Many live in tents or temporary shelters that are easily flooded by the cold deluge. A US project could soon provide housing for thousands of Palestinians, but it would require them to move to Israeli-controlled territory.

Gaza’s two above-ground churches shelter hundreds of Palestinian Christians from the harsh weather. However, believers are not immune to hardship. Essential supplies for daily life are in short supply there.

“We tried to help as much as we could, to strengthen them and support them, but it’s like living in hell,” President of Bethlehem Bible College, Jack Sara, says.

“They don’t know if they will survive the next day, because it’s a fact that even the churches were fire bombed and shelled. We had over 20 people who were killed inside the churches.”

Stepping outside the church walls – even briefly – also brought danger. “A few were killed by snipers,” Sara says.

“Two women, for example, at the Catholic Church; another who was a music teacher and music minister at the Baptist Church, was killed by a sniper bullet and left to die on the street.”

Help from afar

Before and during the latest ceasefire, family members outside Gaza – including some who work at Bethlehem Bible College – have worked to gather support.

Representative AI photo of Palestinian Christian created by ChatGPT.

“We mainly communicated and channeled whatever help we could through the churches that are there,” Sara says. “We have run a school for many months now, a medical clinic, food, clothing, and special gifts for children.”

Nearly half of Gaza’s known Christians left the war-torn enclave during previous ceasefires. “Before the war, there were about 1,000 Christians living in Gaza. Sadly, after two years of war, I think we have about 600 at a maximum,” Sara says.

Those who remain in Gaza need your prayers. Ask the Lord to help Palestinian Christians trust Him with an unknown future. “Pray for settlement for the Christian community. We need to pray that resources will be offered so they can rebuild their lives again,” Sara says.

“I cannot guarantee that those Christians who are there now will stay. It’s a horrible situation. If all of them lost their houses and were offered a way out to live somewhere else, I cannot blame them for that – especially if you have small children and you want them to live in a safe zone,” he continues.

“Nothing guarantees that Israel will not do war again in Gaza.”

Pray for a “just peace that is not just calming the war, but that people will have their dignity and freedom of movement,” Sara requests.

“They [can] live in their houses and cultivate their land without fear that it will be taken from them or confiscated.”

Header and story images are representative AI-generated photos of Palestinian Christians, created by ChatGPT. 

Meanwhile, Israel continues to weigh the psychological cost of war.

Believers on the ground tell Bruce with Uncharted Ministries, “They can see a lot of brokenness, even on the streets of Jerusalem, a sense of people not knowing what to do. Some people they’ll see on the streets just wandering around, disoriented.”

Israeli soldiers are facing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in record numbers. Suicide rates are skyrocketing, too.

(Photo courtesy of Susan Wilkinson/Unsplash)

“Some of our leaders have been on five different rotations. They are having an increasingly difficult time [coping] with what they’re experiencing and seeing on the battlefield,” Bruce says.

“The PTSD, the trauma – they don’t know [how] to deal with it.”

War’s hidden cost: Trauma and brokenness in Israeli society

Because so many Israelis serve in the military, it’s common in this small nation to know someone affected by PTSD.

Studies show how Israeli military families suffer high rates of “PTSD spillover,” while other research describes the mental health fallout of the October 7 terrorist attack.

“Relationally, the stress on families is unbelievable,” Bruce says. “They’re seeing an increase in divorce, separations, family trauma, turmoil. They are understaffed for counselors in the country.”

Pray for wisdom for Bruce and other Uncharted leaders as they seek opportunities to respond with the hope of Christ.

“We’re seeing a spiritual desire on the part of the people, given the trauma that they’re going through, but there’s still brokenness in the country,” Bruce says.

Hope for tomorrow

Uncharted may build upon its current outreach to Holocaust survivors to meet today’s trauma needs.

Child survivors of the Holocaust filmed few days after the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp by the Red Army, January 1945.
(Wikimedia Commons)

“One of the key ministries we have in Israel is to Holocaust survivors. These people have gone through unbelievable trauma,” Bruce says.

“Many of them are atheists; they just can’t believe that God would have allowed this [to happen.]”

Regular group sessions help Holocaust survivors process their trauma and find hope in the God who heals. Over 100 survivors have put their faith in Christ as a result.

“They’ll come [to the meetings] for fellowship, food, and they’ll hear a message of encouragement,” Bruce says.

A local leader who coordinates this ministry says, after October 7, “he’s seeing [people seek] spiritual answers, and to understand that they cannot survive without God.”

Header image depicts Israeli soldiers on the ground in the Gaza Strip in the Iron Swords War. (Wikimedia Commons) 

(Photo of Beirut, Lebanon courtesy of Jo Kassis/Pexels)

Just over a year ago, former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed by an Israeli strike — an event that reshaped power dynamics. Now, a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has brought temporary relief to the region.

Yet next door, Lebanon is in a fragile state as Hezbollah refuses to disarm.

Nuna with Triumphant Mercy Lebanon says, “There is an agreement and everybody – the whole government now – has decided that Hezbollah needs to disarm. The international community is for that, so everything is going towards that end. But at the same time, Hezbollah is not willing to.”

Many Lebanese are weighed down by instability and disillusionment. “So many people are depressed,” Nuna says. “So many people are skeptical. So many people are in disbelief and in hopelessness…. So many people are feeling like it’s better for us to leave.

“It is strategic to pray at this time. We really want God to just show His power.”

As Lebanon grapples with transition, pray that the nation’s leaders will act with wisdom to stabilize the country. Pray for the Church to be a source of Christ’s hope and healing.

(Photo courtesy of Triumphant Mercy Lebanon)

Nuna says, “We’re seeing all these shifts in whole nations, and we’re just there asking God to release His glory and to have people’s eyes see His glory because it’s a really difficult time at this time.”

Learn more about Triumphant Mercy at tm-lebanon.com.

Header photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beiteddine_-_drapeau_libanais.jpg

Women in Iran wearing the traditional hijab and loose-fitting clothing required by sharia law. (Photo courtesy of mostafa meraji/Unsplash)

Israel is among those concerned about Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. It has stated that it will not allow Iran to rebuild its nuclear capacities. But Iran insists that its developments are only for civilian purposes. 

It’s complex, isn’t it? Samuel* from Redemptive Stories explains a few things about Iran’s relationships that we might miss. First comes Israel. Why does the Iranian regime want Israel off the map? 

“It’s more complicated than just all ‘Oh, they are Muslims and those are Jews and so they hate each other,'” Samuel says. “There [are] other political and even economic factors that play into this frustration, angst, and hatred that goes back and forth between them.” 

For example, Israel has a voice in the Middle East as an ally of certain Western powers.

“The sanctions that are put on Iran, at least in part, are all related to Israel’s sentiments towards Iran, and the power that they wield within the US as well as Europe,” says Samuel.

The enmity has manifested itself in many conflicts. For years, Iran has waged war with Israel through proxies such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. It has leveraged its influence in nations and groups with high numbers of Shia Muslims, such as Syria and Iraq.

Azadi Square, Tehran, Iran (Stock photo courtesy of Erfan Ro via Unsplash)

“Iran — they’re 94% Shia. Therefore, they are viewed, at least because of their power and their position, as the heart of Shia Islam,” explains Samuel.

“So Hezbollah, being Shia, also leans back to look to Iran for help. And Iran is helping. That is why Israel continues to bomb in the south of Lebanon and to attack targets that are there, because Hezbollah has so far resisted any thoughts of disarming.”

Conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon, Israel and Iran have brought devastation, but “God is a friend near to those that walk through pain,” Samuel says. Pray that there will be enough peace in the Middle East for Christians to bring the love of Christ to the people suffering.

“If you look at the 20 points that have been laid out for Gaza [in the ceasefire deal], they really create opportunities for human flourishing to really occur in that area,” says Samuel. “But is there enough trust to walk them out? That is a different question.” 

*Pseudonym

Header photo: Tafresh, Markazi Province, Iran (Photo courtesy of Mostafa Meraji via Unsplash)

In the rising tensions, Ilya Butolin with Beit Hallel Congregation focuses on the return of the 20 living captives.

“After [the] seventh of October, each family, each person in Israel had either a friend or a relative or a close family that [has] been in captivity or [has] been hurt from the war,” says Butolin. “Seeing how they held the hostages was really hard, because it’s personal. It’s almost like your family [is] in captivity.”

The hostage’s release on Monday was deeply significant for another reason. October 13 marked the end of the Feast of Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles), which commemorates when God gave the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai. 

“So it’s a big celebration, on one hand, of when we received the Law, the Torah. But then, on the other hand, there is a big celebration that our people are coming back home,” Butolin says. “I can’t even explain in words how much of a big deal it is.”

There’s much to pray for

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. It’s the main thing that we as believers in Jesus have to stand on,” says Butolin. “It’s really important. It’s biblical.”

Jerusalem, Israel. (Photo courtesy of Dariusz Kanclerz/Unsplash)

Pray for the families of the hostages who did not come back alive, that they will find their hope and healing in God alone. Pray the same for the 20 men released from captivity.

“My prayer, it’s that there’ll be no other thing [for the freed hostages] — no PTSD — except one thing: there will be God. God will be showing [Himself in] this time,” says Butolin. “And I believe that these people will see the Lord. That’s our prayer, that all Israel will be saved.” 

Then, keep praying. Butolin says Monday was a massive celebration. But one quarter of the almost 2,000 prisoners that Israel released on Monday had been “convicted of crimes including murder and deadly attacks against Israelis,” the BBC reports. 

“But [for] the future, we’re still dealing with a terror organization. It’s one step closer to the peace, but it’s not complete peace in Israel,” Butolin says. “It will be really important to continue to pray for other [war] fronts, for the northern [front] with Lebanon and Syria, with Iran, with the Houthis. We believe that there will be peace with all of them.”

Header photo: Hostages Square, Tel Aviv, Israel, October 13, 2025 (Photo courtesy of Oren Rozen via Wikimedia Commons. Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0)

In Israel, yellow ribbons are displayed — on trees, fences, car mirrors, clothing, and public landmarks — as a visible sign of support for the hostages and their families.
(Wikimedia Commons)

Brother Y, who serves with Global Catalytic Ministries, told MNN from Israel: “It’s a very, very complex scene with lots of emotions involved on all sides. Very few, though, are thinking that the war has ended.”

Some hostage families were horrified to see the physical state of their returned loved ones, while others grieved the loss of those they hoped to see alive.

“There’s mixed emotions there, but mainly joy and thankfulness for the American government and everybody who was instrumental in bringing the people back,” Brother Y says.

Most Israelis celebrated with the families of hostages who returned home alive yesterday, but the overall mood was bittersweet.

“I have personal connections – friends of my children, and children of my friends – both were kidnapped and assassinated or tortured and murdered from the Nova festival, etc.,” Brother Y says.

“I didn’t have anyone that came (home) alive, but I can feel their celebration. I can feel their joy.”

Simultaneously, “about 2,000 bona fide terrorists with gallons of blood on their hands were also released as part of the (ceasefire) deal,” he says, “so this is why I wasn’t emphasizing the joy.”

Monday’s exchange renewed international hope for ending the two-year war between Israel and Hamas. Supporters of the terrorist group, however, made “Quraysh treaty” their rally cry – “A time when, in the Quran, a covenant was broken,” Brother Y says.

“It was a temporary covenant to gain access and control, and then followed by a military conquest. They’re chanting this right now, basically saying, ‘We’ve gotten our reprieve. We’re going to come back bigger and stronger.’”

Pray for Gospel opportunities in the interim. “The prayer for believers is that God’s going to position His people – mature believers, praying believers, Gospel-focused, missions-minded believers – and that there’s going to be a wide-open door for the Gospel,” Brother Y says.

In the header image, Israel’s Teddy Stadium displays the words “Thank you President Trump” following a deal for hostage release and ceasefire in Gaza. (Wikimedia Commons)

Why is this so? A man we’ll call Brother Y points to media coverage as one reason. He is an ex-IDF soldier and a Jew who gave his life to Yeshua the Messiah, serving with Global Catalytic Ministries. He says the press has been almost unanimous in the push against Israel in its struggle.  

For example, you will see images of Israeli soldiers with weapons, without understanding what they’re doing. Instead of seeing Hamas fighters or masterminds on the other side, “almost 100% of the time you see the populace, who are suffering,” says Brother Y. 

“So it’s very easy to lose your critical thinking when you see that, and just go for your heart. Praise God, people have a heart, and they go by their God-given emotions. But that can really skew the view of reality and what’s happening.”

At the same time, there have been tens of thousands of casualties in Gaza. The Hamas-run Palestinian Health Ministry puts the death toll above 67,000. 

“That breaks our heart, especially as people of the faith,” says Brother Y. “And I can tell you that it breaks the hearts of my people Israel who are not yet followers of Messiah. There’s a big heartbreak, lots of discussions, lots of protests. ‘Let’s try to find a better way of doing this.'”

Genocide: who and where? 

In September 2025, a United Nations inquiry announced its conclusion that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. Brother Y says this is a debunked myth.

A home in Kibbutz Nir Oz after the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. In the October 7, 2023 surprise attack on the Gaza border communities, Hamas either killed, injured or abducted about one quarter of the 400 residents of Kibbutz Nir Oz.
(Wikimedia Commons)

“[In] all of Palestinian Authority-controlled cities, there are zero Jews,” he points out. “Inside Israel, there are close to 2 million Arabs living with full rights, unlike any other country in the Middle East. They have full voting, full protest rights. So there’s no apartheid. There’s no genocide. For two years now, a genocide could have taken place in one week if we wanted, with the weaponries that Israel has.”

He speaks bluntly on these things because he interacts with many people who used to stand with Israel. “[They] used to stand — generally, not with everything,” he clarifies. “Neither [do] I stand with everything my government does. But [many would] generally stand with Israel who have now turned their backs, mainly because of media brainwashing.”

Israel’s enemy is Hamas, not Palestinians. The terrorist group’s original 1988 charter, though revised since then, called for the annihilation of Israel.  A study published online by Cambridge University Press analyzed the October 7, 2023, attack. It concluded that yes, Hamas’s actions meet the criteria for genocide under international law. 

The gospel: for one and all

In all the evil and suffering of this two-year conflict, Brother Y says there is one Messiah to look to. 

“The suffering servant of the Lord, who came into our human suffering, and who says, ‘It’s neither who’s right, you guys are right, or your enemies, or the people on the other side. It’s “we’re all wrong.”‘ We’ve all sinned against the mighty God. God reached down and forgave us, His previous enemies, and made us friends and household of God.”

One Israeli Jew heard Brother Y sharing the gospel and asked, “As amazing as this message sounds, you really think hearts can change? People who’ve suffered so much on both sides can suddenly lay down their weapon[s] and say, ‘Yes, I see this bleeding Messiah. I see the suffering servant of the Lord’?”

Brother Y replied, “I’ve seen this again and again, that even when we don’t have answers, then we look at Yeshua, who suffered, and He calls us himself, He calls us to receive His heart, and supernaturally, He allows us to forgive on both sides.”

This was Brother Y’s own story of change. It’s also the story of Corrie ten Boom, whom Brother Y told his friend about.

Please pray

Whatever stance you have on the Israel-Hamas war, please pray for the people caught in the controversies and crossfire.

“Pray for justice and righteousness. Pray for more freedom of information, because that’s really important. Information and education, even as [it] is, can bring dialogue,” says Brother Y. 

“Pray for the workers who are sowing the seeds of the gospel. Pray for the fire, the power of the gospel, to really breathe upon these people who are going out, because I believe eventually, this is the only hope.”

Header photo: Israeli intelligence officers, 2022. (Stock photo courtesy of Levi Meir Clancy via Unsplash)

Over the weekend, a White House official announced that U.S. President Donald Trump was dispatching envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Egypt to finalize the technical arrangements for the hostage release and to explore a long-term peace agreement.

“We are certainly watching what’s happening with these ceasefire negotiations, and we are looking for direction on next steps,” Bruce with Uncharted Ministries says.

“We’re obviously very concerned for our staff [who] are in the fight; one of our close contacts in Israel [has a son who] is the tank commander.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed hope that the captives’ return could be announced during the Jewish festival of Sukkot, observed from October 6 to 13. Meanwhile, Israeli military operations continue deep within Gaza.

Jerusalem’s Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock, where both Jews and Muslims pray every day.
(Photo courtesy of Uncharted Ministries)

Trauma and faith amid war

Hamas jihadists raided a Jewish community on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. More about that here. Nearly 50 hostages remain in Gaza today, and only 20 are still alive.

“We have a Jewish member of our team and then our Israeli national leader there; they say the nation is exhausted. Some are experiencing trauma, PTSD,” Bruce says.

However, despite the mental toll of war, “as long as the hostages are still held, they can’t move on.”

Uncharted partners with Jewish-background believers in Israel, and “We’ve heard, ‘October 7 has changed everything,’” Bruce adds.

Israelis are asking deeper questions about faith, purpose, and healing. In the midst of loss, a hunger for hope is growing – and many are finding strength in God’s promises. Learn how you can support this Gospel growth by partnering with Uncharted.

“Become educated and maybe as a ‘bucket list’ go [to Israel],” Bruce says. “Then you can pray right on the ground and see it firsthand.”

Header and story images courtesy of Uncharted Ministries. 

In a press conference that afternoon, Netanyahu warned that if Hamas rejects the deal, or accepts it and then works against it, “Israel will finish the job by itself.”

The proposal would call for a “modest withdrawal” of Israeli forces from Gaza, said Netanyahu, and a return of all Hamas hostages within 72 hours of its signing. It would also establish a new, international body that Trump called “the Board of Peace.” This Board would be tasked with seeing Hamas fully disarmed and Gaza demilitarized.

Representative stock photo from Jerusalem, Israel courtesy of Tim Mossholder via Unsplash

The path ahead is complex. Fadi Sharaiha with the MENA Leadership Center says to remember that people’s lives and dreams and goals are involved here — not only the lives of the remaining hostages, but those at risk of being caught in a continuing cycle of violence.

“If you have a child who [is] 16 [and] he lost his family, what do you think this person will be? [A] peacemaker or a soldier, whether he is in Gaza or in Israel?” Sharaiha says. 

He acknowledges the evil that has been done on both sides of the conflict, starting with Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Even if one day Hamas is disarmed, it’s important to recognize it is more than a band of like-minded people.

“Hamas is a doctrine. Hamas is a school of thought. It’s called ‘political Islam.’ Even in so many countries in the Arab world, Hamas is forbidden,” Sharaiha says. “Hamas was kicked out of Jordan because of their doctrine. So no, the Middle East [is] not all on the same level of how they look at Hamas.”

Over and above all, Sharaiha points Christians to remember the bigger picture: “God loves the people, God loves humankind, and God wants all to come to faith in Christ. So whenever it’s tough, we go back to the basics,” he says.

(Photo courtesy of MENA Leadership Center)

“In Genesis chapter one, where God created mankind in His own image, this really establishes that all people, regardless of gender, background, religion, bear God’s image and therefore have inherited dignity.”

Please pray

Keep asking God to bring the peace of Christ to people in the Gaza war zone. Pray for the government leaders who have a role in these peace conversations (1 Timothy 2:1-7). 

Pray also for the MENA Leadership Center’s future courses on trauma healing and refugee ministry. 

“We’re trying to prepare the church in the MENA to be ready for those people, and also to be ready to share the gospel in a way that [answers] the questions of the heart,” says Sharaiha. 

Header photo is a stock image courtesy of Marek Studzinski via Unsplash.

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. 

Find your place in the story

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.