Israel (MNN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with U.S. envoys Stev Witkoff and Jared Kushner yesterday to discuss phase two of the Gaza ceasefire agreement. Talks centered on Israeli troop withdrawals and Hamas disarmament.
Meanwhile, Israel continues to weigh the psychological cost of war.
Believers on the ground tell Bruce with Uncharted Ministries, "They can see a lot of brokenness, even on the streets of Jerusalem, a sense of people not knowing what to do. Some people they'll see on the streets just wandering around, disoriented."
Israeli soldiers are facing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in record numbers. Suicide rates are skyrocketing, too.
"Some of our leaders have been on five different rotations. They are having an increasingly difficult time [coping] with what they're experiencing and seeing on the battlefield," Bruce says.
"The PTSD, the trauma - they don't know [how] to deal with it."
Because so many Israelis serve in the military, it's common in this small nation to know someone affected by PTSD.
Studies show how Israeli military families suffer high rates of "PTSD spillover," while other research describes the mental health fallout of the October 7 terrorist attack.
"Relationally, the stress on families is unbelievable," Bruce says. "They're seeing an increase in divorce, separations, family trauma, turmoil. They are understaffed for counselors in the country."
Pray for wisdom for Bruce and other Uncharted leaders as they seek opportunities to respond with the hope of Christ.
"We're seeing a spiritual desire on the part of the people, given the trauma that they're going through, but there's still brokenness in the country," Bruce says.
Uncharted may build upon its current outreach to Holocaust survivors to meet today's trauma needs.
"One of the key ministries we have in Israel is to Holocaust survivors. These people have gone through unbelievable trauma," Bruce says.
"Many of them are atheists; they just can't believe that God would have allowed this [to happen.]"
Regular group sessions help Holocaust survivors process their trauma and find hope in the God who heals. Over 100 survivors have put their faith in Christ as a result.
"They'll come [to the meetings] for fellowship, food, and they'll hear a message of encouragement," Bruce says.
A local leader who coordinates this ministry says, after October 7, "he's seeing [people seek] spiritual answers, and to understand that they cannot survive without God."