2 Years after Hamas Attack, Churches in Middle East Serve on the Frontlines of Compassion

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After Hamas terrorists attacked Israel two years ago and sparked a bloody war that quickly divided the world, two churches in the region responded with ministries of compassion.

And those congregations are still on the ground, spreading the Good News. 

In Ashdod, Israel, Congregation Beit Hallel has mobilized teams of volunteers to deliver food, water, and essential supplies to families living under constant rocket fire, Christianity Today reported. Members have cared for elderly residents, supported young mothers whose husbands were serving in the military, and provided equipment such as bulletproof vests and mattresses to IDF soldiers. 

The ministry’s outreach, born in crisis, has continued throughout the conflict as thousands of missiles and drones have targeted Israeli cities.

Across the border in Egypt, Kasr el-Dobara Church in Cairo – a massive congregation in the Middle East with more than 9,000 members – initiated a ministry to Palestinian refugees fleeing Gaza. Today, some 600 members of Kasr el-Dobara visit over 5,000 Palestinian households in Cairo each week, bringing food, clothing, medicine, and other essentials to families who fled Gaza with little to nothing. Volunteers sit with refugees in their homes, listening to their stories, offering prayer – and sharing the hope of Christ.

It is estimated that 100,000 Palestinians fled Gaza to Egypt.

Fawzi Khalil, the director of relief ministries at Kasr el-Dobara Church, said Palestinians in Cairo have been caught up in a conflict that has devastated countless families. 

“We know that deep in their hearts they need prayer and they need you to cry with them,” Khalil told Christianity Today. “They don’t cry when they are in a big room, but once you visit them in their home, they cry and cry, and you hear a lot of their stories.”

Israel Pochtar, a pastor at Congregation Beit Hallel, said his congregation has focused on meeting both the physical and spiritual needs of Israelis living under daily threat.

“The difficulty is waking up in the night and running with your kids to the bomb shelter and especially [for] those who have less means and are living in the cheaper apartments,” Pochtar said. “We try to visit them during the day and bring them food, prayers, [and] encouragement.”

The war has made people across the region more open to the gospel than before the attack.

“Many were disappointed in the government, in our military, because the military wasn’t ready to protect them,” Pochtar told CT. “But it caused people to seek heavenly help.”

Both Pochtar and Khalil are praying for peace – not only between the two nations but within the hearts of their citizens. This week, Israel and Hamas are holding indirect talks in Egypt over a Trump-backed peace plan.

“If the Jewish become Christians and the Muslims become Christians, then the peace of God will reign,” Khalil said. “I want the leader of Hamas to live in peace and to know Christ. And the most radical right Jewish leader, I want him to know Christ and to live in peace.”

Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Alexi J. Rosenfeld / Stringer 

Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel. 

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