Israel (MNN) — Conflict soars today in Israel as the national defense trades rocket fire with Hamas terrorists.
Islamic militants in Gaza and Lebanon fired rockets into Israel yesterday following an Israeli airstrike and arrests on Wednesday. The largest volley of rockets from Lebanon since 2006 injured three people and damaged several buildings in northern Israel.
Today, known to believers as Good Friday, overlaps Passover and day 16 of Ramadan. “The three faiths that have an attachment to Jerusalem are in conflict right now, and we’re seeing it played out on the news,” Uncharted Ministries co-founder Tom Doyle says.
(Photo courtesy of Raimond Klavins/Unsplash)
Hundreds of Palestinians armed with clubs and fireworks barricaded themselves in Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque as Passover began. Israeli police detained 350 agitators.
“Threats from surrounding Muslim nations are given to the Palestinians saying, ‘The Jews are going to take over the Temple Mount, they’re going to kick everybody out of the Al-Aqsa Mosque,’” Doyle explains.
“That’s the last thing that Israel wants to do. They’re surrounded by Muslim nations. They don’t want to bring problems on themselves.”
At the same time, “the believers in the midst of this are in an impossible situation,” Doyle says.
“Orthodox Jews detest Christians and don’t want them sharing the Gospel. Muslim background believers in Gaza [are] already in hiding because they know what’s going to happen during this week.”
The best thing you can do right now? Pray. “Pray for believers on both sides, Jews and those who have come from a Muslim background. It’s costly to live there (in Israel) during this time of year,” Doyle says.
“The physical war on the ground is a mere reflection of the spiritual war raging in the heavens.”
Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Taylor Brandon/Unsplash.
