Source: www.persecution.org
Date: September 20, 2024
Gaza (International Christian Concern) — As the Israel-Hamas war approaches the year mark, the devastation in Gaza is overwhelming.
More than 40,000 Palestinians have died in the densely populated strip. Those who’ve survived have endured intense fighting in the streets, airstrikes that have destroyed homes and businesses, starvation, immense psychological trauma, and mass displacement.
As the Jewish and Muslim perspectives are highlighted in the news, the perspective of our Christian brothers and sisters in Gaza is often overlooked.
Gaza’s small Christian population — now believed to be fewer than 900 people — has suffered alongside the Jews and Muslims in the region, but they’ve also endured their own set of challenges.
Many of the Christians who are former Muslims have hidden their faith due to fear of persecution or in response to previous attacks on their faith in Jesus. International Christian Concern (ICC) has communicated with these believers who have endured such persecution.
Christians in Gaza also have sought refuge in local church buildings during the war, only to have their church bombed. An Orthodox church suffered damage from a strike that killed more than 20 Christians. Bombs also damaged a Baptist church building. Numerous homes of Christians have also been destroyed. Believers who remain in church buildings are now enduring hunger and trauma, like others in Gaza, and food and other necessities are only getting scarcer.
Many Christians who’ve fled the war have endured further hardship in their new home. ICC is working with partners in countries like Egypt and Israel, helping Christians who’ve faced persecution and are struggling to start their new lives. We’ve helped meet their basic needs and provided encouragement, ministry support, and trauma care. We’re also working with partners in Gaza to help Christians who remain get critical food and medicine.