A Palestinian Baptist reported three Christians in Gaza have been injured in recent days, and the people were “terrified” but still reluctant to evacuate after the Israeli Defense Forces issued a warning.
Hanna Massad, former pastor of Gaza Baptist Church and founding president of Christian Mission to Gaza, sent an “urgent prayer request” email July 7.
“The people in the churches in Gaza are terrified and scared,” Massad wrote. “The IDF issued a warning around 5 p.m. Gaza time, urging everyone in the area to evacuate. This typically indicates that the area may be targeted soon.
“Despite the warning, the people in the churches have chosen to stay. The explosions are very close, and the noise is extremely loud,” Massad wrote.
The Times of Israel reported the IDF on Sunday called for the evacuation of the Tuffah, Daraj and Old City neighborhoods of Gaza City. In an updated announcement Monday, the IDF urged civilians in the Sabra, Rimal, Tel al-Hawa and Daraj to evacuate and move to a designated “humanitarian zone.”
The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported an Israeli assault Saturday on central Gaza killed at least 16 people and injured 50 others at a United Nations Relief and Work Agency school sheltering displaced people.
According to Al JaZeera, the Ministry of Health on Monday reported Israeli attacks across Gaza resulted in at least 40 deaths in one day, bringing the total number of fatalities in Gaza to 38,193 since Oct. 7, 2023, with 87,903 wounded.
In an email to supporters of his ministry, Massad wrote, “Please pray for continued protection for all, for God to raise peacemakers in the region to take action, and for this nightmare to end.”
We seek to connect God’s story and God’s people around the world. To learn more about God’s story, click here.
Send comments and feedback to Eric Black, our editor. For comments to be published, please specify “letter to the editor.” Maximum length for publication is 300 words.