“Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God.” Isaiah 40:1
After twenty-nine grueling days, “Protective Edge” came to an end. While there is a ceasefire in effect, The IDF must stay alert to the ever-present threat of terrorism. We now have a new reality of terror tunnels, which were created with the sole purpose of kidnapping and killing Israeli civilians from the communities bordering Gaza. The IDF neutralized 32 terror tunnels, of which, 14 came directly underneath Israel.
Over the course of the last month, Hamas fired 3,360 missiles into Israel, putting over 70% of the country’s population under fire. Of those, 2,303 missiles hit Israel, and from them, 115 hit populated areas. We thank God for His protection over the people of Israel, which prevented a large amount of casualties within the Land. We also thank God for the Iron Dome, which intercepted 584 rockets headed for densely populated areas.
Tragically, civilians in Gaza suffered greatly, and many were killed during the operation. The indisputable reality is that Hamas used them as human shields in the war, all the while refusing to stop attacking Israel, which brought about even more deaths of innocent people. They defiantly continued their attempts to infiltrate Israel in order to carry out terror attacks against Israelis.
In fact, during the time of the operation, Hamas exploited civilian infrastructure to shoot its rockets, and here are some of the numbers to prove this:
• Terrorists fired 597 rockets from civilian facilities in Gaza.
• Approximately 260 rockets were fired from schools.
• Approximately 160 rockets were fired from religious sites, including mosques.
• Approximately 127 rockets were fired from cemeteries.
• Approximately 50 rockets were fired from hospitals.
Hope for Israel continues its Operation Restoration ministry to help those affected by this war to recover and rebuild their lives. The needs continue despite the 72-hour ceasefire agreement. We still have about 100 people – 50 to 60 of them children – who fear returning to their homes due to the very real danger that still exists.
All together, we have evacuated over 300 people from two communities bordering Gaza, and have provided essentials for over 5,000 people throughout the country, including care packages for 2500 soldiers on the front lines.
This is an incredible opportunity to bring God’s comfort to those who are in need in the Land! So many Israelis have been blessed by this outreach of love…let’s continue to be His hand of mercy! Invest with us now, and know that your gifts will be used effectively, efficiently, and entirely to help those in Israel who continue to be harmed by this war.
Thank you for your support and please keep praying!
Moran and the HFI Team
PS: You can help by donation through our website by clicking here or by sending a check payable to:
Hope for Israel
925 N Courtenay Parkway
Merritt Island, FL 32953-4559