Evangelical leaders rally for Trump and Israel as Operation Epic Fury reshapes the region

Despite efforts to displacement evangelical Christian support distant from Israel, immoderate of nan astir influential leaders opportunity nan organization has stood firmly by nan Jewish authorities since nan commencement of nan associated U.S.-Israel cognition against Iran.

As Wednesday's ceasefire took effect, Dr. Mike Evans, laminitis of nan Friends of Zion Heritage Center successful Jerusalem and a adjacent evangelical state of President Donald Trump, reflected connected nan war. Evans flew to Israel connected Feb. 26 arsenic tensions escalated up of nan operation.

During his visit, Evans toured effect sites caused by force missiles, met wounded civilians and Holocaust survivors, and provided $50,000 successful financial assistance to a bereaved family.

"I knew nan warfare would start, truthful I flew to nan area. I person been successful 41 wars. I spell location intentionally erstwhile group are hurting to thief them," Evans told Fox News Digital.

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Rescue workers and subject unit transportation a assemblage of a unfortunate from nan segment wherever respective group were killed by an Iranian rocket onslaught successful Beit Shemesh, Israel Sunday, March 1, 2026.  (Leo Correa/AP Photo)

On March 1, an Iranian rocket struck nan metropolis of Beit Shemesh, near Jerusalem, sidesplitting 9 people. Evans arrived astatine nan segment pinch first responders soon aft nan strike. He later visited Jerusalem’s Hadassah Hospital, wherever he met Pnina Cohen, who was injured and mislaid some her hubby and mother-in-law successful nan attack.

"I person been doing this for half a century. This is my life—combating antisemitism and helping nan Jewish people," Evans said. 

Operation Epic Fury, nan associated U.S.-Israeli subject run [named Roaring Lion successful Israel], began connected Feb. 28, pinch nan stated extremity of "obliterating Iran’s ballistic rocket arsenal and accumulation capacity," weakening its subject infrastructure and preventing it from acquiring atomic weapons, according to a White House briefing. The first time of nan cognition was marked by nan sidesplitting of Iran’s ultimate leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

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Leading Evangelical figures impulse President Trump to proceed backing Israel. (Graham; Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images, Mike Evans;Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

According to Israel's Ministry of Health connected Tuesday, since nan opening of nan war, 7,183 group person been evacuated to hospitals, of whom 118 are presently hospitalized.

Evans described nan U.S.-Israel business arsenic unprecedented. "No 1 could person imagined an American president partnering truthful intimately pinch Israel against extremist Islam," he said, calling nan run "historic."

He said evangelical support for Israel is rooted successful belief belief. "The Bible is simply a Jewish book, and evangelicals judge successful a Jewish person, Jesus," he said. "They spot Israel arsenic nan biblical onshore and judge God keeps his promises."

The Evangelical Christian community, which numbers astir 52 cardinal group successful nan United States, supported Trump’s presidency connected nan information that he would backmost Israel, Evans said.

Beyond governmental backing, Evans said evangelicals are progressive online. "We’ve had 127 cardinal views connected societal media successful nan past 8 weeks," he said. "We are fighting misinformation and antisemitism because lies tin costs lives."

He emphasized that support is besides practical. "We don’t conscionable connection prayers — we supply financial thief to those who mislaid homes and possessions."

President Donald Trump bids farewell to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arsenic he leaves nan White House aft a gathering connected April 7, 2025 successful Washington, DC.  (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Evans acknowledged that a information of younger evangelicals has shifted distant from accepted support for Israel. "A conception has been influenced by universities and online voices," he said, estimating that astir 22% to 23% person shifted. "We are moving to scope them and I judge we can."

American Pastor John Hagee, nan laminitis and president of the Christian Zionist organization Christians United for Israel, told Fox News Digital that nan evangelical organization supports Trump’s determination to activity nan extremity of Iran’s menacing and murderous behavior.

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"We will beryllium backing his petition to Congress to money this effort, and we will guarantee our elected officials correspond nan will and morality of nan American group by seeing this righteous endeavor to its righteous end," he said. 

Hagee said that "as Americans, we person a correct to take sides ourselves against nan Islamic Republic’s half-century of terror. As Christians, we are mandated to take sides ourselves against evil, to guidelines pinch nan oppressed against nan same, and to guidelines pinch nan Children of Israel astatine each times." 

People return shelter arsenic Iran launched missiles and drones towards Israel pursuing nan US-Israeli attacks. ( Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)

"Evangelical Christians who’ve been raised successful nan religion and are biblically literate are Christian Zionists," he said.

"The rise of antisemitism connected nan 'woke right' is not a merchandise of evangelical churches, but alternatively a merchandise of nan mendacious doctrine of Replacement Theology, repurposed and utilized arsenic clickbait," he continued. 

Any pastor aliases priest, leader aliases podcaster, who charges that nan modern Children of Israel are thing different than nan nonstop descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and nan beneficiaries of God’s unbreakable Covenant pinch Israel, Hagee said, is not preaching nan connection of God.

"Operation Epic Fury is making nan world a safer and amended spot for each its inhabitants; enactment nan course, Mr. President," he said.

An Israeli combatant pitchy takes disconnected for strikes successful Tehran. (IDF)

Franklin Graham, President and CEO of Samaritan's Purse, an international, evangelical Christian disaster alleviation organization, said that Iran has vowed to swipe nan State of Israel disconnected nan look of nan earth, and pinch atomic weapons, they could. 

"If President Trump had not stopped them, this is thing this fanatical Islamic authorities mightiness person done wrong nan adjacent fewer months," he said. 

"My connection to nan American group would beryllium to retrieve Israel is nan only genuinely antiauthoritarian federation successful nan Middle East — nan only one. And they person been our nation’s closest state successful nan region. I impulse Americans to 'pray for nan bid of Jerusalem' arsenic nan Bible instructs us," he continued.

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Graham said Trump stood pinch Israel successful a measurement nary different American president did successful nan past.  

"We’ve ne'er had a president for illustration President Trump successful my lifetime. If he says he’s going to do something, he’ll do it. He warned Iran that if it continued to create atomic weapons, nan U.S. would intervene, and that’s precisely what he did."