The war in Gaza feels never ending. The hostage release talks raise our hopes but then get stuck in Hamas intransigence while the hostages languish day after day. The Haredim prefer jail to serving in the army, and the political crises are ever present with a new one almost every day. Thankfully, the missiles from Iran have ceased for the moment. There is an occasional one from Yemen but they have been mostly successfully intercepted and we don’t generally suffer damage.
The country is still recovering from the intensity of the direct ballistic missile hits on apartment buildings in the “Iran war” – a 12 day war with Iran which took place in the midst of the war in Gaza and following the war with Hezbollah. In addition to all the damage since the beginning of October 7th, there were more deaths in these 12 days and thousands more have been left homeless, traumatized and grieving.
The hostage families continue to cry out from the depth of their being, praying fervently that their loved ones in the tunnels would hang on to every breath of life, while soldiers are dying on the battlefield, fighting with their last breath to save them.
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