Gaza (MNN) — On Tuesday the number of Palestinians killed during the Israel-Hamas war since October 7, 2023 surpassed 60,000. That’s according to the Hamas-run Palestinian Ministry of Health. 

Also on Tuesday, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification system released an alert saying “the worst-case scenario of famine is playing out in the Gaza Strip.” You don’t have to look far to find photos and stories of the people living this reality.

Tom Doyle, president of Uncharted Ministries, talks with Christians on both sides of the war. Here are their perspectives.

“We hear of Israeli Defense soldiers praying for people in Gaza.‘We want to get rid of Hamas,’ they say, ‘not the innocent people,’” said Doyle. “That’s a story you wouldn’t see on the news, but it’s real.” 

Doyle said many areas of Gaza have plenty of food, but many others have no food getting to them. Uncharted works with the Baptist Church in Gaza, which is distributing aid. But even for those who are able to receive provisions, it’s not so simple.

(Photo courtesy of Uncharted Ministries)

“As one of the Muslim-background believers told us: ‘We have two enemies. The first is Hamas, and the second is everybody outside of our tent, because people are stealing our food,’” said Doyle. 

Palestinian believers have chosen a different goal: “Some of them had a chance to leave during this war, and they chose to stay to spread the gospel,” said Doyle. “Can you imagine having a family and choosing to stay when you have young kids in the midst of the war?”

Pray for the safety and well-being of the Palestinian people, especially the children, and for the believers in Gaza to endure the difficult circumstances. Pray for the spread of the Gospel in Gaza, and for the believers who have chosen to stay and minister to their fellow Palestinians.

“We’re praying for the believers there through all of this, that they survive,” says Doyle. “They’re caught in the middle of it.”

 

Header photo of Gaza Strip courtesy Jaber Jehad Badwan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.