Christian Embassy has raised funds for a series of major building projects to help these communities recover, even while continuing our many other Aid and Aliyah efforts throughout Israel. The ICEJ also has focused on providing trauma care services so needed now in Israeli society. Our main aid efforts over this second year of war includ

 Recovery and Rebuilding: The Christian Embassy is…
* Rebuilding the destroyed youth activity center in Kibbutz Be’eri;
* Restoring an elderly care and activity center in Kibbutz Be’eri;
* Renovating a kindergarten into a children’s trauma center in Kfar Aza;
* Reconstructing an innovative music therapy center in Kfar Aza;
* Helping to build and expand a horse therapy ranch and animal therapy center in Kibbutz Urim;
* Building a greenhouse classroom and learning center at a new agro-tech school in Sde Nitzan, and
* Donating five large bomb shelters for new trauma care centers in Sha’ar HaNegev and Sadot Negev.

Iran War Victims: We helped hundreds of families who lost their homes due to missile strikes during the intense 12-day war with Iran last June. We gave grants to them for clothing, food, medicines, diapers, and hygiene supplies. Provided house-hold furniture and appliances for temporary housing of evacuees, plus sponsored a summer camp for children sorely-needed trauma care.

Trauma Care: We focused much effort this past year on providing trauma care services for all segments of Israeli societies, especially for children, the elderly and disabled, and medical and security personnel.

Bomb Shelters & Emergency Gear: The ICEJ continued to place dozens of new bomb shelters, supply secured communication devices and emergency medical and safety equipment, and sponsor special training for first responder teams in communities across northern and southern Israel. Our sixth ambulance donation in two years is currently on order.

Aliyah: The war has not stopped the return of Jewish families to their ancestral homeland, and the ICEJ once again helped over 3,000 Jewish immigrants in moving to Israel this past year from Britain, France, Ethiopia, the Baltic states, Ukraine and other former Soviet republics. This includes sponsoring Aliyah flights for more than 725 Jews to reach Israel, highlighted by the largest immigrant group from the UK in over 15 years.

Hands-On Projects: Our volunteer tours continued to offer Christians from abroad unique opportunities to take part in hands-on projects in Israel post-October 7. These have proven very successful and fulfilling for those involved, and will continue into 2026. Look out for details of our next Hands-On tour taking place 3-12 May 2026.

SOLIDARITY WITH ISRAEL WORLDWIDE

In the wake of Hamas’ horrific slaughter of 1,200 Israelis on October 7, the ICEJ quickly began working through our international network of branch offices and activists to stand with Israel and combat the antisemitic incitement sweeping the globe. The October 7 massacres were the worst atrocities committed against the Jews since the Holocaust. Thus, we proclaimed that Israel had a right to defend itself, and it was waging a just war to rescue the hostages and eradicate the Hamas terror militia before it claimed more innocent Jewish and even Arab lives. Our support for the Jewish nation and people has included solidarity marches and rallies around the world, as well as public advocacy and educational activities on the dangers of resurgent antisemitism.

1)  Pro-Israel Rallies: The ICEJ immediately activated its global network of branch offices in more than 90 nations and supporters in over 180 nations worldwide. We were able to express strong solidarity with Israel by organising and joining rallies and marches in major cities worldwide. Our global Christian following stood together to passionately defend Israel and the Jewish community during this difficult time, when much of the world was unfairly critical and even demonised Israel and the Jewish people.

2)  Solidarity Missions to Israel: The ICEJ and its branch offices worldwide organised and hosted dozens of solidarity missions to Israel over the past two years of conflict. This includes the largest solidarity mission to Israel of 2024, when over 500 Christians from 55 nations attended our Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem, and the largest solidarity mission to Israel of 2025, when more than 1,700 Christians from 75 nations came to this year’s Feast.

3)  Public Advocacy: Our Christian leaders and activists in countries far and wide have let their governments and national media know of our strong support for Israel. In direct meetings, letters and published statements, we provided government officials and community leaders with accurate information on the pressing issues surrounding Israel’s battle against Hamas terrorism.

4)  Education on Antisemitism and Radical Islam: The ICEJ and our national branches worldwide explained to others why Israel needed to achieve victory over the brutal Islamic-inspired terrorism of Hamas witnessed on October 7. We pointed to their own beliefs and rhetoric to make clear Hamas and other Iranian-backed militias are waging a vicious jihad not only against Israel and Jews, but also against all non-Muslims, to achieve Islamic dominance over all the world. This macabre vision seeks the complete eradication of Jews and Christians, and thus poses an intolerable threat to world peace and stability.

GLOBAL PRAYER INITIATIVES

From the moment reports first emerged of the horrific massacres on October 7, the ICEJ immediately began calling for an urgent global prayer effort unlike any in our history. Over the past two years of war, Christians around the world responded by joining together to intercede for Israel and the region through our various prayer initiatives.

1)  Global Prayer Gathering: The ICEJ’s Global Prayer Gathering was a weekly online initiative, but on October 7, 2023 we immediately turned into a daily prayer call. Since then, the daily GPG has drawn over 15,000 unique participants from 185 nations to lift up Israel and the region in sustained prayer. During this prolonged season of spiritual warfare, we saw the Lord answer many prayers. For instance, God heeded our pleas to bring the Israeli hostages home safely, as all the living hostages have returned and only three abducted bodies remain in Gaza at this time. Many of the released hostages have testified that they experienced the presence of God in the Hamas terror tunnels, just as we prayed. We also saw the Lord give Israeli leaders wisdom and strategies to defeat their foes in amazing ways, just as we prayed. These daily GPG sessions have been very encouraging and fruitful, and thus they will continue into 2026.

2)  Rosh Chodesh Prayer Chain: Several years ago, the ICEJ launched the Rosh Chodesh Prayer Chain linked to the start of each month on the Hebrew calendar. It gradually grew to encompass 24/7 prayer for about half of each month, but after October 7 it quickly expanded to cover all hours of the month. Churches, prayer groups and ministries in over 70 nations worldwide committed to specific hours of prayer to now form one continual 24/7 year-round global prayer vigil. The prayers have focused on Israel and the Middle East region, as well as the nations of the world. With so many requests by new prayer groups to join the Rosh Chodesh calls, we will soon launch a second online meeting to circle the globe all hours of the day for the entire year.

3)  Branch Prayer Campaigns: Many of our ICEJ national branches have started their own prayer initiatives that have been extremely active during these past two years of war. For instance, ICEJ-USA now has prayer teams meeting online in all 50 states, while ICEJ-India has representatives praying in all 29 states of their nation. ICEJ-Finland held simultaneous prayer rallies in 27 cities in one day. ICEJ-Philippines has a number of major prayer efforts underway, besides the more than 120 hours per month they cover on the Rosh Chodesh Prayer Chain. ICEJ-Germany and ICEJ-UK also have very active prayer meetings online, while Germany has held numerous large public prayer rallies for Israel.

A LASTING TESTIMONY OF CHRISTIAN SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL

The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem was established for such a time as this, as Israel has faced two long years of war on seven fronts ever since the Hamas terrorist onslaught of October 7. Thanks to our faithful supporters worldwide, we have written together an enduring testimony of Christian love and concern for Israel. We thank everyone who has helped us stand with the Jewish nation and people during their hour of great need, whether by giving to our Israel in Crisis fund, speaking out for Israel in your nation, or joining our urgent prayer efforts worldwide. We invite you to continue partnering with the ICEJ as we remain at Israel’s side during this new phase of recovery and rebuilding for so many deeply impacted by this difficult conflict. Please consider…

1)  Making a generous donation to our Israel in Crisis fund
               Go to:  help.icej.org/crisis

2)  Joining the ICEJ branch in your nation in standing with Israel
               Go to: icej.org/our-why/our-global-family

3)  Taking part in our global prayer initiatives for Israel and the region
               Go to: icej.org/pray-with-us