In a country facing war on two fronts, the Christian aid group Samaritan’s Purse is making a big impact.
From building armored ambulance stations to promising a new trauma recovery center on the spot, the U.S.-based Christian humanitarian aid group is stepping into dangerous areas to help people still living with fear every day.
Edward Graham, chief operating officer of Samaritan’s Purse and grandson of Rev. Billy Graham, spent June 2 visiting Israel’s tense northern and southern borders.
He met with survivors, soldiers, medics and local leaders still trying to recover from recent attacks by Hezbollah and Hamas.
“We go where other people don’t or won’t,” Graham said during a visit to Arab al-Aramshe, a northern Israeli village hit by Hezbollah missiles and drones. “Not just because we love you, but because God loves you.”
Before arriving, Graham flew low over the Jordan River Valley, just beyond the West Bank.
“These communities were hit up here, and they are also forgotten about,” he said. “But Samaritan’s Purse hasn’t forgotten them. We’ve got great relationships with local community leaders and churches in the area. These people are hurting. That’s why we’re here — to let Israel know they’re not forgotten. And God bless them.”
Arab al-Aramshe is still picking up the pieces after a deadly drone strike blew the roof off the local community center and killed a man who was trying to protect it. Shrapnel still scars the building. Samaritan’s Purse is building a new ambulance station in the nearby town of Shlomi to serve Arab al-Aramshe and surrounding communities.
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“We’re delivering ambulances throughout Israel to support communities like this one,” Graham said. “We’re also building ambulance exchange points, safe places where medical teams can store ambulances and respond to emergencies. It’s about restoring confidence so people feel safe enough to move back.”
“This was a dead zone filled with alarm every day,” said Moshe Davidovitz, mayor of the Matte Asher Regional Council and head of the Northern Conflict Zone Forum. “We don’t just want to fix the place. We want to grow the place … but we need to be able to provide some safety.
“Thousands of people evacuated,” Davidovitz added. “They are refugees in their own country. While they were gone, they didn’t know what happened to their home, to their dogs, everything they left behind.”
That safety is arriving in the form of 42 armored ambulances donated by Samaritan’s Purse to Israel’s national emergency service, Magen David Adom (MDA). One of them has already been assigned to Arab al-Aramshe.
Ali Wahid, a senior medic in the area, said the new ambulance makes a big difference.
“We are not afraid to respond. But now we will feel safe when we respond,” he said.
After visiting the north, Graham flew south over the Gaza Strip toward Israel’s southern border.
“Hamas came out and attacked the communities down here,” he said. “Jewish and Arab communities were hit. Today I’m seeing another ambulance exchange point location. There are still a lot of displaced people. We want to bring back confidence and security, so people can come home.”
In Nir Oz, a kibbutz where one in four residents were either kidnapped or murdered during Hamas’ brutal October 2024 attack, the damage is still overwhelming. Houses are burned and shattered. Posters show the faces of loved ones, including baby Kfir Bibas and 83-year-old grandfather Oded Lifshitz, both killed by Hamas.
“This is where they burned houses, pulled children from their parents, murdered babies,” Graham said, standing in the ruins.
“You see the pictures of the people who are no longer here. Explosions have been going off the whole time I’ve been in this village. But the leaders here are rebuilding. They want to bring people back this summer. And Samaritan’s Purse just committed to help with a community clinic and resilience center.”
Mayor Michal Uziyahu of the Eshkol region walked Graham through the destruction. Her region lost 244 people Oct 7. Half of the hostages still held by Hamas come from her communities.
“Seventy percent of the massacre happened here,” she said. “Every fourth person was either murdered or kidnapped.”
Still, she insists the region will not be defined by terror.
“We are determined to make sure that the tragedy won’t define us,” Uziyahu said. “This place will be filled with life again. The thing terrorists fear most isn’t tanks or fighter jets. It’s the sound of children laughing in our streets.”
Graham, moved by what he saw, offered a simple message.
“There’s been so much pain, murder and brokenness here,” he said. “But I’ve talked to the survivors and asked if they carry hate. And they don’t. They still love their neighbors. They want peace. I don’t even understand that myself. But I ask everyone, please keep praying for Israel. They need your prayers and our support.”
Samaritan’s Purse is building a resilience center in the Eshkol region and another in the nearby Merhavim area, home to about 4,000 children, many of whom have experienced devastating trauma.
“We never define ourselves through the tragedy,” Uziyahu said. “We define ourselves with life and hope.”
Along with the trauma centers, Samaritan’s Purse is building two EMS stations, one near the Gaza border, where residents bled to death during the October attacks because medics couldn’t reach them in time.
The group is also installing 25 bomb shelters across Israel, 11 in the north and 14 in the south.
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In the north, Graham met a mother, Sara Kleiman, and her 5-year-old son. They returned home months after fleeing Hezbollah rocket attacks.
“We try not to think about what could happen,” she said. “But we wanted to come home. This is our home.”