As Peace Dawns in Gaza, More Help Is on the Way
Dear Friend,
As I write this, the world is celebrating the release of the last Israeli hostages as part of a ceasefire deal announced by President Trump between Hamas and Israel. The historic peace plan is also great news for nearly 2 million suffering people in Gaza. But even as fighting stops, there is a long road ahead to recovery as most of the Gaza Strip lies in ruins. Hospitals, markets, and houses all must be rebuilt.
Samaritan's Purse will continue to provide much-needed food and medical help. Since late July, we've sent 12 relief flights—seven via our DC-8 and five via our 757—to the Middle East with over 200 tons of ready-to-use supplemental nutrition pouches. More relief flights are on their way. We've already given out more than 1 million packets of vitamin-rich, peanut-based food. By focusing our distributions on women, this helps ensure the food reaches vulnerable children. We give each woman ready-to-eat packets, which help provide critical nutrients and calories for them and their children for several days.
Samaritan's Purse has also just flown over 500 household tents for families. We have dozens of staff members in the region right now.
It is heart-breaking to see the despair in these women's faces and hear the urgency in their voices as thousands line up at each distribution. They are grateful for what they receive, but the need is still great. Many children are malnourished, and many go to bed hungry.
Our first-aid care teams set up at each of the food distributions with equipment and medicines. We are treating infections, injuries, chronic disease, and heat-related illness as temperatures soar to 100 degrees. So far, we have treated 1,400 patients; some we see multiple times.
Our teams ask patients if we can pray for them in Jesus' Name, and it's encouraging that so many welcome these prayers. One staffer recently prayed for a young boy who was seriously ill and, in the States, he would have been admitted to an ICU. The next day the team rejoiced as the boy returned and seemed to have improved greatly.
Samaritan's Purse has also just flown over 500 household tents for families. We have dozens of staff members in the region right now. With the ceasefire, we hope for additional opportunities to provide even more relief in the days to come.
Within Israel, we continue to help build community centres and emergency medical stations that can serve as places of safety, shelter, and healing. Communities are still recovering from the brutal violence of the Hamas attacks two years ago.
Please pray for our work in Gaza and Israel. This is still a complex situation that requires wisdom and protection from God. We want to go forward "filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding" (Colossians 1:9).
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