Middle East (MNN) — International backlash continues after an Israeli strike killed five Hamas leaders and one security guard in Qatar on Tuesday.
The airstrike came one day after terrorists killed six people and wounded more than 20 in Jerusalem. Hamas claimed responsibility for that attack.
“This has shown the world that Israel is not messing around. They want to get Hamas out of Gaza,” says Tom Doyle with Uncharted Ministries. “But then, on the other hand, you look at Israeli hostages that are still trapped. What’s going to happen to them? Will there be a retaliation?”
Palestinian man. Image courtesy of hosnysalah via Pixabay.
The situation is incredibly complex. But Doyle shares that Palestinian Christians have strong opinions about Hamas.
“As [the strikes] happened, we were getting texts from former Muslims in Gaza that were thrilled that, as they said, ‘The people who have made our lives miserable in Gaza — Hamas — are slowly going. So many of the leaders are gone now.’”
Behind the headlines, Doyle says, believers in both Gaza and Israel are seeing greater openness to the gospel.
“In the midst of the war, there are Muslim background believers with joy on their face,” says Doyle. “They’ve had times where they were struggling to get food without getting shot at or robbed, yet now they have the fruit of the Spirit on their face.”
Their joy is leading fellow Palestinians to ask them why, leading to a chance to share about Christ.
In Israel, Doyle says that one man who survived the Holocaust recently passed away. He had resisted the gospel for decades, believing that Nazis were Christians. But another Christian prayed for him for more than 20 years. At age 98, the man received Jesus as his Savior.
“He became someone [who] just started sharing with his Jewish friends about Jesus,” Doyle said. “He would say this: ‘I don’t have a lot of time left in life, so I may not get to ever talk with you again. So please listen to what I say.’”
A Palestinian believer and Jewish believer pray together at the Gaza fence.
(Photo, caption courtesy of Uncharted Ministries)
This man passed away recently. At the funeral, his son accepted Christ.
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Pray for people to come to know Christ all across the Middle East.
“[Lasting peace] won’t happen through government or the UN or any one country. Only Jesus can bring peace in their hearts, to where people won’t hate each other and the war won’t just keep going on and on and on,” Doyle says.
“What we’re praying right now is for peace and for a great awakening in the Middle East, where millions are turning to Jesus as Savior.”
Header photo courtesy of Kyle Glenn via Unsplash.
