American pastor raises over $49K for Christians in Gaza
An American pastor says he and the charity networks he runs have raised tens of thousands of dollars to help Christians in Gaza as the Israel-Hamas war continues.
Pastor William Devlin, the missions pastor of the Infinity Bible Church in the South Bronx, has traveled to Gaza more than 30 times. He last visited Gaza in July, serving Christians at the three remaining churches in Gaza, including Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Baptist.
In an interview with The Christian Post, the pastor described the situation for Christians in Gaza as "perilous" following the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October. Out of 2.2 million people in Gaza, he said there are only about 1,000 followers of Christ.
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Devlin, who started traveling to Gaza to perform ministry work in 2010, runs the organizations REDEEM! and Widows & Orphans. As of late December, Widows & Orphans has raised over $49,000 for Gazan Christians in the war zone. The financial support for the relief fund comes from generous donors in the United States and 52 churches of varying denominations.
Devlin said getting financial assistance into Gaza requires it be first sent to the West Bank, where colleagues send the funds to Gaza. However, transferring the funds has been difficult due to the current conflict, he said.
"As soon as the banks in Western Union open up, we'll get that money over there to alleviate some of the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Jesus," he said.
"I stay in contact frequently with people in the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church," Devlin said. "Oftentimes it depends if the network is working and they are able to charge their phones since electricity is at a premium and often they cannot charge their phones, nor get on the internet or use WhatsApp."
Israel launched a military offensive in Gaza in response to an Oct. 7 surprise attack by Hamas terrorists in southern Israel that killed at least 1,200 people — most of whom were civilians, including at least 30 Americans. In its offensive, Israel seeks to eradicate Hamas, a terror group that has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, and free the over 240 hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7.
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Monday that over 22,000 people in Gaza have been killed and over 58,000 injured since the start of the war.
"May God protect our brothers and sisters in Jesus there in Gaza," Devlin said. "That's my hope and prayer."
Palestinian Christians caught up in the Israel-Hamas conflict reportedly face an increasingly "desperate" situation. Many of Gaza's displaced Christians have sheltered in the Roman Catholic Holy Family Church or the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrios.
In October, the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem said that a building on the compound of the Greek Orthodox Church that had been sheltering approximately 500 Palestinian Christians and Muslims was damaged by an Israeli airstrike.
While the IDF confirmed that a portion of the church had been damaged in an airstrike, it clarified that it had been targeting Hamas military compounds and not the church.
Holy Family Church was damaged by shrapnel from Israeli army strikes targeting nearby buildings in December.
Devilin, who won a Purple Heart serving in Vietnam, has been recognized for his tireless support of marginalized Christians around the world over the years. Last December, he received the President's Volunteer Service Award from the President's White House Council on Service and Civic Participation.
For the 18 countries that Devlin visits — including Egypt, Gaza, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Jordan — the pastor said he has a local team leader on the ground who speaks the language and tells Devlin when there is a need.
Devlin seeks to bring whatever aid is needed to the area or wires the money over if the need is urgent. He said that the volunteers he works with are people he has known for years, stressing that he has been traveling to Gaza for over 10 years.
"I know these people; I know their families," the Christian humanitarian worker said. "And they're going to give me families that they've already vetted, and that they can ensure to me that the money is going to help buy food, it's going to help buy medication."
The pastor questions why more faith leaders haven't ventured into Gaza, although he acknowledged that due to the current conflict, it is not safe to do so. He urged more faith leaders to travel to Gaza once it becomes possible to do so again.
"Why aren't more Christian leaders going into Gaza to help alleviate the sufferings of their brothers and sisters?" he asked. "How come we're not going in and being a blessing for them?"
Devlin insisted that faith leaders must go "into the world and preach the Gospel." The pastor added that one of his passions is to serve as a "living example" by traveling to war zones where followers of Jesus are "under siege."
"They need practical help; they need prayer," Devlin said about the Christians in Gaza. "They need to be blessed by your presence, just as Jesus did for us."
Regarding the calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, Devlin said that he would support one. However, he stressed that Hamas would not honor the terms of a ceasefire, citing the group's previous violation of such an agreement.
The missionary expressed some disappointment in the Israel Defense Forces, claiming that the Israeli military had not protected Gaza's three Christian churches as it promised. Referencing the allegation that an IDF sniper allegedly killed a mother and daughter at a Gaza Church last month, Devlin noted that the claim is still in dispute.
"Sadly, speaking as a combat veteran from the Vietnam conflict, the innocent in war always suffer the greatest losses on both sides of the conflict," Devlin said. "Now, that would be Gaza."
The pastor continues to call on the IDF to protect the Christian churches in Gaza and has offered to help with bringing relief supplies through Widows & Orphans.
