When I traveled to Israel, I was appalled by the damage that Hamas had done to homes and property. The stories about the attacks on women and children were some of the worst I have ever heard.
Samaritan’s Purse has been working with partners in Israel to distribute food and other essential items to those who have been displaced. We are also providing hundreds of life- saving trauma supply kits for medics to use as needs arise.
I met a young woman named Lihi who had come back to her village to get a few things from her house. She and her two small children hid in their home and survived the attack. Her husband, Daniel, was a physician who heard the gunfire and ran to the medical clinic where he worked just a few hundred yards away. While he was there treating the injured and trying to save lives, he and everyone else but two people were murdered—and then Hamas threw in hand grenades to wipe out the facility and any survivors. In tears, Lihi told me that he was the love of her life.
I prayed for the family members and community leaders that I met. As I shared the Word of God with those I talked with, it brought comfort, like balm to their wounded souls.
I also met and prayed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He expressed appreciation for how Samaritan’s Purse is responding. He said, “The fact that you are coming here, standing with Israel—in Israel—is mightily important and gives us a lot of strength, a lot of encouragement.” I asked if I could pray for him, and I asked God to protect the nation of Israel, and give him strength and wisdom.
As we pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6), let’s also lift up the families in Gaza who continue to live in desperate conditions. Though humanitarian access in Gaza has been limited, Samaritan’s Purse has long-standing Christian partners there, and we are working hard to equip them to help their neighbors.
In one town near the frontlines, our church partners found an elderly woman hiding in her basement. We’ll call her Valentyna. She said she had not had bread in months and felt so forsaken that she was ready to take her own life.
It seems as though the world has been turned upside down, but Samaritan’s Purse is committed to responding to any and every disaster, conflict, or disease outbreak that the Lord calls us to so that we can share the love of God and the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have to be prepared. “You also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:44).
Samaritan's Purse is working to meet some of the overwhelming spiritual and physical needs within Israel. Help to bring critical relief to those in need after the recent brutal attacks.