The remaining hostages are to be released by Hamas under the terms of the ceasefire deal by 12 noon local time (10 am BST). 251 people were kidnapped by Hamas including women, children and elderly people on 7 October 2023. There are 48 hostages remaining and IDF believes around 20 of these are alive. Under the deal, Israel should also release around 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,700 detainees from Gaza. Hundreds of people kept vigil overnight in Hostage Square, Tel Aviv, waiting for the hostages’ release.
Chief Rabbi speaks of hope for a new era after ceasefire and hostages’ return
The Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, has spoken of his hope that “this time of a ceasefire and the return of hostages, will commence a new era, one of peace, one of security, for everyone”. In a film on Twitter / X, he said these have been two bitter years, filled with days: “Day after day after day, we’ve identified with the pain and the suffering of the hostages and the enormity of the trauma of their families. And now it is our prayer that those who are about to be released, together with all other released hostages, will be happy, will be healthy, will have a wonderful future”. He said it was an anxious wait for their return: “May they and their families be blessed. And we’re also waiting for the return of those who tragically have died and may they be brought to a dignified burial”.
Hostages’ memories of prayer during captivity
Among the hostages already released, several have spoken of renewed faith and commitment found during their captivity, which remains with them now. In the documentary “Hostage in Gaza”, part of the BBC series “Heart and Soul”, reporter Naomi Scherbelball tells their stories. American-Israeli Keith Siegel, aged 66, said he is free, but his heart is not whole, with part remaining with friends still held hostage. He had promised himself that he must survive to return to his family: “My Jewish faith was very empowering. As time went on, I remembered more and more prayers. from my childhood, basically, that I hadn’t said or heard in a long time.” Daniela Gilboa, a young female soldier, translated a traditional Friday night song from Hebrew into Arabic, so her captors would allow her to continue to pray. Omer Shemtov and other released hostages started to pray daily in captivity and began observing the rules around the Jewish Shabbat, which he’s continued to do on his release.
Memorises of starvation, loss and homelessness for people in Gaza
A young Gazan student, Imad Kader, who lives in a camp in Al Mawasi near Khan Yunis, told the Sunday programme on BBC Radio 4, that people were celebrating, children were happy. They had been waiting for this moment for two years and hoped that ceasefire stages would be completed and Gaza rebuilt. They have now to live with their memories. They had lost houses and loved ones. He had lost five cousins and with his family dug deep into the rubble to fund a nephew, who was killed and lay under the rubble: “That was really difficult to process for the whole family. These were really, very difficult psychological and painful moments”. He also shared memories of displacement: “We are talking about 10 times and more we have been displaced under very hot weather in the summer, under very cold weather in the winter. We’re talking about memories of starvation. Starvation. I’m talking about barely we managed to get some days a piece of bread. But the important thing right now is that what happened has happened. We cannot do anything for the past. Just those memories are going to be in our minds and our hearts. And of course, the life is going to be better. This is what all people of God are optimistic about.”
Gaza priest speaks of calm, joy and continuing prayers for peace
Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, priest of the Holy Family Church in Gaza, says their prayers now are for peace. In a film on Twitter / X, he said they were starting to experience calmness and joy “even if the destruction is huge in all the Gaza Strip. I hope that the international community will continue to help the more than two million people who live in the Gaza Strip because they lost everything in this world. And we continue to pray for and to help all our refugees and neighbours and all the society. I’m asking to the Lord to give us peace and not only to this region and to the world, but particularly the peace between Palestine and Israel.”
600 trucks of aid for Gaza, per day, on schedule
The Associated Press reports that the Israeli military body in charge of humanitarian aid in Gaza says 600 trucks of aid are on schedule to enter Gaza from this weekend, as stipulated in the agreement. The UN’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, told AP that the UN has a plan to restore basic medical and other services, bring in thousands of tons of food and fuel and remove rubble over the next two months. The UN has 170,000 metric tons of food, medicine and other humanitarian aid ready to enter Gaza. Egypt said it was sending 400 aid trucks into Gaza at the Rafah border yesterday, carrying medical supplies, tents, blankets, food and fuel. AP report here
Other news
Pope urges journalists to resist post truth world of AI, clickbait and lies
Pope Leo has warned of the dangers of artificial intelligence fuelling false content. In a speech to media representatives at the Vatican on Thursday, he called on his audience to act as a check on a post truth world and the growing scourge of clickbait articles and news fuelled by artificial intelligence. He said: “Artificial intelligence is changing the way we receive information and communicate, but who directs it and for what purposes? I urge you, never sell out your authority.” Solid reporting, he said, was an antidote to the proliferation of junk information: “With your patient and rigorous work, you can act as a barrier against those who, through the ancient art of lying, seek to create divisions in order to rule by dividing. You can also be a bulwark of civility against the quicksand of approximation and post-truth.” Times report here
Church of England urges national debate on AI and the future of work
The Church of England is calling for a national conversation about how artificial intelligence is changing work. Academics and advisers warn that rapid technological change raises deep questions about fairness, dignity and purpose in employment. A new edition of the Crucible journal, published by the CofE’s division of mission and public affairs and the William Temple Foundation, explores automation, the gig economy, and AI-driven decision-making, drawing on Christian teaching to ask what meaningful work should look like today. Contributors highlight risks like loss of dignity, fairness, bias and inequality, but also opportunities for innovation and leadership. They urge policymakers, churches, and the public to engage now, ensuring technology serves people, not the other way around. The publication follows a 2024 General Synod motion recognising the scale of the challenge posed by AI.
Court overturns conviction for burning the Quran
Southwark Crown Court has overturned the conviction of Hamit Coskun for burning a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish consulate in London in June. He had been convicted of a religiously aggravated public order offence by Westminster Magistrates’ Court in June. But last Friday, this was overturned, finding that Coskun’s actions could not properly be found to be disorderly, or within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress. In its ruling, the judgment said: “There is no offence of blasphemy in our law. Burning a Koran may be an act that many Muslims find desperately upsetting and offensive. The criminal law, however, is not a mechanism that seeks to avoid people being upset, even grievously upset. The right to freedom of expression, if it is a right worth having, must include the right to express views that offend, shock or disturb. the right to freedom of expression, if it is a right worth having, must include the right to express views that offend, shock or disturb”. The National Secular Society, which backed the appeal, describes Mr Coskun as “an atheist of Armenian and Kurdish heritage, with a long history of protesting against the Turkish government.” In a statement NSS chief executive Stephen Evans said: “England and Wales rightly abolished its blasphemy laws more than a decade ago. This ruling helps ensure they are not reintroduced by stealth under the guise of public order, and that our commitment to free speech remains strong.”
Pastor dies three days after acquittal on false blasphemy charge in Pakistan
Zafar Bhatti, a 62 year old Christian pastor who was held in prison in Pakistan for 13 years on blasphemy charges, died of a heart attack two days after finally being acquitted and released. He had co-founded the Jesus World Mission Church and was accused in 2012 of sending two text messages insulting the mother of the Prophet Mohammed. He consistently denied the charges and there were reports that the phone SIM at the centre of the case was not owned by him, but by a woman who was subsequently arrested but died in 2016. He was found guilty in 2017 and sentenced to life and then death, before being acquitted and released on 3 October this year. In the few days after his release, he said Christians in Pakistan “lived under the sword” of the country’s blasphemy laws. Christian Post story here
Tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel and his warning of Armageddon
Peter Thiel, aged 57, a powerful Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur worth $26.5 billion, co-founder of Paypal and the data company Palantir, has delivered a series of four private lectures in San Francisco on the subject of Armageddon and the Antichrist. He grew up an evangelical and identifies as a Christian, known for exploring how Christianity shapes culture and morality, and for his frequent theorising about the Antichrist. The Guardian and Times have heard recordings of his lectures which outline his view that a centralised world government, ushered in by the advance of AI, nuclear war or environmental disasters, could be a form of the Antichrist, removing people’s financial freedom and ushering in Armageddon. Thiel is a supporter of Trump, financial backer of JD Vance to become a senator and key influencer to propel JD Vance to become vice president. The Guardian reports that he credited Saint John Henry Newman as the inspiration for his four-part series, saying: “Newman did four, so I’m doing four. I’m happy about it.” Text and commentary in The Guardian here
JD Vance and Elon Musk slam graffiti exhibition in Canterbury Cathedral
A graffiti style art exhibition, on the pillars, stairs and walls of Canterbury Cathedral has been criticised by the US vice president, JD Vance who said it made a “beautiful historical building really ugly”, while Elon Musk called it “shameful”. Social media comments say the graffiti is sacrilegious and makes the cathedral look like “an underground car park in Peckham”. The Cathedral says the artist and poet, Alex Vellis, and curator Jacquiline Creswell, joined artists create the “Hear Us” exhibition, “delving into the concept of raising a question to God in our contemporary society. This project focuses on partnering with marginalised communities – such as Punjabi, black and brown diaspora, neurodivergent, and LGBTQIA+ groups – to collaboratively create handwritten literature responding to the question, ‘What would you ask God?’”. One example on a pillar is “Are you there?”. The Cathedral says it offers “in-depth graffiti tours” exploring the story behind existing graffiti, described as masons’ marks, crosses and Christograms, and marks made by pilgrims and other visitors. This modern graffiti in primary colours, looks as if it has been spray-painted in typical street style, but the cathedral says the questions are “expertly and sensitively fixed to the ancient stone pillars, walls and floors of the Cathedral for the duration of the exhibition”. The Dean of Canterbury, David Monteith, says the rawness is disruptive: “This exhibition intentionally builds bridges between cultures, styles and genres and in particular allows us to receive the gifts of younger people who have much to say and from whom we need to hear much.”
