A lot has happened in the Israel-Hamas war over the last two months, though a ceasefire expected since May has yet to emerge. As the one-year anniversary of the current conflict rapidly approaches, the suffering continues with no foreseeable end – and people in the wider region, particularly in Lebanon, live under the constant threat of further escalation.
Churches appeal
Patriarchs and church leaders in Jerusalem confronted the ongoing suffering by repeating their urgent call for an end to the war, including the release of captives, return of displaced people, urgent aid, and “the rebuilding of all public and private civilian structures”. “Just as importantly,” they urged diplomacy leading to “a just and lasting peace” through “an internationally legitimate two-state solution”.
Their calls for peace come as the World Health Organisation confirmed the first case of polio in a baby in Gaza for over 25 years. This has led to temporary, localised ceasefires in order for the UNHCR and humanitarian organisations to start to vaccinate around 640,000 children from the paralysis-causing disease.
Earlier last month, senior Evangelical leaders from across the region also made a notable appeal to Western Christians. They asked them to meet, “engage” and “unite” with them and bridge “a discernible missional gap” between East and West. The 20 Palestinian, Egyptian, Jordanian, Lebanese, Syrian, and Iraqi leaders had Gaza and the Israel-Palestine conflict in mind when they called on their western counterparts to “listen to our stories” and understand the “complex socio-political dynamics” of the region. “Lamenting the silence” of some churches over the suffering in Gaza, they appealed for partnerships that would strengthen the Church’s outreach and peace-making and demonstrate the power of the Gospel in a “fractured world”.
As the tiny Christian population in Gaza struggles for survival, Christians in the West Bank are also fearing for their future. “If we focus too much on the political horizon, we will just pack up and leave,” said Sami el-Yousef of the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem. “We have to think carefully about what we do in future, but I am sure the Christian presence will survive and the Church has to be present with its institutions.”
Lebanon fears
The conflict on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon also remains. Israel’s assassination of one of Hezbollah’s top commanders in response to a rocket attack that killed 12 children and teenagers in the Golan Heights increased fears of all-out war. SAT-7’s Audience Relations Manager, Marianne Awaraji, shared the challenge to manage her own fears and how the channel is seeking to support Lebanese viewers already overwhelmed by the collapse of the economy and events including the 2020 Beirut port explosion. Marianne shared: “Perhaps God has placed all of us at SAT-7 for such a time as this, to be a voice for those who cannot speak, to bring the hope of Christ to a region that has lost hope for a better future.”
The broadcaster’s You Are Not Alone programme spoke to residents of two Christian-majority towns close to the border. In Rmeich, a field hospital entirely funded by the community has been readied for any injured in the conflict. Around half of the 12,000 population have moved to Beirut for safety, healthcare or with UN jobs.
SAT-7’s Arabic channel also aired a special episode of Voice of the Church, lifting up prayers from across the Middle East to offer comfort to those in Lebanon. Elie Elkhweiry, a pastor from Grace and Truth Baptist Church in Dekweneh, Lebanon, reminded viewers of the power of God to bring peace and transformation to Lebanon and the wider region:
“We pray according to your will that you do great things in this country and in the world. Use us to pray and to worship you. We have faith that you can do great things and make changes. Lord, give us peace. Despite the war, give us faith that you will not leave us.”
Famine and floods
The conflict in Sudan continues amid both famine and floods, where last week three international aid organisations said the nation was facing “a starvation crisis of historic proportions”. A recent episode of SAT-7 ARABIC programme Different Angle revealed how, despite intense difficulties, the Church is helping. “The situation is terrible and unbearable,” said Pastor Koko from the Anglican Church in Sudan. The conflict there, which broke out in April 2023, has forced around nine million people from their homes. Schools are often used to shelter refugees, and in some cases, up to 80 people are housed in one classroom.
“Sudan has been going through catastrophes, and they have affected society, economy, and all other aspects of life,” said Pastor Koko. The Church in Sudan is doing all it can to help people with various needs. “Our church provides a holistic ministry that includes education, health services, and more,” said Pastor Koko.
Different Angle also heard from Pastor Yasser Kalo from All Saints Cathedral in Cairo, Egypt. He shared how his church has been receiving refugees from Sudan and offering them an education. “The people who pay the price of war are children,” he explained. “It is challenging for them to join schools. Their numbers have become so large. The church has supplied basic education for all children so they may not lose a year of schooling.”
Pastor Kalo’s church is helping to meet people’s physical needs by providing food and drink and also by providing emotional and spiritual support for those who are traumatised and grieving.
Taking to the polls
In North Africa, two countries are holding presidential elections. Algeria went to the polls on Saturday. Only three candidates were allowed to stand: incumbent President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, a secular party candidate with strong support among the Amazigh community, and a moderate Islamic candidate. Tebboune’s decision to bring the election forward from December gave others little time to organise and few were surprised that he won a landslide vote, albeit on a low turnout. Tebboune is seen as an ally of the old, army-backed regime which was forced to order his predecessor, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, to quit in 2019 after mass protests. Since then, demonstrators have not seen the political reforms they campaigned for. Although Tebboune has used energy income to give young adults unemployment benefits for the first time, dissent and freedom of expression have been stamped on. “Algeria has experienced a steady erosion of human rights” according to Amnesty’s deputy Middle East and North Africa director. For Christians this has included the closure of all but eight of Algeria’s Evangelical churches.
Tunisians are due to go to the polls in a month’s time. In a nation that was seen as a beacon of hope for the region after it became the first “Arab Spring” country, the progress towards democracy has also stalled. Only two opposition candidates to incumbent President Saied have been approved to run. This is despite Tunisia’s top court saying that three others who have been barred should be allowed to stand. Since being elected in 2019 President Saied has suspended parliament and concentrated power in his hands.
Tightened restrictions
Three years after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, their restrictions on women have been tightened even further by a new set of draconian laws. On 21 August the Ministry for the promotion of virtue and prevention of vice issued rules ordering women to cover their bodies completely if they leave the house and forbidding them from singing or reading aloud in public or letting their voices carry beyond the walls of their homes. After failing to gain recognition from the international community, a seat at the United Nations, or the unfreezing of central bank funds, Afghanistan’s rulers have abandoned their early promises of allowing women a measure of the freedom they enjoyed for the previous two decades. Despite the harsh new rules, a number of courageous women have posted videos online of themselves singing in protest.
On a more positive note, the country is at peace for the first time in many years and a ban on poppy production for the heroin trade has seen it fall by 95 per cent. SAT-7’s Persian channel has also introduced a new Dari-language programme for the 3.7 million Afghan children out of school. Serving a country where only 23 per cent of women are literate, Sun of Hope will teach basic literacy skills as well as critical thinking. Pray for this and for SAT-7’s other Dari-language programmes that give specific support to Afghan viewers.