[Today’s Prayer] 20,000 dead in Gaza... “The greatest damage suffered by the Arab world in 40 years.”

It has been more than 10 weeks since the war between Israel and the Palestinian armed faction Hamas. The number of deaths reported in the Gaza Strip so far is approximately 20,000, which is said to be the greatest damage suffered by the Arab world due to the war with Israel since 1982.

According to foreign media on the 21st (local time), the Gaza Strip's Ministry of Health said in a statement the previous day, "More than 20,000 people have died in the Gaza Strip since the outbreak of war on October 7." Among the dead, over 8,000 were children and over 6,000 were women.

The New York Times (NYT) said, “The Gaza War is considered the deadliest war for Palestinians in 75 years since the founding of the State of Israel,” and “If the numbers in the Gaza Strip are accurate, the number of deaths due to the current conflict exceeds the number of people who died in the first three months in the initial Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982,” the report said.

In June 1982, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) invaded Lebanon and blockaded Beirut, but withdrew after three months after pressure from the international community. The official death toll was about 19,000, but the Palestinians claimed that about 50,000 people died. The number of Israeli military deaths was less than 400.

Even if we look at previous wars fought between Israel and the Arab world, the scale of damage in the war currently underway in the Gaza Strip is enormous.

(Omitted)

However, considering that the war in Gaza is still ongoing and that the missing and dead buried in the rubble are not accurately identified, the number of deaths is expected to increase further.

Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), said, “It is possible that many of the people missing in the rubble will be confirmed dead,” adding, “Even if the bombings stop today, the death toll will likely rise.”

Source: News1

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34-35)

Lord, who loves Israel and Palestine with all Your life, would You have mercy upon this land where countless people are dying every day without knowing You because of this war with no end in sight.

Would You listen to the endless news of death and the ever-deepening pain of this land, and let this land be filled with the great love of Jesus, who willingly gave up His life to save Israel and Palestine from the power of death.

Let everyone who hears of the amazing love come to the cross of the Lord, rejoice in Jesus overcoming the power of death, and praise out loud the love of the cross.

We want Israel and Palestine to joyfully keep the new commandments that the Lord gave us before He went to the cross.

Just as the Lord loved us with all His life, may Israel and Palestine now be reconciled through the cross and love each other. May all peoples and nations see this amazing love and know that they are disciples of Jesus!

May Israel and Palestine be restored as a nation of priests leading the praise of the nations, and through them, may all nations see the glory of Jesus Christ!