ICEJ hosts hundreds of Christians in Israel for Oct 7 remembrance as Gaza ceasefire looms

Hundreds of Christians from around the world are gathering in Israel’s south to commemorate the second anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks in southern Israel, joining local communities near the Gaza border as the country awaits a potential ceasefire to end the two-year war.

More than 600 Christian visitors from over 50 countries are taking part in a special remembrance ceremony on Monday at Sapir College, close to some of the hardest-hit communities during the 2023 massacre. The event launches the annual Feast of Tabernacles celebration organized by the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ).

The ceremony will honor the more than 1,500 Israelis who were killed or abducted on Oct. 7, 2023. Survivors will share personal accounts of the Hamas massacres, which took place on Simchat Torah. Among the speakers are Doron Libshtein, brother of the late Ofir Libshtein, mayor of Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council, who was killed defending Kibbutz Kfar Aza, and former Knesset Member Shai Hermesh, who survived the attack on the same community.

Participants are visiting key sites connected to the atrocities, including the Nova Music Festival grounds and the “car graveyard” near Tkuma, where burned-out vehicles stand as a grim reminder of the massacre. Delegations will also meet residents returning to devastated western Negev communities to learn about efforts to rebuild.

To support this recovery, the ICEJ is funding seven major reconstruction projects in Gaza border communities at a cost of more than $6.8 million. The projects include rebuilding youth and senior centers in Kibbutz Be’eri, repairing a kindergarten and constructing a music therapy center in Kfar Aza, creating a greenhouse classroom in Sde Nitzan, expanding an animal therapy center in Kibbutz Urim, and installing bomb shelters at trauma care facilities in the region.

“We look forward to our Feast pilgrims being able to meet these special Israelis who have displayed such amazing courage and resilience while living along the Gaza border, and it is especially timely to visit right when these two very tough years of war might be ending,” said ICEJ President Dr. Juergen Buehler.

“The Christian Embassy has committed to a series of major rebuilding projects to help our friends in the western Negev restore key facilities to enhance their communal life, with special emphasis on assisting youth and the elderly, as well as providing trauma care for all.”

Following the Gaza border ceremonies, the Feast of Tabernacles will continue in Jerusalem through Friday, featuring addresses by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee, and other international dignitaries. The gathering marks the largest Christian solidarity mission to Israel since the war began, with over 1,500 participants from more than 70 nations.

Last year, in October 2024, despite the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza, in addition to hostilities with Iran and its terror proxies – Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen – the ICEJ moved forward with its annual feast, bringing hundreds of Christian visitors to Israel in a powerful show of solidarity. The week-long event combined traditional celebrations with solemn remembrance ceremonies honoring the victims of Oct. 7.