Gaza Strip (MNN) — Life in the
Gaza Strip is still extremely difficult. The residents live in severe poverty, although life has improved somewhat since
Israel sent some shipments of food and water. The Middle East director of E3 Partners, Tom Doyle, said the terrorists do
nothing to help their people.
"It's very difficult because of
food and water shortage, and because of the war and how many things were destroyed. A lot of people just don't have what they need in Gaza," Doyle said.
Doyle prays for other countries to send
aid to the Palestinians.
"We wish that surrounding nations
would help out. We hope that some of the other Muslim nations would help out the
Palestinians who are sitting there, in some cases, close to starvation," Doyle
said.
Residents of the Gaza Strip not
only live in poverty, they are surrounded by violence. They often cannot even run errands to get
basic supplies without running into fighting between different terrorist
groups.
"The violence is
the result of various Islamic groups fighting each other in Gaza," Doyle explained. "Islamic jihad, Hamas, Palestinian authority,
Fatah, all fight one another, and the people pay for it. So it's not just the war between
Palestinian fundamentalists and Israel; there's war within the Palestinian
community between the various terrorist groups that are fighting each other. And the people live in the midst of this, so
it's a difficult existence. It's just extremely challenging."
When Hamas took control of the
Gaza Strip, it promised to do all kinds of humanitarian improvements, such as
improving the roads, improving the schools, and building hospitals. So far, none of those
promises have been fulfilled.
"Unfortunately, because the
government in Gaza is led by terrorists, their heart is not with the people,"
Doyle explained. "They have one goal: to destroy Israel. So there really isn't a care or concern how the people are
suffering, and that's just a shame."
Many Christians and Muslims in
the area are frustrated with the government's behavior. They believe Hamas knew its time was running
short because the people would only tolerate the conditions for so long. They say that's why Hamas lured Israel into a
war by firing 10,000 missiles into the country.
"Now they're popular again," Doyle
said. "They are viewed as the defenders of
the Palestinians. Many Palestinians that
we know, both Muslims and Christians, are very frustrated with the leadership in
Gaza and are praying for a new direction."
Christians are still holding
strong in Gaza. They pray for the end of
the rule of Hamas, and they need our prayers, says Doyle.
"The church is definitely in the
midst of the epicenter of Gaza. They are meeting, praying and sharing God's Word
around Gaza. We pray for them, for their
perseverance, for their strength and boldness in the midst of this difficult
time."
