\n<\/p>\n
With at least 1,200 Israelis and 1,100 Palestinians slain<\/a>, it is not simply the Israel-Hamas war\u2019s stunning casualty total that has outraged the world, but also the brutality of Hamas.<\/p>\n More than 200 youth were killed at a concert festival, villages and farms were raided and terrorized, and an estimated 150 hostages have been threatened with death if Israeli air strikes on the coastal strip do not cease.<\/p>\n With such cessation unlikely, casualty numbers will most assuredly increase.<\/p>\n Israel has called up 360,000 reservists, poised to begin a ground campaign into Gaza. Consistent with military strategy to meet terrorism with overwhelming force, past conflicts in the beleaguered 25-mile strip have previously produced striking totals, including 2014 clashes that resulted in 73 Israeli and 2,100 Palestinian deaths.<\/p>\n All the while, many Israelis have lived in fear. Since the September 2005 unilateral Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the Jewish Virtual Library has counted 334 terrorism deaths and at least 20,648 rockets and mortars launched into Israeli territory.<\/p>\n Amid the stark tallies, there are signs of balance between local believers across the ethnic divide. Christianity Today<\/em> interviewed three Messianic Jews, three Palestinian evangelicals, and two Gazan Christians currently outside their native strip.<\/p>\n \u201cThe level of hatred and evil displayed in these acts is truly shocking,\u201d said Eli Birnbaum, a branch director for Jews for Jesus in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. \u201cIt is unlike anything we have seen in decades and has deeply shaken the population.\u201d<\/p>\n Attacks in his neighborhood have been so intense, he said, that people are remaining indoors. In constant communication with family, friends, and 50 full-time staff members, he said his community is doing its best to stay connected and offer encouragement.<\/p>\n On the Saturday of the attack, Birnbaum\u2019s congregation came together to pray. Unsure of what to do, they distributed prayer sheets for the safe return of hostages. Some members simply lit candles.<\/p>\n Jews for Jesus collected supplies for displaced families and soldiers at the border.<\/p>\n At least one Messianic Jew has died for his nation. David Ratner was called<\/a> a war hero by his commander, saving the lives of five fellow soldiers as their post was stormed by 400 Hamas fighters. Shot in the neck, he continued in combat for the next eight hours.<\/p>\n Birnbaum counseled his children to stand strong against the desire for hatred. He challenged Israelis to seek justice without vengeance. And he asked everyone to remain genuinely concerned for Jew and Palestinian alike\u2014while praying for Gaza and its liberation from Hamas.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat can we do to represent the Lord as our nation is in crisis?\u201d he asked. \u201cPlease pray for us, that we choose wisely how to shine his light in a very dark place right now.\u201d<\/p>\n Grace Al-Zoughbi, a Palestinian theological educator, is also searching for his light.<\/p>\n \u201cThe church is trying to cling to any glimmers of hope it can find,\u201d she said. \u201cThe situation is deeply disturbing, the atrocities appalling.\u201d<\/p>\n She also was shocked by rocket fire, landing from the opposite direction near her home in Bethlehem. Families rushed to the grocery store to stock up on goods, fearful of escalation. Representative of an already struggling population under lockdown, she said the loss of tourism will further devastate the economy as the church seeks to help as much as possible.<\/p>\n Its immediate reaction was fervent prayer to end the conflict.<\/p>\n \u201cLord, take all the evil, smash it as glass, and grind it to nothing,\u201d Al-Zoughbi pleaded. \u201cIn this we hold our hope, that one day soon your ways will prevail.\u201d<\/p>\n She asked believers on both sides to be peacemakers. She asked international Christians to avoid \u201cevil misrepresentations.\u201d And for herself, she focused on Psalm 122: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May all who love you be secure.<\/em><\/p>\n Hanna Massad, the former pastor of Gaza Baptist Church, turned himself to the terse psalm that follows: Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us, for we have endured no end of contempt<\/em> (123:3).<\/p>\n Following 30 years of service as the first locally born pastor, Massad left after the 2007 violence that included attacks on his church and the kidnapping and murder of a youth worker in the affiliated Christian bookstore. He has experienced militancy firsthand, and understands the Israeli fear.<\/p>\n Now a United States citizen, in addition to weekly trauma counseling over Zoom and near daily interaction with church members, he takes three trips a year back to Gaza for aid distribution and overall encouragement.<\/p>\n His last visit ended two weeks ago, with slightly better Israeli treatment than normal, he says. Seeking reciprocity with the US for visa-less entry, border authorities have smoothed procedures for dual US-Palestinian citizens. Coming through Jericho, the security wait was only one hour this time.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are not treated with common dignity,\u201d Massad said, \u201cbut according to the document we carry.\u201d<\/p>\n For most Palestinians, he continued, it is with humiliation. Under blockade since 2007, 50 percent of the population of Gaza is unemployed, 65 percent live below the poverty line, and only 17,000 of 2.3 million people are allowed to seek work in Israel. The number vacillates according to changing policy, and their checkpoint treatment is far more intense. The rest are stuck.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a big prison,\u201d Massad said. “And usually, every visit finds things a little worse than before.\u201d<\/p>\n And now with the war, Israel has stated it will cut off Gaza\u2019s electricity and water supply. The frustration accumulates; while his father once hoped for a Palestinian state, Massad said he is now age 60 and wonders if it will ever happen. But local Christians do not support violence from either side.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not the dignity we are looking for,\u201d Massad said. \u201cOur example is Jesus. And whenever anyone truly encounters him, God fills that heart with love for all humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n Even when one\u2019s home is destroyed.<\/p>\nShared astonishment<\/h5>\n
Shared distance<\/h5>\n