By GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO, Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — More than 1,400 evangelical Christians gathered this week in Jerusalem to show their support for Israel on the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, a joyous festival marking the fall harvest and commemorating the journey of the Jews in the Exodus.

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They also found themselves celebrating the news of an agreement to pause fighting and free the hostages, just days after the second anniversary of the Hamas-led attack on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza.

“We’ve been praying for this, and we know God is in control,” said Litiana Trout of Fiji, wearing small Fijian and U.S. flags on her hat.

She joined hundreds of others on Thursday afternoon in a city park for a march, one of several events organized annually by the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem. The organization and other Christian Zionists around the world say they consider support for Israel a moral and theological obligation, particularly as the country finds itself increasingly isolated.

“It’s still prophetic and a moral debt to the Jewish people — and spiritual, too, because we owe our Messiah to them,” said ICEJ spokesperson David Parsons.

Around the world, several governments recently recognized a Palestinian state, and public opinion has surged against Israeli actions in Gaza, with pro-Palestinian protests held on Oct. 7, the anniversary of the attacks, in many cities.

“It hurts my heart that my government is ignorant of the Bible — that those who stand with Israel are blessed,” said Sara Maskiewicz, waving a flag of her native Canada, which recognized a Palestinian state last month.

“I love Israel and the Jewish people, and I want to let them know my government doesn’t speak for everybody in Canada,” she added.

Maskiewicz and more than a thousand others packed Jerusalem’s convention center on Wednesday night for another ICEJ event. The largest groups came from the United States and Finland, but there were representatives from more than five dozen countries ranging from Azerbaijan to Zimbabwe.

Evangelical Christians from around the world gather for a traditional march in support of Israel during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, in Jerusalem, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, following the announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan to pause the fighting. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Support for Israel rooted in biblical prophecy

Evangelical Christians’ support for Israel and its current government is a powerful religious and political movement. Grounded in the belief that the country and its Jewish people fulfill biblical prophecy, it has grown in recent decades, especially among the U.S. evangelical Republican base.

Christians also came from Russia and Ukraine, China and Taiwan; the flag-bearer for Iran got a standing ovation at Wednesday night’s event.

So did Israel’s President Isaac Herzog, when he praised the crowd from the stage for standing with Israel as true “lovers of Zion.”

“Your caring reached so many and did so much good,” Herzog said. “May God bless you for blessing Israel.”

For years, the ICEJ has provided bomb shelters as well as housing for Holocaust survivors in Israel; other evangelical organizations have also provided aid. Samaritan’s Purse — run by evangelical leader Franklin Graham, who prayed at both of Donald Trump’s U.S. presidential inaugurations — has brought food and other supplies to Israel and Gaza, surging deliveries in the latter since the summer.

Herzog cited a passage from the prophet Zechariah about non-Jewish people coming to Jerusalem to observe the Feast of Tabernacles — the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, which started earlier this week.

He then praised Trump for his signature Abraham Accords, which established ties between Israel and four Arab nations, and the current negotiations to end the war in Gaza.

Among Christians, support for the Israeli government is far from universal — just as it isn’t among Jews or Israelis, many of whom are ambivalent about Christian Zionism. And some Christian organizations have pointedly criticized Israel’s military operations, including the Catholic Church, whose faithful in the Holy Land are mostly Palestinian.

While Christian Zionists range in theological and political approaches, they share some basic premises, said Daniel Hummel, author of “Covenant Brothers: Evangelicals, Jews, and U.S.-Israeli Relations.”

They believe God will bless those who bless Israel — which represents a prophecy fulfilled — because God uses Israel for the redemption of the world, Hummel said.

Politically, they see Israel as holding the front line in a clash of cultures where radical Islam is the “enemy” of the West, Hummel said.

“We believe God raised up these two men, Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump, to be leaders of the free world,” said Cathy Helms, who came to Jerusalem from North Carolina and is part of group praying daily for peace in Jerusalem.

Evangelical Christians from around the world gather for a traditional march in support of Israel during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, in Jerusalem, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, following the announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan to pause the fighting. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Christian Zionists and the 2-state solution

After the Oct. 7, 2023 attack, Christian Zionists and many Israelis united in their opposition to a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, which Israel has occupied since the 1967 war and Palestinians see as central to future independence.

“At this point, the two-state solution idea is pretty dead in Christian Zionist circles,” Hummel said.

The ICEJ’s Parsons said it’s up to the Israeli government to decide on territorial and political issues. The organization, however, would “support the right of Jews to live anywhere in the historical land of Israel” — seeing that land as part of God’s enduring covenant with the Jewish people.

Many Christian Zionists pray for Palestinians too, and feel that reconciliation will be crucial for lasting peace. But they also believe much of the public opinion against Israel is a sign of deep prejudice against Jews.

“It illustrates even more why Christians need to stand with Israel and the Jewish people against antisemitism,” said Laurie Cardoza-Moore, a pro-Israel evangelical leader who spoke to The Associated Press from the U.S. “We have a Biblical duty to protect what God loves.”

However, support for Israel has started to erode among young evangelicals, Hummel said, especially in the wake of the devastating toll of the war in Gaza, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed.

Still, enthusiasm was undimmed among the younger members of the Jerusalem crowd.

“When we come, we know we’re doing what God speaks to us to do for Israel,” said Eder do Nascimento, who is now in his early 30s but has visited since his teens, despite the steep travel costs from his native Brazil. “We work hard all year to make it work.”

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

By WAFAA SHURAFA and MARIAM FAM, Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Eager for the bloodshed, displacement and destruction to stop, many Palestinians in Gaza were relieved to hear news that Israel and Hamas agreed to a pause in their devastating two-year war. But it was mixed with pain from staggering losses and concern about what comes next.

“Once we heard the news about the truce, we felt happy,” said Ibrahim Shurrab from Khan Younis. “We ask God for the happiness to continue for us and for our Palestinian people and for us to return to our homes despite the pain and suffering,” he added, speaking in Muwasi, an area crowded with tents sheltering Palestinians who were forced to flee their homes.

Nevin Qudeeh said she felt the greatest sense of relief since the war erupted two years ago. She’ll be even happier, she added, when she can return home.

“We’re staying on the streets.”

Israel’s offensive in Gaza, launched in response to Hamas’ attack into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and caused vast destruction, displacement and suffering in Gaza. The war also brought famine to parts of the territory.

In Deir al-Balah, some children greeted the news with whistles, claps and celebratory chants of “Allahu akbar,” the Arabic phrase for “God is great.”

Mahmoud Wadi said he received the news with “massive happiness and an indescribable feeling.”

Others in the Gaza Strip wrestled with mixed emotions.

“I am happy and unhappy,” said Mohammad Al-Farra. “We have lost a lot of people and lost loved ones, friends,” relatives and homes that are about a lot more than stones and physical buildings, he said.

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One cannot help but wonder what the day after would look like, he said — or where to even begin picking up the pieces. “The situation is very difficult.”

But he said they would overcome future hardships just like they’ve been doing.

Taghreed al-Jabali, displaced from Khan Younis, shared the mixed feelings.

“We don’t know whether to feel happy or sad,” she said, lamenting the killings and losses of the last two years, including children missing two full years of school.

“Our sons and daughters didn’t receive education. A whole generation was lost. Two generations were lost, not just one. May God make it up for us,” she said.

Mohamed al-Nashar from Gaza City said people feel “very cautious and we are fearful of what is to come.”

He worried that a truce could be violated at any moment, adding that Israeli strikes have been persistent in areas where the army is still operating.

Some were skeptical about Israel following through on a deal but held out hope.

Explosions were seen Thursday morning in northern Gaza as Israeli strikes continued. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strikes but earlier in the day said it had begun preparations for the implementation of the ceasefire and that troops were planning to shift to “adjusted deployment lines.”

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a pause in their war and the release of the remaining 48 hostages, around 20 of them believed to be alive, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Uncertainty remains about some of the thornier aspects of the plan advanced by U.S. President Donald Trump — such as whether and how Hamas will disarm, and who will govern Gaza. But the sides appear closer than they have been in months to ending the war.

In the Gaza Strip, where much of the territory lies in ruins, Palestinians have been desperate for a breakthrough. Thousands fleeing Israel’s latest ground offensive have set up makeshift tents along the beach in the central part of the territory, sometimes using blankets for shelter.

In their 2023 attack on Israel, Hamas-led fighters abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200, mostly civilians. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says the Palestinian death toll has exceeded 67,000 people. The ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half of the deaths were women and children, is part of the Hamas-run government. The United Nations and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.

“We’re a people who’ve suffered from the injustice of the (Israeli) occupation and the injustice of the war,” said Samir Moammer, displaced from Rafah. “Education has stopped. People’s lives have stopped.”

He said he prays to God for the war and the bloodshed to end.

“The occupation has returned us to the Stone Age,” he said. “We ask God to complete this happiness and for people to return to how they were before.”

Fam reported from Cairo. Toqa Ezzidin in Cairo contributed to this report.

A new stormwater system at the Highland Bridge development collects run off and filters it before it can reach the Mississippi River.

Nathan Campeau, the vice president and senior water resources engineer for Barr Engineering, said the system removes phosphorus and trash. Traditional stormwater systems generally don’t do filtration and send water directly into rivers or lakes.

“So instead of just rushing off the site very quickly, we’re slowly releasing that clean water. So we’re first cleaning it through those different filtration mechanisms, and then we are holding it back in a pond, basically by filling up the bathtub and letting it slowly drain out,” Campeau said.

Cleaning 64 million gallons of water a year

The underground system cleans an estimated amount of 64 million gallons of stormwater annually. Campeau said the new system protects the Mississippi River and Hidden Falls Creek park from erosion.

Located at the former Ford Motors Assembly plant, the Highland Bridge development has a stormwater system with five rain gardens, five underground filtration centers that collect and treat the stormwater. The clean water will then go into a central pond which goes back in the stream, Campeau said. ​

The reworking of the system started as early as 2007, after it was announced that the Ford Motor assembly plant was closing, according to Melanie McMahon, interim director of the Department of Planning and Economic Development.

McMahon said the city of St. Paul worked with developer Ryan Companies and the Capitol Region Watershed District to put in plans to redesign the area after the plant left.

“It has been a decades-long process really with the plant closure in 2011, the vision for the site adopted in 2017, and then Ryan Companies closing on the land to become the developer in 2019,” McMahon said.

Along with the stormwater system, the development now has a pedestrian and bike paths and a plaza near Hidden Falls according to the city website.

Project Excellence Award

The stormwater system stood out to the Water Environment Federation, a non-profit association that provides education on clean water. Last week Monday, the Highland Bridge Project won the Project Excellence Award for its green stormwater infrastructure system. This is the first time a project in Minnesota has received this award.

The award is meant to highlight innovation in water projects. The applicants are judged based on certain criteria, like the complexity of the system, its relevance and other factors, according to the Water Environment Federation website.

McMahon said the system stood out for the award because it transformed an industrial area into an inviting public space that supports both recreation and improved water management.

“Taking this and turning it into a public amenity, something that is both sustainable, great for the environment, and something that you want to spend time around was a total flip from how stormwater is typically used in development projects,” McMahon said.

Bob Fossum, deputy administrator of the Capitol Regional Watershed District, said getting the national award was rewarding for everyone involved.

“To receive the national recognition that we did was very gratifying to be able to showcase this project on a national stage, which was nice,” Fossum said.

While the city won the award, McMahon said the area is still developing. She said she was glad the city won the award, but was happier that people had a place to relax.

“It was so amazing that you had this whole generation walking through the site, playing, on the playgrounds, going by the water feature, and they can’t even fathom that it could have been 120 acre concrete pad and factory,” McMahon said.

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By SAM MEDNICK and TIA GOLDENBERG, Associated Press

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — For the past two years, it’s been Israel’s ground zero of anguish, uncertainty, torment and despair. But early on Thursday, the central Tel Aviv area known as Hostages Square was a burst of unfettered jubilation.

A Champagne bottle was popped open to cheers from the crowd. Sweets were doled out. Tears of joy mixed with laughter and long embraces as the news sunk in: The struggle to free Israeli captives held in Gaza appears to finally be coming to a close.

“Matan is coming home!” yelled Einav Zangauker, arguably the most prominent face of the campaign to free the hostages, referring to her captive son. Her arms raised to the sky, she shouted out “Thank you!” as a crowd of supporters, families of hostages, and former hostages freed earlier in the war filled the square.

“I want to smell his smell,” she told reporters of her son. “If I have one dream, it is seeing Matan sleep in his own bed.”

After their loved ones were kidnapped in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war, the families of hostages have been thrust into a thankless battle for their freedom. They’ve traveled the world meeting leaders, squared off against Israeli politicians skeptical of their intentions, pled tirelessly for the release of their relatives from a nightmare that would not end.

Until Thursday.

After U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had struck a deal that is meant to free the remaining hostages, the tension in the square began to lift. Israel says that of the 250 initially taken captive, 20 of the hostages that remain in Gaza are alive and 28 are dead.

The clock flashing the number of days, minutes and seconds since the harrowing October morning that upended their lives — a fixture in the square — still beamed down onto the families and their supporters. But rather than dragging on to what felt like eternity, the ticking seconds now pushed closer to the hostages’ impending release.

“For two years I have been fighting for the life of my man,” Rebecca Bohbot, whose husband Elkana was taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023, wrote on Instagram. “This is the moment that a little boy will return to hug his father, a moment when my family comes back to life.”

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Central to the celebrations on Thursday was Trump himself, whom many families of hostages and many Israelis credit with pressing their leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to agree to a deal. A person donned a costume of Trump and waved American flags, families expressed effusive thanks for the American leader and some chanted that he deserved a Nobel Peace Prize.

But above all else, the sadness that has settled over Israel since the attack 24 months ago began to dissipate as the square came to life under a night sky. The darkness of that day has never really left the minds of Israelis, with Hostages Square a place where the captives, their families and all Israelis can now feel some relief.

“I get chills all over from head to toe,” said Omer Wenkert, a former captive freed earlier in the war, of the news of a deal. “I can’t even imagine the amount of joy we will be able to feel, as a nation, finally.”

Goldenberg reported from Washington.