The appalling death and destruction inflicted by both sides during the current Israel/Hamas conflict in the Middle East has horrified the world. But even amidst the carnage and destruction so visible on our TV screens day after day, churches and Christian organisations are bringing help and hope to the region, even though they too have also become intended or accidental targets of the violence.
Christian TV station SAT-7, which broadcasts across the Middle East, reports that shelling caused severe damage to a new cancer ward at the Anglican Church-funded Al Ahli hospital in Gaza. An explosion in its courtyard, thought to have been caused by a misfired Gazan missile, killed almost 500 people sheltering there. The hospital continues to operate as best it can, however, and has been accepting patients from other besieged hospitals that have had to stop working.
Embrace the Middle East (EME) reports that a building used by one of its partner organisations in Gaza, the Department of Service to Palestine Refugees, has suffered severe damage. Despite this, and with very limited supplies, it continues to serve where it can. It will soon start running health-awareness sessions and distributing hygiene kits in some of the camps and neighbourhoods in Rafah, together with the United Nations.
