Source: www.persecution.org
Date: January 12, 2024
Middle East (International Christian Concern) – As the Israeli-Gaza war reaches its 100th day, conflict threatens to escalate in other parts of the region. Nearly three months of daily strikes exchanged between Israel and Hezbollah on the Israel-Lebanon border continue without any sign of abating. On January 11, the U.S.-led maritime coalition struck a dozen military targets in Houthi-control Yemen in response to the dozens of shipping attacks conducted by the Houthi on merchant vessels in the southern Red Sea, disrupting a major global commerce route.
The three months of conflict have had devastating consequences on civilian populations in affected areas. In Israel, Hamas’ rampage in October killed 1,200 people and displaced thousands. In Gaza, Israel’s military response has killed more than 23,000 people; an estimated 1 in 100 people have been killed in Gaza, with 85% of the population displaced. In the north, fighting has displaced tens of thousands from towns near the border areas.
The recent war threatens the region’s persecuted Christian minority further. International Christian Concern has covered its impact on Gaza’s diminishing Christian minority, with around two dozen killed in the crossfire with hundreds waiting to leave the Strip. The future presence of centuries-old Christianity in Gaza is very uncertain in 2024. Christians in Israel, the West Bank, and southern Lebanon have also experienced displacement from the fighting and greater distrust and discrimination from their Jewish and Muslim majorities.
In other involved countries such as Yemen and Iran, which are nations with some of the most severe persecution of Christians in the world, the war has brought a further crackdown on local Christians who must practice their faith secretly for fear of death, imprisonment, and complete social rejection. In nations such as Iran, converts to Christianity have often been condemned as “Western/Zionist spies” in their legal proceedings against them. With the war bringing a perceived divide of the “Islamic world” against “the West/Israel,” many Christian believers in the MENA region are being targeted falsely as traitors to their nation.
HOW TO PRAY: Pray for protection for all those caught in the crossfire of this conflict. Pray for a quick, peaceful resolution. Pray for the gospel to spread throughout the region.