A huge bomb blast severely damaged the building housing the Palestinian Bible Society in Gaza City in the wee morning hours of April 15.
Hanna Massad, pastor of Gaza Baptist Church in Gaza City, reported that damage from the massive explosion — which happened shortly before 2 a.m. — was "much worse" than two pipe-bomb blasts that occurred about a year ago.
The bombers first kidnapped the security guard, beat him and left him in an unsafe area of the city, Massad reported. There were no other reported injuries. A press release from the Bible society confirmed Massad’s report, stating that masked gunmen abducted the security guard outside the Bible society and placed a large bomb at the door an hour later.
Though the society was attacked last year, "[r]ecently there have been no clear threats, so the attack comes at a very surprising time," the press release said.
The Bible society, which has been operating in the Gaza Strip since 1999, is reported to have a good relationship with Muslims. Reports are that Muslim neighbors assisted in the cleanup operation.
The building, which houses the Bible society bookshop, also includes a computer center, a library and a community development center and is the base for one of the largest relief agencies in the Gaza Strip.
Tensions have risen in the Gaza Strip in recent months as relationships have strained between Hamas, which controls the Palestinian Authority (PA) government, and Fatah, the previous PA governing party. At the height of the tensions in February, police took control of Gaza Baptist’s building for a week, using it as a lookout.
Massad reported then that it was "the worst situation we have ever gone through in Gaza, even more dangerous than the Israeli invasion of Gaza."
Late last year, Massad said of the situation in Gaza: "The people are under huge pressure. Persons in their 40s are dying of heart attacks; others die young for lack of medical care and treatment."
In recent weeks, small radical Muslim groups have begun bombing offices and businesses that they believe aid debauchery and adultery, such as Internet cafes where it is believed pornography may be accessed.
Massad, the pastor of the lone Baptist church in Palestine, urged the world to "keep us in your prayers." (BWA)
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