Even if you have never heard of Samaritan’s Purse, you have likely seen images of children around the world receiving their red and green Christmas shoe boxes filled with little gifts and hygiene products. 

Every year, children in more than 100 nations receive the boxes at Christmastime. While Samaritan’s Purse Vice President Ken Isaacs says he would like to one day see children in Gaza opening their own Christmas shoe boxes, â€œwe may be a while off from that happening.”  

It has been about two months since Isaacs was last in Gaza, and about a month since the ceasefire took effect and Israeli troops were pulled back to the designated “yellow line.” Right now, it remains unclear who will rule Gaza, but Samaritan’s Purse hopes to one day reenter and again provide aid to the people there.  

Samaritan’s Purse arrived in Israel on Oct. 10, 2023, three days after the Hamas terrorist attack that left 1,200 people in Israel dead. The humanitarian group later entered into Gaza and partnered with groups, such as the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, to distribute needed aid.  

On trips into Gaza, Isaacs said Palestinians were afraid Hamas was going to kill them for visiting the distribution sites for food.  

Despite the fear, thousands of Palestinians arrived at the sites daily where Samaritan’s Purse was helping to distribute food and other resources during the two-year war between Israel and Hamas. While Isaacs says there was fear, there was also great gratitude among locals for the help.  

Palestinians were “thanking us for being there, thanking America, thanking President [Donald] Trump,” Isaacs, who was most recently in Gaza in September, said.  

Amid the ceasefire that went into effect in October, Isaacs says he is concerned “every day that goes by now, Hamas consolidates their position and grows stronger, and it breaks my heart to be aware that Hamas has built their military position out of a pattern of victimizing the Palestinians.” 

The U.N. continues to conduct aid operations in Gaza, and Samaritan’s Purse is funneling aid to partner organizations inside Gaza for distribution. When it is safe to do so, Isaacs says the Christian humanitarian group hopes to reenter Gaza to provide medical aid, food, and shelter to those in need.  

The phase of the peace deal, which is based on President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan, between Israel and Hamas is expected to include the disarmament of Hamas and the official end to the war. The timing of these actions remains unclear.  

In the meantime, Samaritan’s Purse is working in more than 20 nations around the world amid international emergency situations, including Ukraine.  

Working with churches in Ukraine, Samaritan’s Purse is providing needed aid and resources to those on the front lines.  

The Samaritan’s Purse model, as Isaacs explains, is based on the biblical parable of the â€œgood Samaritan” in the Gospel of Luke and is providing the practical needs to those in need.  

Now in his 70s, Isaacs has spent over 30 years serving the poor and needy through the work of Samaritan’s Purse and has traveled to about 150 nations to provide humanitarian assistance. His call to serve others began when he was in his 30s and chose to go on a trip to West Africa to drill a well.  

“I came back [and] I had this feeling in me—I felt called to the world,” Isaacs said, adding that his wife thought he was crazy, explaining his family was from a single county in North Carolina.  

“We weren’t international people at all, but I prayed for about 18 months about, ‘if you’ll open a door, I’ll go through it, and the door opened.’”  

Isaacs has now traveled to about 150 nations to deliver humanitarian assistance to those in need. He recounts his experiences of serving the needy around the world in his new book, “Running to the Fire.” 

“It’s a memoir of the things that I have seen in my life that I can testify to first person that God has done in some of the wildest circumstances that you could imagine in the world, from wars and genocides to earthquakes and, famines and epidemics,” he said. “Through all of it, I can say that I have, even in the times of great darkness, I’ve seen [the] miracles that God does.”  

The post Future of Gaza: Humanitarian Group Eager to Reenter and Serve Thankful Palestinians   appeared first on The Daily Signal.