The situation in Israel and Gaza is getting more volatile by the moment. Hamas has fired 130 rockets into Israel since midnight. Israel has called up 40,000 troops for a possible ground attack on Gaza in what it is calling “Operation Protective Edge.”
Exponential violence between Israel and Gaza
Israel responds to Hamas rockets from Gaza with an airstrike on Gaza City in rapid escalation of violence between Israel and Gaza. AP Images, July 8, 2014
Recent days have seen an extreme escalation of violence and air attacks on Israel. The discovery of the bodies of the three kidnapped Jewish teens led to a tragic retaliation by Jewish extremists in the kidnapping and murder of an Arab teen. Palestinian extremists in Gaza began firing rockets at civilian targets in southern Israel. Israeli Defense Forces responded with air strikes on Palestinian Gaza and communicated that an increase in attacks was coming. In response Hamas stepped up its rockets. As of Tuesday morning, 220 rockets have been fired at Israel since July 1. Israel has struck several Hamas targets – even telephoning one household warning them of an incoming attack.
While Palestinians fire rockets into civilian areas, they condemn Israel’s “aggression” and accuse them of “massacres” against women and children, referring to the bombing of a Hamas operative’s house. Hamas declared that “all Israelis have now become legitimate targets.”
Please pray with us
The volatile scenario has grown exponentially in just a few days and now Israeli officials warn it could last a very long time. Please join us in praying:
- That God would bring a cease to the violence, not only in this urgent situation, but in the day-to-day living that harbors the seeds of such major engagements
- That civilians caught in the middle would be protected in both Israel and Gaza
- That Israeli leaders would have wisdom in their measures to protect their citizens
- That God would stop the extremist instigators whose actions sparked into flame the undercurrent of hostility between Israelis and Palestinians
- That God would use this frightening reality to draw people to Himself – people on both sides of the fighting, as well as those caught in the crossfire, who need Him so desperately
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