Reactions from evangelical Christians in France, UK, Spain, Germany, and the European Evangelical Alliance.
Israeli forces on Saturday 7 October 2023, the day Hamas launched a massive attack against Israel. / Photo: [link]Israel government Press Office[/link].
Since Hamas launched a surprise attack to Israel from Gaza on Saturday, at last 900 Israelis and 700 Palestinians have reportedly been killed.
The number of people wounded on both sides is now over 6,000, while more than one hundred Israelis continue captured, according to Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen. Over 137,000 Palestinians are taking cover at UN shelters in Gaza.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said early Tuesday that it carried out dozens more airstrikes on overnight, with fighter jets hitting “200 targets”. Israel had already mobilised 300,000 reservists, which could launch an incursion into the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli Defence minister, Yoav Gallant, ordered a “complete siege” of the already blockaded Gaza strip, cutting off supplies of food, electricity, water and fuel.
Meanwhile, Hamas threatened to begin executing hostages in response to Israeli strikes in Gaza carried out without warnings, the spokesperson for Hamas’s Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades said. A Hamas official also said they are open to discuss a truce with Israel, Reuters reported.
Evangelical Christians have also raised their voices, mainly calling for peace and prayers.
“We lament all victims and pray for comfort for the families of those who mourn loved ones”, said the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) in a statement on 9 October.
The evangelical entity condemns “rejoicing at any killing including on the basis of religion or race” and encourages “all efforts for de-escalating violence and working towards a just and lasting peace”.
“We call on believers around the globe to pray for peace and understanding, emphasising that a just peace depends on actions as much as on thinking and speaking in a way that promotes peace”.
They also call to pray “for the Israeli and the Palestinian people–for their safety and well-being and that they may have a long-lasting, just peace in the holy land”.
The European Evangelical Alliance (EEA) “fully supports” the statement of the WEA, and also expresses its “concern about the increasing number of antisemitic incidents in Europe”, calling on “all people of good will to fight antisemitism and be peacemakers in their own neighbourhood”.
The German Evangelical Alliance has also condemned the attacks against Israel. “We hope and pray that this war will not spread any further, but that it can be ended quickly. From a human point of view, there seem to be no solutions at the moment. All the more we want to stand in prayer and pray for the peace and protection of Jerusalem - to the God to whom nothing is impossible”, they said.
“It is important that we demonstrate our cohesion and our support for Israel, especially at this time”, the evangelical body says, as it shared a bank account to give financial support: “Through direct contacts of many years' standing, we are able to help in a targeted, direct and very efficient way without great administrative effort”.
The morning after the attack, the National Council of Evangelicals in France (CNEF) also released a statement “to express our solidarity with the people of Israel and support France's condemnation of this attack on Israel and its citizens”.
“Above and beyond any political considerations, we call on society as a whole to condemn the violence and murder that nothing justifies”, underlines the CNEF.
French evangelical leaders urge “our members and everyone to continue to pray for peace in the Middle East, and for all the parties involved”.
The CNEF also expresses its solidarity with the Evangelical Alliances in the Middle East and Israel, and the Council of Evangelical Churches in the Holy Land, “which have been working for peace and reconciliation for many years”.
In the UK, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York said they are “grieved and deeply concerned" and "unequivocally condemn the attacks by Hamas”.
According to the Archbishops, “the way forward must be for both sides to build confidence in a secure future We pray for restraint on all sides, and renewed efforts towards a just peace for all”.
Meanwhile, Gavin Calver, head of the UK Evangelical Alliance (EAUK), which unites evangelical Christians, posted on X (formerly Twitter): “Having been to Israel and Palestine just a month ago, I find myself even more impacted than normal. Praying for peace to be restored and for those on all sides impacted by this conflict and grieving for lost loved ones. Lord have mercy”.
Awful images on the news today. Having been to Israel & Palestine just a month ago I find myself even more impacted than normal. Praying for peace to be restored & for those on all sides impacted by this conflict & grieving for lost loved ones. Lord have mercy ? pic.twitter.com/w6BkzPbzna
— Gavin Calver (@GavCalver) October 7, 2023
In Spain, the Federation of Evangelical Religious Entities (Ferede) has expresed "dismay and concern about the war between Israel and Hamas" and their "solidarity to the Israeli population as a whole, to its authorities, and particularly to the victims of the attack and their families". "We express our most energetic repudiation of the Hamas attack and reiterate our rejection of terrorism in all its forms and spaces, whatever its ideological, political or (pseudo) religious foundations," the Protestant entity says.
Ferede also speaks of solidarity "with the Palestinian population of Gaza, with their suffering and their longing to live in peace and freedom", which it considers "kidnapped today mainly by the criminal tyranny of Hamas". In this sense, they call on the Israeli government, "to conduct itself in this war, however difficult it may be, with the restraint, exemplarity and moderation befitting a democratic state".
[analysis][title] US, France, Germany, Italy and the UK [/title][photo] 
[/photo][text]The governments of France, Germany, Italy, the U.K. and the US released a joint statement late on Monday 9 October to support Israel and condem the attack by Hamas militants.
“There is never any justification for terrorism. In recent days, the world has watched in horror as Hamas terrorists massacred families in their homes, slaughtered over 200 young people enjoying a music festival, and kidnapped elderly women, children, and entire families, who are now being held as hostages”, the political leaders of these countries stressed.
They recognise the “legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people, and support equal measures of justice and freedom for Israelis and Palestinians alike”, but “make no mistake: Hamas does not represent those aspirations”.
[/text][/analysis][donate]
Las opiniones vertidas por nuestros colaboradores se realizan a nivel personal, pudiendo coincidir o no con la postura de la dirección de Protestante Digital.
Si quieres comentar o