Israel - Iran Ceasefire Gulf Coast ABC News Rabbi Yitzchok Minkowicz Chabad Lubavitch SW Florida

Israel and Iran has been escalating for weeks. Right now, while both sides have agreed to a ceasefire, tensions remain high in the Middle East. And while the war is thousands of miles away, it is impacting faith communities right here on our Gulf Coast. In tonight's cover story, only Sarah Manowitz meets area religious leaders. She's finding out what is being done right now to protect those in their community. It's been a very very emotionally drained time. A because Israel is our land and then we all have family there and to watch what's going on is very very hard. As tensions rise in the Middle East, it's hitting closer to home here in our Gulf Coast. The whole world will be filled with the knowledge of God just like water covers the sea. No wars, not just ceasefire, no wars, period. Especially for religious leaders like Rabbi Minkowitz. We have actually people from here that went to Israel, got stuck in Israel. Um, we have people here that that had tickets to go to Israel, couldn't go to Israel. For extra security, local police departments are increasing patrols at places of worship. We are monitoring things that are going around globally, working with our federal, state, local partners, sharing intelligence, things of that nature. And although we're thankful and we don't have any kind of credible threats or anything to our area, just letting our religious leaders and things like that know that we are paying attention. Knowing extra protection is in place is a comforting thought. The security does help and it does um alleviate a lot of problems before before they happen. There's no question about it. Although Israel and Iran have agreed to a ceasefire, Rabbi Minkowitz says there's still a long way to go. A cease fire only means a cease fire. They're stopping the fire. So the goal is not cease fire. The goal is seize hatred. The goal is to seize animosity. The goal is to seize jealousy. The goal is to seize anything negative, anything of hatred, anything of trying to hurt somebody, anything of anyone being killed. That's the goal right now. President Trump is set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday at the White House about the ceasefire and hostage agreement in Gaza. The next step for Rabbi Minkowitz is to bring Israel some help from our Gulf Coast. Planning a mission at the end of July. We're going to bring a lot of support from Southwest Florida, financial support, emotional support. uh we're going to go with you. We're going to do stuff. Whatever we're going to do to try to help out. In the meantime, it's all about prayer and a positive mindset. Good is stronger than evil. So, even though there's a war and a real war, but ultimately good is stronger. And I do believe that good will win and the whole world will be a great beautiful place. Reporting in Fort Meers, Sarah Mitz, G Coast News.