by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – A young German Evangelical Christian has been killed fighting Hamas in Gaza as a volunteer combat soldier with the Israeli Defense Forces, the Jerusalem Post reports. A member of the Maglan Special Forces unit of the IDF’s Nahal Brigade, 20 year-old Sgt.-Maj. Urija Bayer died on Sunday after being critically wounded in the southern Gaza Strip on December 14.
Urija’s family originates from the Black Forest region of Germany near Stuttgart, although he and his four siblings – Rachel, Odelia, Zuriel, and Eliaw – were all born in Israel, JPost reports.
In addition to his siblings, Urija is survived by his parents, Nelli and Gideon, who run Zedakah, a German-funded nursing home charity for Holocaust survivors in the Western Galilee city of Ma’alot.
As Germans gentiles, the Bayers have not been entitled to Israeli citizenship – but the whole family has volunteered to serve in the IDF in combat positions, JPost reports. Two of Urija’s brothers are currently still fighting in Gaza.
German Christian Juergen Buehler, president of the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, told JPost that there are around 100 Evangelical Christian volunteers in the IDF including two of his sons. “Most of these children were born here,” Buehler told JPost. “They live here. Israel is their home. They all grew up in Zionist households, and they believe in the case for the State of Israel. They feel they are fighting for the right thing now,” Buehler said.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
A devastating plea for prayer has emerged from Lebanon as Pastor Chady El Aouad of Abundant Life Church in Beirut confirmed the martyrdom of a fellow minister and over 20 of his family members amid the violent upheaval in Suweida, Syria. Pastor Khaled Mezhir, leader of the Good Shepherd Evangelical Church in Suweida, was reportedly killed along with his wife, parents, and extended family during fierce fighting between Druze militias and Sunni Bedouin factions in the war-torn southern province.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced Sunday it will begin ground operations in Deir al-Balah for the first time since the start of the Gaza conflict, expanding its military campaign into one of the last remaining areas of the Strip untouched by ground forces. The move comes with a new evacuation warning to civilians in the southwest of the city, directing them to seek refuge in the overcrowded coastal zone of al-Mawasi.
Iran and the European powers known as the E3–Britain, France, and Germany–have agreed in principle to resume negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program in the coming week, amid mounting international pressure and a looming deadline that could trigger a full reinstatement of United Nations sanctions.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard unveiled what she called “overwhelming evidence” of a coordinated conspiracy within the Obama administration to undermine President Donald Trump following his 2016 election victory. Speaking on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, Gabbard detailed revelations from over 100 declassified documents released Friday and said she would formally refer the material to the Department of Justice and FBI for criminal investigation.
The Trump administration announced Friday that the United States is formally rejecting a series of controversial amendments to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Health Regulations (IHR), saying the changes would grant sweeping new powers to the UN health body and undermine American sovereignty.
A night out turned to horror early Saturday in the U.S. city of Los Angeles when a man rammed his vehicle into a crowd outside a nightclub, injuring at least 30 people before being dragged from the car and shot by furious bystanders, authorities said.
Pope Leo XIV has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to achieve a ceasefire and “protect places of worship” after Gaza’s only Catholic Church was reportedly struck by Israel’s military, killing three people and injuring 10, including the parish priest, the Vatican said.