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JERUSALEM (RNS) — Gerald McDermott, an American Anglican priest and retired professor of theology, had visited Israel 22 times before his most recent trip. The author of two books on Christian Zionism and the meaning of Israel to Christianity, he was invited to join a mission in late January to show solidarity with the Israeli people in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre. 

“I’d seen most of the Oct. 7 videos,” McDermott said, referring to footage of the atrocities committed by Hamas at several kibbutzim and a dance party near Israel’s border with Gaza on that warm autumn day. The attack left 1,200 people in Israel dead and 240 held hostage in Gaza.

But nothing prepared McDermott, he said, for encountering the scene at Kibbutz Nir Oz, where Hamas entered the home of the Bibas family and tortured them before kidnapping them.

“You see all the blood on the walls, the bullet holes, the baby’s toys,” McDermott said the day after he and dozens of other pastors from around the world visited. “What we saw in living color was the hatred that Satan himself has for the Jewish people. Satan hates the Jews because he knows God loves them. Satan is living in and inspiring Hamas,” McDermott asserted.  RELATED: Umrah diary: Crossing into Jerusalem, looking Muslim

The mission, organized by the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, included a visit to Sderot, a Gaza border city that has sustained numerous rocket attacks by Hamas in the past two decades. The group also went to northern Israel, from where tens of thousands of Israeli residents have been displaced by missiles launched by Hezbollah in Lebanon. 

Pictures of the Bibas family are seen at the entrance of their house at Kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Dec. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

The participants, who hail from 18 countries, heard eyewitness testimony from massacre victims and some of the relatives of the 136 Israelis still being held captive.

The number of visitors to Israel has decreased dramatically since its war with Hamas began. Airlines have reduced the number of fights, and the hotels have been packed with evacuees. But in December, groups of evangelical Christians began to arrive, according to those who have organized the trips.

“In the past two months we’ve seen dozens, if not hundreds, of Christian groups coming to Israel,” said Josh Reinstein, director of the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus, a not-for-profit organization that encourages support for Israel among politicians and faith leaders abroad.

Since Oct. 7, evangelical Christians have donated tens of millions of dollars to Israel’s first responders and nongovernmental organizations that assist war victims.

Josh Reinstein. (Photo via Knesset Christian Allies Caucus)

“Christians, and not only in America, are supporting Israel like never before,” Reinstein said, pointing to pro-Israel rallies sponsored by Christians in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. In the U.S. especially, evangelical Christians actively lobby lawmakers to support Israel. Prominent American evangelicals made their voices heard loudly at November’s March for Israel on the National Mall in Washington.

Pastor Lisa Powell, the founder of Lisa Powell Ministries International in Corona, California, said she came to Israel in January on her 38th visit “to really see what I could do for the people here and pray about how we can be a blessing in a more tangible way.”

Because the group stayed in a Jerusalem hotel that is hosting dozens of evacuee families from Sderot, Powell had the opportunity to sit with them and learn about how they are coping with loss and displacement.

“That really pulled on my heart,” Powell said. “I’m a grandmother of 18 and also a great-grandmother. Entire families are staying in one hotel room. They are in a state of trauma, but they are strong, strengthened by being together as a community. Under any other circumstances they would be in a refugee camp, but the Israeli government is assisting them.” 

Christians on an International Christian Embassy Jerusalem solidarity mission visit a parking lot of burned cars while touring Israel. (Photo courtesy of International Christian Embassy Jerusalem)

Given the broad support for Gaza’s Palestinians among many young people, Powell hopes to bring a delegation of Christian college students to Israel so they can experience the country for themselves. “They only know what they see in the media and on TikTok, which is targeting the younger generation to disillusion them and to turn them against Israel,” the faith leader said.

Nick Hansen, the co-pastor of a Pentecostal church in Denmark, was in Israel on Oct. 7 to celebrate the Feast of the Tabernacles. While the shock of that day has subsided, he said, “there is now a somberness, a silence, a void without joy and without peace,” in Israel. “Everyone seems to be on high alert, on guard for the next attack.” RELATED: Coexistence initiatives in Israel tentatively resume as Arabs and Jews live side by side amid war

Hansen said he felt compelled to come on the mission with the other pastors to see the carnage for himself. “Sitting in Europe and watching the news, we wonder whether Israel is going too far. Being here, you understand the sheer evil of Oct. 7. It was a celebration of death, a brutality that doesn’t exist even in nature,” he said.

Shelly Shem-Tov tells the story of her kidnapped son, Omer Shem-Tov, to an International Christian Embassy Jerusalem solidarity mission visiting Israel. (Photo courtesy International Christian Embassy Jerusalem)

Pastor Ken Soltys, the founder of Ken Soltys Ministries in Hayesville, North Carolina, said he was deeply affected by the pastors’ encounters with the families of Israeli hostages in a Jerusalem hotel. Shelly Shem-Tov described the kidnapping of her son Omer Shem-Tov, explaining that he has asthma and celiac disease.

“Omer is our youngest. We call him our sunshine. He’s a good boy who went to a festival to dance,” the mother told the pastors. “I hope you will go home and tell your community our story. I hope this nightmare will end and I will hug my sunshine.”

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Trump-Putin summit: No deal reached to end war in Ukraine

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Trump-Putin summit: No deal reached to end war in Ukraine

No deal has been reached to end the war in Ukraine – but Donald Trump has said there are “many points” he and Vladimir Putin agreed on during their highly anticipated summit.

Following the meeting in Alaska, which lasted more than two-and-a-half hours, the two leaders gave a short media conference giving little detail about what had been discussed, and without taking questions.

Mr Trump described the meeting as “very productive” and said there were “many points that we agreed on… I would say a couple of big ones”.

Trump-Putin summit – latest updates

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Key moments from Trump-Putin news conference

But there are a few left, he added. “Some are not that significant. One is probably the most significant, but we have a very good chance of getting there…

“We haven’t quite got there, we’ve made some headway. There’s no deal until there’s a deal.”

Mr Putin described the negotiations as “thorough and constructive” and said Russia was “seriously interested in putting an end” to the war in Ukraine. He also warned Europe not to “torpedo nascent progress”.

Donald Trump greets Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. Pic: AP/ Julia Demaree Nikhinson
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Donald Trump greets Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. Pic: AP/ Julia Demaree Nikhinson

After much build-up to the summit – with the US president threatening “severe” consequences for Russia should it not go well – it was ultimately not clear whether the talks had produced meaningful steps towards a ceasefire in what has been the deadliest conflict in Europe in 80 years.

Mr Trump said he intended to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders, who were excluded from the discussions, to brief them.

Despite not reaching any major breakthrough, the US leader ended his remarks with a thank you, and said he would probably see Mr Putin again “very soon”.

When the Russian president suggested that “next time” would be Moscow, he responded by saying he might face criticism, but “I could see it possibly happening”.

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Trump applauds Putin and shares ride in ‘The Beast’

The red carpet treatment

The news conference came after a grand arrival at the Elmendorf-Richardson military base in Anchorage, where the US president stepped down from Air Force One and later greeted his Russian counterpart with a handshake and smiles on a red carpet.

Mr Putin even travelled alongside Mr Trump in the presidential limousine, nicknamed “The Beast”.

It was the kind of reception typically reserved for close US allies, belying the bloodshed and the suffering in the war.

Before the talks, the two presidents ignored frantically-shouted questions from journalists – and Mr Putin appeared to frown when asked by one reporter if he would stop “killing civilians” in Ukraine, putting his hand to his ear as though to indicate he could not hear.

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‘Fury, anger and disgust’ in Ukraine

Our US correspondent Martha Kelner, on the ground in Alaska, said he was shouting “let’s go” – apparently in reference to getting the reporters out of the room.

Read more:
The moment Vladimir Putin has craved
What we expected from summit – and what actually happened

Trump-Putin summit in pictures
Mapping the land Ukraine could be told to give up

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What we learned from Trump-Putin news conference

A ’10/10′ meeting

During his first day back in the White House in January, Mr Trump had pledged confidently to bring about an end to the war in Ukraine.

But seven months later, after infamously berating Mr Zelenskyy during a meeting at the Oval Office in February, and then stanching the flow of some US military assistance to Kyiv, he still does not appear to have brought a pause to the conflict.

In an interview with Fox News before leaving Alaska, Mr Trump described the meeting with Mr Putin as “warm” and gave it a “10/10”, but declined to give details about what they discussed.

He also insisted that the onus going forward could be on Mr Zelenskyy “to get it done”, but said there would also be some involvement from European nations.

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Trump’s body language was ‘disappointed’

What happens next?

Mr Trump is expected to speak to Mr Zelenskyy, Sir Keir Starmer and European leaders about the talks.

A meeting of ambassadors from European countries has been scheduled for 8.30am UK time, EU presidency sources have told Sky News.

European heads of state and Mr Trump are also likely to have a virtual meeting later in the day.

Despite the US president’s efforts to bring about a ceasefire, Russian attacks on Ukraine have only intensified in the past few months.

On 9 July, Russia carried out its largest aerial attack on Ukraine since the start of the war, launching more than 740 drones and missiles.

Furthermore, Mr Zelenskyy has said Russia is preparing for new offensives.

Ahead of the summit, one of the key commanders of Ukraine’s drone forces told Sky News in a rare interview that there would be no let-up in its own long-range drone attacks on Russia until Moscow agrees to peace.

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What we expected from the Trump-Putin summit – and what actually happened

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What we expected from the Trump-Putin summit - and what actually happened

A warm handshake, big smiles, and a red carpet – this was the welcome for Vladimir Putin as he touched down on US soil for critical negotiations on the war in Ukraine.

There had been much build-up to the summit in Anchorage, Alaska, not least from Donald Trump himself – with the US president having threatened “severe” consequences for Russia should it not go well.

Pic: AP/ Julia Demaree Nikhinson
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Pic: AP/ Julia Demaree Nikhinson

But more than two-and-a-half hours of talks resulted in just a brief news conference with little detail given away – and ultimately, no talk of a ceasefire and no deal on Ukraine reached yet.

Here is what was expected from the meeting – based on information from the White House, Mr Trump and the Kremlin beforehand – and what happened on the night.

One-on-one turned into three-on-three

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US secretary of state Marco Rubio also attended the talks. Pic: AP/ Julia Demaree Nikhinson
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Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US secretary of state Marco Rubio also attended the talks. Pic: AP/ Julia Demaree Nikhinson

It was thought this would be a one-on-one meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Putin.

Instead, the US president was joined by US secretary of state Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff, while the Russian leader was supported by his foreign affairs advisor Yuri Ushakov and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.

The change seemed to indicate the White House was perhaps taking a more guarded approach than during a 2018 meeting in Helsinki, where Mr Trump and Mr Putin met privately with interpreters. The US leader then shocked the world by siding with the Russian leader over US intelligence officials on whether Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential campaign.

Rolling out the red carpet

Pic: AP/ Julia Demaree Nikhinson
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Pic: AP/ Julia Demaree Nikhinson

Mr Putin was given the kind of reception typically reserved for close US allies, belying the bloodshed and the suffering in the war he started.

The two men greeted each other with a handshake and a smiling Mr Trump even applauded the Russian president as he approached him on the red carpet.

Our international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn, in Kyiv, gauged the Ukrainian reaction to the arrival – and said people were furious at the welcome extended by the Trump team.

Images of US soldiers on their knees, unfurling the red carpet at the steps of the Russian leader’s plane, went viral, he said, with social media “lit up with fury, anger, and disgust”.

He added: “There are different ways of welcoming a world leader to this type of event, and Trump has gone all out to give a huge welcome to Putin, which is sticking in the craw of Ukrainians.”

Any questions?

Pic: Reuters/ Kevin Lamarque
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Pic: Reuters/ Kevin Lamarque

Plenty. But no one was really given a chance to ask.

Ahead of the talks, cameras were allowed inside for just a minute – and while this was enough time for a few journalists to shout some questions, these were ignored by the two leaders.

“President Putin, will you stop killing civilians?” one shouted. In response, Mr Putin put his hand up to his ear as if he could not hear.

In their brief media conference after the talks, Mr Putin spoke for almost nine minutes, while Trump took just three-and-a-half to say what he wanted to say.

The two men then did not stay to answer questions from reporters.

Before the event, the Kremlin said it could last between six and seven hours, but the whole visit lasted about four-and-a-half hours.

‘Severe consequences’

Pic: AP/ Julia Demaree Nikhinson
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Pic: AP/ Julia Demaree Nikhinson

Ever since his inauguration in January, Mr Trump had been threatening serious consequences for Russia should a deal on Ukraine not be reached soon. Just two days after the ceremony, he took to social media to declare there could be “high levels of taxes, tariffs and sanctions” and called for an end to the “ridiculous” war.

In February, he held what he described as a “productive” call with the Russian leader, and about two weeks later he infamously berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a visit to the Oval Office – this one taking place in front of the world’s media.

Read more:
Trump and Putin agree on ‘many points’ – but give little detail away

The moment Vladimir Putin has craved
Trump-Putin summit in pictures
Mapping the land Ukraine could be told to give up

In July, he started to set deadlines for an end to the war – first giving Mr Putin 50 days and later reducing this to “10 or 12 days”, before announcing the summit last week.

Yesterday, Mr Trump insisted his Russian counterpart was “not going to mess around with me”.

However, while both men insisted the talks were “productive”, it is not clear what agreements have been reached, and whether Ukraine is any closer to finding peace. The word ceasefire was not mentioned by either leader. Instead, they praised each other, with Mr Trump describing Mr Putin’s remarks as “very profound” – and there was no mention of sanctions.

A meeting with Mr Zelenskyy?

Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy met at the White House in February. Pic: Reuters/ Brian Snyder
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Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy met at the White House in February. Pic: Reuters/ Brian Snyder

It was expected that after the talks, Mr Trump could set the table for the next meeting with the Ukrainian president.

While he said he would call Mr Zelenskyy, he made no public commitment to a meeting during the media conference.

In an interview with Fox News after the summit, he said Russia and Ukraine would set a date to discuss next steps and a potential ceasefire deal, but did not provide further details on specifics or timings.

“They’re going to set up a meeting now, between President Zelenskyy and President Putin and myself, I guess,” Mr Trump said. He also said that European nations “have to get involved a little bit” but it is “really up to President Zelenskyy to get it done”.

Putin brought his own limo – but travelled in The Beast instead

A US Secret Service agent stands next to 'The Beast'. Pic: AP/ Luis M Alvarez
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A US Secret Service agent stands next to ‘The Beast’. Pic: AP/ Luis M Alvarez

After shaking hands on the red carpet, the two leaders made their way towards their waiting vehicles.

But despite Mr Putin arriving with his “Aurus” limousine, and it being spotted on the tarmac near the planes, he got into the American presidential limousine, known as “The Beast”, to travel to the meeting location.

The Russian president was seen with a wide smile on his face, while Mr Trump appeared to be waving to the crowds.

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In pictures: Trump-Putin summit ends without a deal but with plenty of standout moments

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In pictures: Trump-Putin summit ends without a deal but with plenty of standout moments

The presidents of the United States and Russia wrapped up critical talks in Alaska without reaching a deal on ending the war in Ukraine. 

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin were on the ground in Anchorage, Alaska, for only about six hours, but the historic yet inconclusive summit still produced some memorable moments.

Both leaders spoke at a news conference, but neither mentioned a ceasefire – something many hoped Mr Trump could persuade Mr Putin to accept during the discussions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who didn’t participate in the talks in Alaska, had said that Ukraine was “counting on America”.

The two leaders meeting each other. Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
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The two leaders meeting each other. Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
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Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

Mr Trump arriving on Air Force One. Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/PA
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Mr Trump arriving on Air Force One. Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/PA

Mr Putin steps off the Ilyushin Il-96. Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
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Mr Putin steps off the Ilyushin Il-96. Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

A red carpet was laid out for the Russian leader. Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson
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A red carpet was laid out for the Russian leader. Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson

Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
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Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

Not far from the military base, several hundred people joined a pro-Ukraine rally. Pic: Nathaniel Wilder/Reuters
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Not far from the military base, several hundred people joined a pro-Ukraine rally. Pic: Nathaniel Wilder/Reuters

They unfurled this huge flag. AP Photo/Jae C Hong
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They unfurled this huge flag. AP Photo/Jae C Hong

The two leaders held a joint news conference after their discussion. Pic: Reuters
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The two leaders held a joint news conference after their discussion. Pic: Reuters

Pic: Sergei Bobylev/ Sputnik/ Kremlin pool via AP
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Pic: Sergei Bobylev/ Sputnik/ Kremlin pool via AP

Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and US secretary of state Marco Rubio. Pic: AP
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Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and US secretary of state Marco Rubio. Pic: AP

Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters

Pic: Jae C Hong/PA
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Pic: Jae C Hong/PA

Pic: Kevin Lamarque/Reutrs
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Pic: Kevin Lamarque/Reutrs

Pic: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
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Pic: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
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Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

President Trump waves goodbye as he boards Air Force One after the meeting. Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/PA
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President Trump waves goodbye as he boards Air Force One after the meeting. Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/PA

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