Humanitarian helping traumatized children was warned too dangerous to visit Gaza: ‘Absolutely backwards’

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A Marine veteran whose Christian nonprofit ministers to children across the globe who’ve experienced trauma said he was warned to not visit the children in Gaza during his organization’s trip to Israel, or he would likely be kidnapped or killed by terrorists in the region.

“And I thought to myself, you’re telling me that they would rather hate what they perceive as their enemy than love their children and get them help? That really shows you how absolutely backwards this is,” Victor Marx told Fox News Digital.

Marx’s organization, All Things Possible Ministries, is currently in Israel, helping families access food and shelter. They also brought 1,000 Lion and Lamb stuffed animals to comfort children affected by the war. The dolls are programmed in multiple languages and come with music, Bible verses and prayers that Marx said “are specifically designed to lower anxiety for kids who are suffering.”

Marx said he wanted to travel to Gaza, during his trip to the Middle East, to give these same gifts to Palestinian children who are also suffering in this war. His group has worked in some of the most dangerous places in the world, even helping children of ISIS. But he was told they would be killed by terrorists if they visited Gaza.

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“And here’s a very interesting thing to realize,” he said. “My friends, who are generals in the Palestinian world and key people, said, ‘Victor, as much as the children in Gaza need your help, just like the children in Israel, here’s the biggest problem: You can’t go in. They’ll kidnap or kill you,'” he relayed.

During his trip, he’s seen firsthand the danger many families are facing.

“I’m not against the Palestinian people. I have many Palestinian friends,” he said. “But just before I came on here, I’m standing on the back deck of a friend’s home and I’m recording missiles and rockets being shot out of Gaza toward us. And they’re being intercepted. I mean, just two minutes before. And I just thought, why don’t they stop firing rockets into Israel? If they stop, then that’s the way to have peace. But they won’t. That’s what’s mind-boggling to me in all of this.”

Marx said All Things Possible visited a town last week near the Gaza border, so they could survey the damage and understand what families have experienced.

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At least 6,400 people have been killed in the war on both sides, including at least 1,400 Israeli civilians and soldiers and 32 Americans, Fox News has reported.

“And what I will tell you, it’s mind-blowing to see the amount of violence that was forced on these innocent people in an unprovoked attack,” he remarked of the October 7 attack.

Despite some media outlets using softer language to describe Hamas, Marx insisted these are “not militants” or “militia.” He’s seen the remnants of the bloodshed and heard personal stories of how they have murdered women and children in their homes.

In a video shared with Fox News Saturday, a captured Hamas terrorist told Israeli interrogators that they were told to “step on the heads of civilians, to behead them and do whatever they felt like” while going through neighborhoods in Israel.

“That’s why they are terrorists, regardless of what people like to label them,” Marx said.

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While he described the children and families he’s spoken with as “resilient,” he also sees “a lot of pain behind the smiles.”

“You can see tremendous anxiety there. They feel like they have no hope because of all they’ve experienced,” he said. One woman told him she witnessed her friends being shot dead in the street by terrorists while they were taking a jog outside. Others said Hamas deceived families who were hiding in bomb shelters by pretending they were police and luring them to come out before killing them, he recalled.

“So these are the memories. They’re extremely traumatized,” Marx said. “So we’ve been spending time with these families. Trying to give them hope. Let them know that, you know, people love them, the world has not forgotten them.”

All Things Possible plans to come back for another trip to help the thousands of displaced Israelis settle into homes.

“Some people are taking them in, but it’s very, very difficult right now for them. And they need direct support and aid. And sometimes big money comes through governments and organizations, and it never makes it to the people or the ones that come in at a real bottom level… So we know right where to go to help people,” he explained.

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