Many live in tents or temporary shelters that are easily flooded by the cold deluge. A US project could soon provide housing for thousands of Palestinians, but it would require them to move to Israeli-controlled territory.

Gaza’s two above-ground churches shelter hundreds of Palestinian Christians from the harsh weather. However, believers are not immune to hardship. Essential supplies for daily life are in short supply there.

“We tried to help as much as we could, to strengthen them and support them, but it’s like living in hell,” President of Bethlehem Bible College, Jack Sara, says.

“They don’t know if they will survive the next day, because it’s a fact that even the churches were fire bombed and shelled. We had over 20 people who were killed inside the churches.”

Stepping outside the church walls – even briefly – also brought danger. “A few were killed by snipers,” Sara says.

“Two women, for example, at the Catholic Church; another who was a music teacher and music minister at the Baptist Church, was killed by a sniper bullet and left to die on the street.”

Help from afar

Before and during the latest ceasefire, family members outside Gaza – including some who work at Bethlehem Bible College – have worked to gather support.

Representative AI photo of Palestinian Christian created by ChatGPT.

“We mainly communicated and channeled whatever help we could through the churches that are there,” Sara says. “We have run a school for many months now, a medical clinic, food, clothing, and special gifts for children.”

Nearly half of Gaza’s known Christians left the war-torn enclave during previous ceasefires. “Before the war, there were about 1,000 Christians living in Gaza. Sadly, after two years of war, I think we have about 600 at a maximum,” Sara says.

Those who remain in Gaza need your prayers. Ask the Lord to help Palestinian Christians trust Him with an unknown future. “Pray for settlement for the Christian community. We need to pray that resources will be offered so they can rebuild their lives again,” Sara says.

“I cannot guarantee that those Christians who are there now will stay. It’s a horrible situation. If all of them lost their houses and were offered a way out to live somewhere else, I cannot blame them for that – especially if you have small children and you want them to live in a safe zone,” he continues.

“Nothing guarantees that Israel will not do war again in Gaza.”

Pray for a “just peace that is not just calming the war, but that people will have their dignity and freedom of movement,” Sara requests.

“They [can] live in their houses and cultivate their land without fear that it will be taken from them or confiscated.”

Header and story images are representative AI-generated photos of Palestinian Christians, created by ChatGPT. 

Last month, violence in the West Bank reached its highest level since recording started in 2006. Jack Sara, from Bethlehem Bible College, says believers in the region are at risk.

Near-daily attacks by Israeli settlers are reportedly leading to a record displacement of West Bank Palestinians.

“Palestinian Christians, both in Gaza and in the West Bank, need prayers. The small communities that are remaining now in the West Bank are facing some existential threat to staying inside the country,” Sara says.

“Besides the political instability, besides the danger, the Jewish settlers living in the West Bank sometimes even target Christian villages.”

Attacks recently hit close to home for the college. “Not long ago, one of our students, his car was firebombed by settlers in the village of Taybeh, close to Ramallah,” Sara says.

Palestinian Christians
(Photo generated using AI/Gencraft)

Meanwhile, Palestinian Christians in Gaza are running out of options as winter approaches.

“After the ceasefire, many of them tried to return to what remained of their houses, [but] there is no place for them to return,” Sara says. “So, they refrained from either renting – if there is anything available – or just going back to the churches.”

Gaza City’s Catholic Holy Family Church and the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius shelter most of the tiny Christian community remaining in Gaza – only several hundred, by most estimates.

“Almost 400 people were able to leave during earlier ceasefire seasons,” Sara says.

Pray for continued peace so that Christians who remain in Gaza can rebuild their lives.

“We’re trusting that the American administration will continue to hold back the war machine of Israel, but that’s not guaranteed at all. It’s all in the air right now,” Sara says.

Header image depicts Jewish settlements on a hill above a Palestinian town circa 2011. (Wikimedia Commons)

“One of the most important points of ending the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel is for Hezbollah to turn its arms to the Lebanese army,” says Camille Melki with Heart for Lebanon. 

Yet this has not happened. The Lebanese government has pledged to disarm the militant group by the end of the year, but Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem has publicly restated that they will not lay down their arms.

“The agreement says the entire nation of Lebanon should be free of Hezbollah arms — in fact, free of any militant arms, and the Lebanese army should be the only one carrying weapons,” says Melki. “Whereas Hezbollah’s argument is [that] only in a part of southern Lebanon [do] they need to be disarmed.’ That works against the agreement.”

H.E. General Joseph Aoun, President of the Republic of Lebanon, right, and Dubravka Šuica, center, during a meeting in Baabda, Lebanon February 2025. (Photo and caption by © European Union, 2025, CC BY 4.0. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Meanwhile, Israel continues near-daily airstrikes in Lebanon against Hezbollah targets, which Hezbollah and Lebanese authorities call another violation of the ceasefire agreement. Israel considers it self-defense against Hezbollah activities.

Israel isn’t the only one with misgivings about Lebanon’s ability to disarm Hezbollah in the next month and a half. 

“All indications point to the lack of possibility to meet that deadline,” says Melki, “and that scares all of us in Lebanon.” 

They see that if Lebanon’s army doesn’t succeed, Israel’s targeted airstrikes could become something more. 

“Here we have to differentiate: Israel’s conflict is with Hezbollah, not with the nation of Lebanon. But we can all be drawn into the major conflict and major war,” Melki says. “That would affect at least all the citizens of southern Lebanon, regardless of their faith background, ethnic background, and political affiliation — pro- or against Hezbollah.”

As a gospel-centered humanitarian agency, Heart for Lebanon has a front-row seat to what Lebanese citizens and the refugee population are going through. Melki says they recently had 46 baptisms, indicating that people are searching for the truth.

“They’re seeking answers for their pain and suffering. They’re wondering what else can be done in order to prevent another disaster. And whom to trust? They have lost trust in the earthly leaders and their spiritual leaders. Muslim Sunni, Muslim Shia, Alawites, Kurds, people of all faiths who are now seeking the truth,” says Melki. 

“There is no truth but in Christ, and our job is to point them to Jesus our Savior.” 

Please pray for God’s mercy and for true peace in Christ to come to Lebanon. Learn more about Heart for Lebanon’s ministry here. 

Header photo courtesy of Beirut, Lebanon courtesy of Jo Kassis/Pexels.

The violations have been acknowledged but not resolved. Yet that may be changing. 

Last week, the still-armed Hezbollah urged Lebanon’s government not to negotiate further with Israel. Israel responded by ramping up strikes in southern Lebanon against what it says were Hezbollah targets.

Hezbollah fighters train in southern Lebanon, May 2023. (Photo courtesy of Tasnim News Agency/Wikimedia Commons)

Nuna* with Triumphant Mercy Lebanon explains the escalation is something to take seriously. 

“It means that if Hezbollah doesn’t give up the weapons, we’re going to have another war,” Nuna says.

“If Hezbollah keeps the weapons, Israel has said it very bluntly that ‘We will not allow it.’ They will have a war again until they completely destroy Hezbollah.”

Lebanon’s government pledged this summer to implement a disarmament plan against Hezbollah, with the goal of completion by the end of the year. It has already taken steps toward this goal, but Hezbollah says it will not disarm.

“The government says something, Hezbollah says something else, and nobody says anything about it. Nobody is keeping Hezbollah responsible [for] their acts,” says Nuna.

That shows a fear of Hezbollah’s weapons, which Nuna says is understandable. A civil war is no solution to the conflict. 

“But at the same time, this solution must be found, because we cannot keep Lebanon hostage [to] the will of one small party [Hezbollah] in Lebanon,” says Nuna. 

Hope for restoration

With Hezbollah and Israel on opposite sides and the clock for 2025 ticking, the conflict is coming to a head. 

“We cannot do anything about it, except pray and ask that the Lord will have mercy on Lebanon and find a solution,” Nuna says.

Beirut House of Prayer gathering October 9-11, 2025 (Photo courtesy of Triumphant Mercy Lebanon)

During a 50-hour prayer gathering in Beirut last month, believers prayed for Lebanon’s restoration. 

“I think we felt the Lord was saying, ‘I’m sending my arrows, and when the arrows hit the ground, it will shake the nation,’” Nuna shares. “We are seeing a shaking now. Is it easy to be in the shaking? No, but we don’t want to stay in the status quo in any way.”

Pray for God to reshape Lebanon for His good purposes during this tense time of upheaval. Pray that for the entire Middle East as well. 

“Look at the new era for Syria now, with the presidency in the US, with France, with the accords that are starting to shape with Israel — the Abrahamic Accords. All these things. Something is changing in the whole region,” says Nuna. “So let’s pray that the Lord who is in the business of changing the Middle East will do it according to His plans, and He will not allow any of man’s plan to succeed.”

*Pseudonym

Header photo: Beirut, Lebanon (Stock photo courtesy of Muhammed Beyrouti via Unsplash)

SGA’s Eric Mock says the prospect of long-term peace in the region is unrealistic, for even as the ceasefire holds, so does a theological and historical tension. 

“The issue that is really in the background and will continue to be in the background is the tension between the tribe of Ishmael and the tribe of Isaac,” Mock says. 

While Christians look forward to the second coming of Christ, many muslims expect an imam who will rule the world with a hand of peace and prosperity.  

“From a Christian perspective, such a figure represents the antichrist,” Mock explains. “And so behind all the peace process remains the very real reality that our hope for the future and their hope for the future are decidedly different.”

This continues to play out, as Hamas seeks to reassert control over Gaza through executions and targeting of opposition groups. 

“Even in the midst of the peace process, there are those that take this opportunity for themselves at the expense of human life,” Mock says. 

But the bad news isn’t the only news. 

Through their work with Slavic immigrants, SGA is seeing God move among the Russian immigrant population of Israel. Israel’s Russian speakers number over one million and comprise 15% of the country’s population.

A Jewish man at the wailing wall, courtesy of Pixabay

“SGA is happy to support a growing network of Bible teaching, Gospel teaching and sharing churches,” Mock says. 

He attributes the growth in part to the training of nationals and their subsequent faithfulness to share the Gospel and disciple their own people. Since public faith sharing is not the cultural norm in the Middle East, discipleship happens elsewhere.

“Families build relationships through which the Gospel comes; and the Gospel is going forth, the truth of the Gospel is being taught, and people are coming to faith,” Mock says. 

SGA is involved in aid, church planting, and training, along with other aspects of church development. Mock says it’s glorious to see the hand of God at work across the country of Israel. 

Pray that Christ would be exalted in this nation, and that as He is lifted up, many will look to Him for redemption. 

Featured photo courtesy of Pexels

Nearly a year has passed since the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, yet residents in the south continue to hear drones overhead. The situation draws attention as the world watches the current ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Camille Melki from Heart for Lebanon says, “What has stopped are the major military campaigns, but Israel keeps watching and observing the traffic, the behavior, the movement of Hezbollah.”

When Israel detects activity, it strikes, destroying Hezbollah posts. Civilians are often caught in the crossfire. Some villages remain in ruins while the rest of the country rebuilds.

“Every day, the drones — Israeli drones — fly over Lebanon,” Melki says. “On a daily basis, there have been strikes against Hezbollah military posts or against Israel.”

Bint Jbeil Road, Lebanon (Photo courtesy of Ahmad Bader via Unsplash)

Yet in areas untouched by conflict, peace is slowly returning. Most Lebanese are back to their daily lives. Schools are open, and businesses are running. Except in the villages along the Israeli-Lebanese border, life is back to normal.

“People are hoping and really looking forward to the day when Hezbollah will be completely disarmed,” he adds.

Heart for Lebanon is building its new center just south of Sidon — a biblical, coastal city largely spared from recent fighting. It’s an area that was predominantly used to welcome and host internally displaced families and people in great need.

The new center reflects a long-term commitment. Melki explains, “This is our opportunity to demonstrate the Gospel at its best in front of the people who need the most.”

Food aid distribution
(Photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)

As construction begins on the Hope Ministry Center, the message to the people of southern Lebanon is clear — Heart for Lebanon isn’t going anywhere. They’re planting roots, choosing to walk alongside communities for the long haul, bringing consistent love, care, and the hope of Christ.

“We are here as a community of faith that wants to both proclaim the Gospel and demonstrate the Gospel to people — addressing fundamental issues of faith and reaching those from very authentic backgrounds,” Melki says.

Pray for Lebanese communities affected by ongoing tensions. Visit Heart for Lebanon to see how Christ’s love continues to transform lives and bring hope to the region.

Header photo: Lebanese crowd (Photo courtesy of Mohamad Mekawi via Pexels).

Ilya Butolin from Beit Hallel Congregation says people lost hope in the army, the government, and even in their idea of God as a protector. “We had a big collapse of hope, and people had no hope to live,” he recalls.

The war deeply affected Butolin himself — a regular churchgoer with an active ministry who now serves in military uniform. “The first 5 months of the war, I wasn’t able to share the Gospel because I, myself, needed the Gospel,” he admits.

Israeli soldier in Jerusalem, Israel (photo courtesy of Levi Meir Clancy via Unsplash)

Butolin, his brother, and friends served in the army, often facing the horrors of war and the uncertainty of survival. The death of his friend David Ratner added to the grief.

“It wasn’t easy to see how your friend died, like my personal friend, and then many others,” he says.

After several months, Butolin’s faith in God was restored. He realized that as much as he needed hope, others around him needed it even more.

“We know what the only hope is — Jesus Christ — and He’s the only one who can bring us hope for a future and for a life, for eternal life,” he adds.

He shared that conversations with his unit and friends often centered on hope — how to restore it, show it, and bring it back to their families. As a church, they focused on practical ways to express that hope by organizing donations such as helmets, bulletproof vests, food, and even pizza nights for soldiers. Butolin would explain:

“It’s people from all around the world who are donating, praying, standing with you, and fighting with you, even though you don’t see them. And those are the Christian people who love you!”

Through this, they saw a growing bond between Jewish and Christian communities, and he believes that sharing hope has become the most powerful way to share the Gospel in these times.

Pray for the ministry of Beit Hallel Congregation and their efforts to share the Gospel with wounded hearts.

Photo courtesy of Joel Mott via Unsplash.

Both Israel and Hamas representatives say they’re committed to the truce, but diplomatic progress remains slow and cautious. Disagreements over hostage bodies, aid access, and control of territory could trigger a relapse.

As aid workers bring critical help to Gaza, they encounter indescribable need.

Displaced Palestinians in Deir el-Balah line up to receive food provided by charitable organizations.
(Wikimedia Commons)

“I’ve read articles [about] Palestinians who are returning to their past houses and seeing the total devastation, saying how burdened and broken they are at the suffering,” Brother Y with Global Catalytic Ministries says.

“There was massive, massive destruction, and it’s so painful for people.”

At least two-thirds of all structures in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed since the war began. Although Hamas claims to represent the Palestinian people, Brother Y says many residents reject that claim.

“Many of them put the suffering both on the Israeli government and Hamas, those that – as they say in their words – ‘call themselves our leaders,’” Brother Y says.

The war has brought suffering to Israel, too. Read more about that here.

“Many (soldiers) who came back committed suicide, and many secondary trauma people who are friends and relatives, also committed suicide,” Brother Y says. “We have a suicide epidemic in Israel.”

Hope and healing through the Gospel

(Photo courtesy of Prayercast)

Pray for believers as they bring help and the hope of Jesus to Gaza war survivors. The ceasefire creates space for humanitarian access, which gives believers an avenue to share the hope of Christ.

“The international involvement will create many opportunities for Christian-led, mission-minded NGOs to go in and bring in their people. The only thing I am optimistic about is the amazing Gospel opportunities that are going to be presented [as a result,]” Brother Y says.

“The only true healing, the only true redemption, the only true forgiveness can come through the Gospel.”

Pray for hearts to change as people formerly against Christ encounter His love. “Even guilty people can have a born-again experience, can get a new life and heart,” Brother Y says.

“Let’s go all the way back to the Nazis; people who [were] serving in the SS and who repented and turned to God – these things really baffle us [but] that’s the power of the Gospel,” he continues.

In Gaza, “there’s going to be lots of pain for the oppressed, oppressors, and everything in between. And that’s a great opportunity to bring the Gospel into this brokenness.”

Header image depicts destruction in the Beach refugee camp, Gaza Strip, circa July 2024. (Wikimedia Commons)

Meanwhile, Israel continues to weigh the psychological cost of war.

Believers on the ground tell Bruce with Uncharted Ministries, “They can see a lot of brokenness, even on the streets of Jerusalem, a sense of people not knowing what to do. Some people they’ll see on the streets just wandering around, disoriented.”

Israeli soldiers are facing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in record numbers. Suicide rates are skyrocketing, too.

(Photo courtesy of Susan Wilkinson/Unsplash)

“Some of our leaders have been on five different rotations. They are having an increasingly difficult time [coping] with what they’re experiencing and seeing on the battlefield,” Bruce says.

“The PTSD, the trauma – they don’t know [how] to deal with it.”

War’s hidden cost: Trauma and brokenness in Israeli society

Because so many Israelis serve in the military, it’s common in this small nation to know someone affected by PTSD.

Studies show how Israeli military families suffer high rates of “PTSD spillover,” while other research describes the mental health fallout of the October 7 terrorist attack.

“Relationally, the stress on families is unbelievable,” Bruce says. “They’re seeing an increase in divorce, separations, family trauma, turmoil. They are understaffed for counselors in the country.”

Pray for wisdom for Bruce and other Uncharted leaders as they seek opportunities to respond with the hope of Christ.

“We’re seeing a spiritual desire on the part of the people, given the trauma that they’re going through, but there’s still brokenness in the country,” Bruce says.

Hope for tomorrow

Uncharted may build upon its current outreach to Holocaust survivors to meet today’s trauma needs.

Child survivors of the Holocaust filmed few days after the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp by the Red Army, January 1945.
(Wikimedia Commons)

“One of the key ministries we have in Israel is to Holocaust survivors. These people have gone through unbelievable trauma,” Bruce says.

“Many of them are atheists; they just can’t believe that God would have allowed this [to happen.]”

Regular group sessions help Holocaust survivors process their trauma and find hope in the God who heals. Over 100 survivors have put their faith in Christ as a result.

“They’ll come [to the meetings] for fellowship, food, and they’ll hear a message of encouragement,” Bruce says.

A local leader who coordinates this ministry says, after October 7, “he’s seeing [people seek] spiritual answers, and to understand that they cannot survive without God.”

Header image depicts Israeli soldiers on the ground in the Gaza Strip in the Iron Swords War. (Wikimedia Commons) 

(Photo of Beirut, Lebanon courtesy of Jo Kassis/Pexels)

Just over a year ago, former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed by an Israeli strike — an event that reshaped power dynamics. Now, a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has brought temporary relief to the region.

Yet next door, Lebanon is in a fragile state as Hezbollah refuses to disarm.

Nuna with Triumphant Mercy Lebanon says, “There is an agreement and everybody – the whole government now – has decided that Hezbollah needs to disarm. The international community is for that, so everything is going towards that end. But at the same time, Hezbollah is not willing to.”

Many Lebanese are weighed down by instability and disillusionment. “So many people are depressed,” Nuna says. “So many people are skeptical. So many people are in disbelief and in hopelessness…. So many people are feeling like it’s better for us to leave.

“It is strategic to pray at this time. We really want God to just show His power.”

As Lebanon grapples with transition, pray that the nation’s leaders will act with wisdom to stabilize the country. Pray for the Church to be a source of Christ’s hope and healing.

(Photo courtesy of Triumphant Mercy Lebanon)

Nuna says, “We’re seeing all these shifts in whole nations, and we’re just there asking God to release His glory and to have people’s eyes see His glory because it’s a really difficult time at this time.”

Learn more about Triumphant Mercy at tm-lebanon.com.

Header photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beiteddine_-_drapeau_libanais.jpg