Praying for Peace and Justice on August 31, 2025
God of truth and compassion, we thank you for the lives of the Palestinian journalists who bear witness in Gaza. We give thanks for their courage, for their voices, photos and videos that carry stories of genocide and resilience to the world, and for their sacrifice in the pursuit of truth. Hold their families in Your embrace, granting comfort in grief and strength in sorrow. Let their memory be a blessing, their words seeds of justice, and their witness a call to peace.
And going forward God, please help us, your people to be ready for truth. And help us, your children and your agents, to reflect your love and grace. Help us stop these horrors and provide protection for those who risk their lives to tell the truth. May it be so.
Background
This past week, an initial Israeli airstrike hit an upper floor of the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza. As journalists and rescue workers rushed to the scene, a second precision-targeted missile struck an external stairwell which was frequently used by journalists. This so-called “double-tap” airstrike killed at least 20 people, including at least five young, skilled and committed Palestinian journalists. While President Trump stated that he was “not happy about it,” the U.S. did not condemn the strike.
According to the United Nations and the Committee to Protect Journalists, Israel has killed nearly 200 Palestinian journalists in the past two years. That is more dead journalists than the total killed during the Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the war in Afghanistan combined.
I’m not suggesting that the lives of journalists are worth more than those of the other 63,000 killed in Gaza to date. But, because Israel has a blockade on international journalists in Gaza, only the words and photographs from these courageous Palestinian journalists have revealed the loathsome catastrophes of that conflict. Given the dangers facing journalists in Gaza, I find it astounding that we get any news at all.