church buildings and Christian homes.
"The situation in Northern Israel continues to be difficult," said Richard Elofer, President of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Israel in a statement.
"Many Adventist Christians and Jews celebrated the Sabbath on July 22nd in bomb shelters with frequent interruptions by blaring sirens and explosions of fired rockets," he said in remarks distributed by the Adventist Press Service. At least two people died when Hezbollah rockets badly damaged a house and slammed into a major road in Israel’s third largest city Haifa, Sunday, July 23, killing two people and wounding at least five, news reports said. Over a dozen others were injured in seperate rocket attacks.
Adventists and non-Adventists have found shelter in buildings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the homes of their members, officials said.
ADVENTIST SHELTER
The administration of the church decided to open the ‘Jerusalem Study Centre’, which is owned by the Adventist Church, for 25-30 refugees. The Adventist Press Service quoted Elofer as saying that "even though the church facilities are not equipped to accommodate refugees, we will do our best to provide what these people need. In the same way we have opened our church buildings in the cities of Tel Aviv, Ashkelon and Beer Sheva."
At least 80 rockets hit Israel on Monday, July 24, and two days ago the number was 129, according to estimates from The Associated Press (AP) news agency.
Most of Hezbollah’s rockets have been Iranian-made Katyushas and Syrian-made Raads, with ranges up to 28 miles (45 kilometers). Israel reportedly believes Hezbollah also possesses the Iranian-made “Zalzal” rocket, which has the range to hit Tel Aviv and cities farther south.
Churches have been suffering under the attacks. “On July 21 one of these rockets fell down on Herzl Street, downtown Haifa, which is very close to three Adventist Churches: the Hebrew, Romanian and English speaking congregations,” the church said in a statement obtained by BosNewsLife.
THANKING GOD
"We thank God that none of these churches were damaged and our Adventist families were not struck by human losses," added Pastor Elofer. However as fighting continues, Northern Israel continues to be evacuated, Christians said.
It comes after the Israeli army admitted Monday, July 24, it encountered stiff resistance from Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon. Israel’s army chief of staff said earlier that nearly 100 guerrillas had been killed in fighting that broke out July 12 when Hezbollah crossed into Israel and captured two Israeli soldiers.
But military officials have privately lamented what they called the low number of Hezbollah casualties, AP reported.
Hezbollah itself reports only 11 dead. Apparently fearing heavy casualties among its troops, Israel said it has no intention of launching a massive land invasion to defeat Hezbollah. The troops have reportedly complained of difficult terrain and being surprised by Hezbollah militants. At least two Israeli soldiers were reportedly killed and 20 were injured Monday, July 24, as they tried to take the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbail. (With BosNewsLife Research and reports from Israel and Lebanon).
