ISRAEL — Samaritan’s Purse is serving the desperate needs of people on both sides of Israel by providing relief, food, ambulances, and other critically needed supplies in partnership with local churches and ministries.

John Silkman – Samaritan’s Purse:

These things I have spoken unto you to give you peace. In this world you will find tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. John 16:33. October 7 was a terrible day for the Israelis. They were caught by surprise by an attack from Hamas, something they weren’t expecting.

A lot of people, they come out of a tragedy like this, and it’s intimidating. The best thing they can do is go out and help, help their brother, help their neighbor. What we’re trying to do is keep the footprint low and enable Israelis to help Israelis in this crisis. So we’re able to help them do that.

Franklin Graham:

We are working with churches, we’re working with church partners. You have close to a half a million people that have been displaced, people that had to leave their homes because of the rockets and the fighting that’s taken place.

Ken Isaacs – Vice President of Programs & Government Relations Samaritan’s Purse:

We want to help people and share the love of Christ with them. We want to help everybody. We had a 757 arrive with 1,000 advanced trauma life support kits.

Dr. Hadar Milo-Raz – Sheba Medical Center:

That in case of emergency, missile attack, terrorist attack, medical professionals will be able to help and aid medically to the civilians that live around them, to their friends and neighbors.

Ken:

The people that we’re helping are the people in this area of what’s called Gaza envelope, hundreds of thousands of people were displaced. I’ve never seen a culture as emotionally traumatized as I’m seeing here in Israel. And as I hear these sounds going on behind me, I can only imagine what is going on in Gaza and the pain and the suffering over there.

Franklin:

Sometimes you look and you just say, “Why?” Or you look and you say, “Lord, what can we do? The need is so great, but we serve a big God, and He’s familiar with suffering.”

Kayla Sprague – Fellowship of Israel Related Ministries

As believers, we grieve, and we’re here to mourn with those who mourn, and we’re here to weep with those who weep, but we don’t grieve as those that don’t have hope. Because what is seen is so intense and so heartbreaking. If we can fix our eyes on what’s unseen and what’s eternal and actually give people a vision of what’s beyond that, a hope that’s beyond the right now, then that’s what we’re working towards.

Instead of stepping back, actually leaning in, that this is the moment when there’s open doors. In the boxes we were handing out, the heart is for it to feed a family of five for up to a week. There’s rice, beans, pasta, tea, coffee. We’re seeing physical needs being met and hearts being opened.

John:

Hamas is trying to create that chasm between Jewish and Arab and any other groups out there. They want you to hate each other.

Man:

We want to create a new generation that rejects hatred by the help of Samaritan prayers. We distributed hygiene boxes, food packages, and Syrian Aid Center, Jew, Muslim, and Christian on the same time, standing together.

The importance of these groups reaching out to each other is that they’re building that bridge.

Man:

All of us need the grace of God. It’s not about who we are. It’s all about what God did for us on the cross.

Franklin:

God sent his son, Jesus Christ, and he died and shed his blood for our sins. He was buried, but on the third day, God raised him to life. By buying these ambulances and helping you, we believe that we are helping God’s people. We just want to do all that we can to support you.

John:

We’ve been taught to love your neighbor as yourself, and that’s what we’re here to do. Pray for the people of Israel, Gaza. My biggest hope is that over time, normal will come back.

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Samaritan’s Purse is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world. Since 1970, Samaritan’s Purse has helped meet the needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine with the purpose of sharing God’s love through His Son, Jesus Christ. The organization serves the Church worldwide to promote the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Samaritan’s Purse International Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) program is committed to meeting the critical needs of victims of war, poverty, famine, disease, and natural disaster. We stand ready to respond at a moment’s notice whenever and wherever disaster strikes. The DART specializes in providing water, food, shelter, and medical care while sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.

CONTACT: Gabrielle Bouquet, news@samaritan.org

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