In 2022, Daniel Johnson wrote in Mosaic about the troubling trajectory of post-Christian Europe, and warned that the United States might be headed in a similar direction. Since then, there have been some scattered indications that, at the very least, the pace of decline has slowed. Stephen Daisley reports on what he’s observed at a Catholic church he recently began attending:

By my very rough estimate, somewhere between one third and 40 percent of the congregants at this service were under 40. And while there were families there with young children—shout-out to the thirty-something mum and dad beside me who patiently whisper-answered every liturgical query from a trio of very inquisitive boys—most of this younger cohort was made up of solo men and women.

There has been some commentary of late about Gen-Z/zillennials and their growing interest in Christianity. A report from the Bible Society in particular caught the interest of the national media. It found that church attendance among eighteen-to-twenty-four-year-olds in England and Wales had quadrupled since 2018. Among young men, the increase has been fivefold. Catholics account for 41 percent of churchgoers aged eighteen to thirty-four compared to 20 percent for Anglicans and 18 percent for Pentecostals.

While the intra-Catholic subtleties Daisley details are somewhat foreign to me, he raises a point of some relevance to Jews: it’s the church with the more traditional, Latin-heavy service—rather than the more contemporary English-language one—that attracts a younger crowd.

On Monday night, the IDF struck a group of Hamas operatives near the Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis, the main city in southern Gaza. The very fact of this attack was reassuring, as it suggested that the release of Edan Alexander didn’t come with restraints on Israeli military activity. Then, yesterday afternoon, Israeli jets carried out another, larger attack on Khan Yunis, hitting a site where it believed Mohammad Sinwar, the head of Hamas in Gaza, to be hiding. The IDF has not yet confirmed that he was present. There is some hope that the death of Sinwar—who replaced his older brother Yahya after he was killed last year—could have a debilitating effect on Hamas.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump is visiting the Persian Gulf, and it’s unclear how his diplomatic efforts there will affect Israel, its war with Hamas, and Iran. For its part, Jerusalem has committed to resume full-scale operations in Gaza after President Trump returns to the U.S. But, Gabi Simoni and Erez Winner explain, Israel does not have unlimited time to defeat Hamas:

Israel faces persistent security challenges across multiple fronts—Iran, the West Bank, Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon—all demanding significant military resources, especially during periods of escalation. . . . Failing to achieve a decisive victory not only prolongs the conflict but also drains national resources and threatens Israel’s ability to obtain its strategic goals.

Only a swift, forceful military campaign can achieve the war’s objectives: securing the hostages’ release, ensuring Israeli citizens’ safety, and preventing future kidnappings. Avoiding such action won’t just prolong the suffering of the hostages and deepen public uncertainty—it will also drain national resources and weaken Israel’s standing in the region and beyond.

We recommend launching an intense military operation in Gaza without delay, with clear, measurable objectives—crippling Hamas’s military and governance capabilities and securing the release of hostages. Such a campaign should combine military pressure with indirect negotiations, maximizing the chances of a successful outcome while minimizing risks.

Crucially, the operation must be closely coordinated with the United States and moderate Arab states to reduce international pressure and preserve the gains of regional alliances.