UPDATE: CBN REPORTS: President Joe Biden arrived in Israel today, where he received thanks from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for giving his nation “the tools we need to defend ourselves.” Meanwhile, Israel’s military says the world must hold Islamic Jihad accountable, rather than blaming the IDF for a misfired rocket that landed in a Gaza parking lot near a hospital. Read more on the war here.

October 18, 2023 | Read time: 6 minutes | Read online
Palestinians check the place of the explosion at al-Ahli hospital, in Gaza City, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. The Hamas-run Health Ministry says an Israeli airstrike caused the explosion that killed hundreds at al-Ahli, but the Israeli military says it was a misfired Palestinian rocket. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled)
Palestinians check the place of the explosion at al-Ahli hospital, in Gaza City, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. The Hamas-run Health Ministry says an Israeli airstrike caused the explosion that killed hundreds at al-Ahli, but the Israeli military says it was a misfired Palestinian rocket. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled)

Hospital blast in Gaza kills hundreds

President Joe Biden arrived in Israel this morning to show support for Israel. His trip comes less than a day after a horrific blast at Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza, which was sheltering thousands of displaced people when it was bombed. More than five hundred people were killed.

Palestinian officials blamed Israeli airstrikes, but the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) “categorically” denied any involvement in the attack, blaming a “failed rocket launch” by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a rival militant group in Gaza. President Biden likewise assigned blame to “the other team,” not Israel. Independent analysts who reviewed footage of the explosion also supported the IDF’s denial.

Meanwhile, a different kind of conflict is continuing in American society. Many critics of Israel have claimed for many years that they “colonized” their land from its rightful Palestinian owners and that the state continues to “oppress” the Palestinians. This explains the support voiced on many university campuses and in cultural centers for Hamas after their October 7 atrocities.

So let’s ask: Who are the Palestinians? Did Israel steal their land? Is their plight in Gaza Israel’s fault? How should Christians view them today?

Continue reading >
NOTE: Bold Faith, our latest book release, follows the book of Acts because there we find clear examples of Christ’s continued work through Christians as a result of the Spirit’s influence in their lives. As a Christian, that same Spirit resides just as much in your life. But if we have the same Holy Spirit in us as they did, why does it often seem like we struggle to have the same impact on our culture today? Read more by requesting your copy of Bold Faith today.
Featured resources

1. When your children ask hard questions about conflict in the Middle East, what will you say?

Parents and grandparents may feel overwhelmed and underprepared when it comes to talking about the ongoing crisis in Israel, but children are still affected by what they see and hear—and they often see and hear much more than we think, especially in our media-saturated culture.

So how much should you share? How can you educate yourself on the conflict to speak confidently about it? To speak biblically about it? And how can we encourage our children to make a difference where they live even when war seems so far away?

Steph Thurling, Executive Director of Christian Parenting, talks with Denison Ministries CEO Dr. Jim Denison. Together, they offer keen biblical insight and practical ways to talk about this crisis with your children and grandchildren.

Listen to and share this podcast > > >

2. “The most dangerous time the world has seen in decades”

Jamie Dimon is the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, the nation’s largest bank; the New York Times calls him “as close as Wall Street has to a statesman.” He is in the news because of a statement he made accompanying his bank’s quarterly earnings last Friday: “This may be the most dangerous time the world has seen in decades.”

Read more from yesterday’s Daily Article > > >

3. How to love God and love others well

We recently released our first self-paced online course: The Greatest Commandment. In this new resource, you’ll learn why Jesus linked loving God with loving others—and how you can better exercise each of those aspects of your faith.

Start your journey today > > >

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.