It is an extremely difficult and dangerous time to be a child in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). On World Children’s Day (20 November), we consider the challenges they are facing and how SAT-7 is supporting young people and their families with prayer, advice, and the comforting message of God’s unceasing care. The statistics are heartbreaking. One in […]
Middle East Briefing – November 2023
Five weeks since Hamas attacked border communities in Israel with a savagery that shocked the world, Israel has carried out an intense bombardment of the Gaza strip in order to “crush and destroy” Hamas. A massive humanitarian crisis has unfolded in record time as a result. Israel says it is targeting the underground tunnels of Hamas and continues to accuse […]
Missing But Alive: Following a persecuted Saviour
By Aysha, a writer and film-maker from the Middle East, who was forced to leave her home country after she came to faith in Christ. She now lives in the UK, where she works with SAT-7 and other Christian networks on various communications projects. Jesus’ ministry was marked by persecution, culminating darkly in His crucifixion. On the morning of the […]
Churches in the firing line
Footage received by SAT-7 captures a heart-stopping moment when a blast outside a church sends shockwaves of fear through the families gathered inside. It shows how quiet prayers turn to gasps of alarm as the impact of the explosion is felt and heard. It seems that nobody inside the Holy Family Church in Gaza was injured, and the building did […]
Supporting viewers with mental health issues
This week was World Mental Health Day (10 October), and as cases of depression increase in the Middle East, SAT-7’s viewer support teams are on hand to offer advice, prayer, and professional help. Marianne Awaraji, SAT-7 ARABIC’s Audience Relations Manager, said that depression has been on the rise since the COVID-19 pandemic. “This resulted in increased domestic violence, isolation, and […]
Fight for peace with love and hope
SAT-7 CEO Rita El-Mounayer writes: For the last few days, I have been doing as you all have: watching the horrific scenes unfold across the Holy Land. I have felt that sick pit in my stomach, the very same one I have had before. Tonight, the world’s media is now talking about my homeland, Lebanon, as a “place of operations […]
Earthquake survivor thanks God in face of disaster
A man stands in front of a gigantic pile of rubble, fighting back tears as he speaks to a SAT-7 presenter via video call. His name is Omar, and behind him, collapsed into heaps, are buildings that once housed his mother, his aunt, and his neighbours. They died in their homes when central Morocco was shaken by a massive earthquake […]
The suffering of women in Iran: Hayat’s story
“This story is a microcosm of a world of injustice and wrong that is perpetrated against the girls and women of my nation.” As we mark one year since the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody in Iran, SAT-7 presents the true story of an Iranian woman that highlights the mistreatment and suffering of women and girls in the country. **This […]
The women-led uprising in Iran: One year on
A year ago this week, a 22-year-old Iranian woman left her hometown in the west of Iran to go shopping with some relatives in the country’s capital, Tehran. She never came home. As she left a train station in the afternoon, she was forced into a van belonging to the ‘morality police’, accused of wearing her hijab incorrectly. She was […]
Middle East Briefing – September 2023
News broke late on Friday night of a 6.8 magnitude earthquake in Morocco with an epicentre 70km south of Marrakesh. Then on Sunday, a powerful storm triggered devastating flooding in Libya, killing thousands. As days go on and the rescue and recovery operations continue, we will know the full scale of lives lost and the damage done. Destruction in Morocco’s […]