[Today's Prayer] "Let the world know how miserable it is"... The Desperate Evacuation Route of Gaza City

Mattresses, blankets, clothes, and kitchenware are piled high on a worn-out truck. Dozens of people, from children to the elderly, sit precariously, leaning on each other. Next to the truck, where water jugs hang in rows, two men, unable to find a seat due to lack of money, trudge along, each carrying a white bundle on their shoulders.

The New York Times (NYT) published a photograph on the 19th (local time) depicting the desperate situation of the evacuation route in Gaza City, the largest city in the Gaza Strip, Palestine.

The image of residents displaced by Israeli attacks loading their homes onto worn-out trucks and heading south, with their future uncertain, symbolically portrayed their miserable reality. The NYT reported that a woman on board pleaded with reporters, "Please photograph us so you can show the world how miserable we are."

The Israeli military has been conducting intensive firefights on Gaza City since launching a ground operation on the 15th.

According to UN figures, more than 250,000 people fled the city last month alone. Since the Israeli offensive intensified, tens of thousands have fled daily. UN officials reported that approximately 60,000 people fled in a 72-hour period earlier this week.

Israeli military authorities estimate that 450,000 civilians have fled Gaza City under evacuation orders.

On the 18th, the Guardian reported that a stream of refugees swarmed the narrow coastal road in the Gaza Strip, trying to escape the burning city.

The Israeli military designated the Al-Rashid coastal road as a civilian evacuation route, but the road was jammed with trucks carrying cargo and refugees, causing severe congestion. With transportation costs soaring, some people were forced to walk, carrying their luggage and young children.

(Omitted)

Many areas of Gaza City, once bustling, have already been reduced to uninhabitable ruins, the Guardian reported.

On the 17th, the Israeli military opened a second evacuation route through the heart of Gaza City to encourage people to leave.

Shadi Jawad, who used this route, described the situation as "indescribable." "There were crowds everywhere, explosions were heard, and women and men were crying and screaming as people walked with their luggage."

(Omitted)

In this desperate situation, where Gazans were on the brink of life and death, the Israeli Finance Minister's remarks brought the tragic plight of Gaza City into sharper focus.

At a conference on urban regeneration in Tel Aviv on the 17th, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich described Gaza as a "real estate bonanza," saying, "The first stage of urban regeneration—demolition—is already complete. Now we just need to build."

The Gaza Strip, reduced to ashes, appears to the Israeli finance minister as a potential gold mine for development.

Source: Yonhap News

Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come; you have given the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge. (Psalm 71:3,15)

Since the Israeli military began airstrikes on Gaza City on the 15th, tens of thousands of Gaza residents have fled the city every day. We hear that 450,000 people have left Gaza City so far.

God, please look upon the plight of the Gaza residents who have already lost their homes in two years of war and are now fleeing their beloved cities to an unknown destination.

Faced with a situation beyond words, those in Gaza plead for photographs to be taken so the world can see them living in a miserable reality. May the Lord be with them and grant them a place and moment of refuge.

While the Israeli government, represented by the Israeli Minister of Finance, turns its back on the plight of the Gaza people and closes its eyes, seeing Gaza as nothing more than a gold mine for development profits, may the Lord lead the global church and the Israeli church to condemn the Israeli government's greed and proclaim God's first calling for Israel to be a blessing to all nations.

May the Israeli-Palestinian church unite to help the displaced and impoverished souls in Gaza, and may they proclaim the love of Jesus, the immeasurable justice, and salvation of the Lord all the day.

May the souls in Gaza receive the hope of God's kingdom and rise as disciples of the Lord Jesus to spread the gospel to all nations!