On the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (November 1), the experiences of...
After losing three members of their family to violence in Gaza, two sisters share their grief, their questions for God, and the faith that continues to sustain them. Their story reflects the suffering of one of the world’s oldest Christian communities and the uncertainty surrounding its future.
In the ruins of a home in Gaza, a young man searches for anything that belonged to his mother or grandmother. Whatever he finds, he treasures; it is all he has left of them.
His mother, Mary, and grandmother, Maysaa, were killed in October when an airstrike struck their home in Gaza. It was the second home they had lost to the war. Their original house had been destroyed, forcing them to move into a small, rented apartment just a few months earlier.
For those left behind, the loss is almost impossible to comprehend. Yet when Maysaa’s sisters, Rana and Maha, spoke on SAT-7 ARABIC’s You Are Not Alone program, they shared something remarkable: a faith that has survived unimaginable suffering, even when they cannot understand why it has happened.
Rana lives in Bethlehem, in the West Bank, and Maha lives in Germany. It’s a distance that kept the sisters apart for years, but it never diminished their closeness.
“We had a group chat,” Rana recalls. “Not a single day went by without our messaging one another. Maysaa would often write, “Where are you all? We haven’t heard from you today. Come on, where are you?”
“Towards the end,” she continues, “my sister really wanted to come and be reunited with us. She would say, ‘I wish I could be with you. I wish I could get out.’”
On the evening of the attack, the sisters exchanged messages, just as they had done countless times before. Just hours later, the remaining sisters heard the terrible news.
“I immediately tried to contact one of her neighbors,” says Rana. “I begged her to take a picture for me and kiss my sister on my behalf. It makes you ask, ‘Lord, where is the justice in this? Where is the justice in not being able to be with her and say goodbye?’ I know and believe that God is just, but in this situation, I find myself asking, ‘Where is the justice?’”
Maha shares the same anguish. “I wish I could have been beside her to say goodbye; at the very least, attend her funeral.”
Sadly, this was not the family’s first encounter with devastating loss.
In 2007, Maysaa’s brother, a Christian bookshop owner in Gaza, was killed because of his faith. Many years later, his son appeared on You Are Not Alone, sharing his decision to forgive those responsible.
Now, after almost two decades, the family is once again mourning loved ones taken by violence.
Perhaps the hardest thing for Rana and Maha is the loss of a future in which the sisters could be together. Instead, they are left asking questions that have no easy answers.
“We trust Him and believe in Him,” says Rana. “Our whole lives are dedicated to God. So why her? Why, after she had endured three years of hardship and suffering? We had thought the war was over. We thanked God that it had ended and that they would be safe and at peace. So why now?”
It is a raw and deeply human expression of grief. But what makes Rana’s testimony so moving is that she does not see these questions as a failure of faith.
“We may turn to God and ask Him, ‘Why?’ But that doesn’t mean we don’t believe in Him. We need to pour out our hearts and express our pain to Him.”
The family’s tragedy reflects a wider uncertainty about the future of Christianity in the land where it began.
A December 2025 report1 warned of growing threats to Christian communities across the Holy Land. Fewer than 600 Christians remained sheltering in Gaza’s two churches, while damaged homes, places of worship and livelihoods threatened the community’s future. Christians in the West Bank also face increasing pressures, with recent tensions2 adding to the insecurities facing communities across the region.
Amid such uncertainty, faith remains a source of strength. For Maysaa’s surviving sisters, it has been a lifeline.
“Honestly, I felt the Lord’s presence from the very first day,” Maha said. “At first, I was overwhelmed. But gradually, God drew near to us and strengthened us through people’s prayers.”
Rana speaks of the hope that continues to sustain her: “Their absence has left a tremendous pain in our hearts, and it is not easy. But our faith tells us that they are in the loving arms of Jesus.
“That is what comforts us. That is what strengthens us. That is what gives our lives meaning.”
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