(Jerusalem, Israel) — After several days of intense fighting, a cease-fire is in now place between Israel and the “Islamic Jihad” terrorist faction in Gaza.

The truce, brokered by Egyptian intelligence, was set to begin at 5:30am local time. It was broken by the terrorists, but as of 3pm local time now appears to be holding.

“A spokesperson for the Israeli military said that around 450 rockets had been launched toward Israel during the recent escalation, of which 60% landed in open fields and 90% of the remainder were intercepted,” reported the Times of Israel.

In the face of this week’s fighting, I ask Christians around the world to pray for:

• calm and security to be fully restored on both sides of the border
• the Lord to comfort all Israelis and Palestinians who have been emotionally traumatized and physically wounded by the fighting
• the Lord to show mercy to the families of the 34 Palestinians killed in the fighting, 25 of whom were confirmed terrorists
• all Israeli and Palestinian children to be especially comforted — schools have been closed for the last three days and millions of kids have been huddled in basements and bomb shelters, alternately battling both fear and boredom
• the Jewish and Arab followers of Jesus in the Land to know how best to show compassion to their people and to have opportunities to be bold witnesses for the Lord — the people of this region so desperately need to know and experience the Good News of Jesus Christ.
• the Lord to give The Joshua Fund board and staff wisdom to know how best to be a blessing and comfort to those on both sides of the conflict.

Thanks so much. (For the latest updates and breaking news, please follow me on Twitter.)

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• Would you like to make a secure, tax deductible investment in The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.net)? This is the non-profit organization that my wife, Lynn, and I founded in 2006 to educate and mobilize Christians to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, to strengthen the Church in the Epicenter, to preach the Gospel and teach the Word of God, to care for the poor and needy in Israel (both Jews and Arabs) with food and other humanitarian relief, care for Holocaust survivors, and care for Syrian and Iraqi refugees and others. The Joshua Fund is a member in good standing of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Please click here to learn more. Thanks so much.