KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — On Saturday, Israel was met with a surprise attack by Gaza's militant Hamas leaving hundreds dead and thousands wounded, according to the Associated Press.
A team of 12 people from First Baptist Church in Knoxville was reported safe during the attack according to Chuck Powell, the Minister with Youth and Families.
"The only thing has been, just, how disconcerting it is to hear, you know, the sirens going off on occasion or even to hear a kind of muffled sounds of explosions that seem far in the distance but, you know, it really doesn't matter that much to us how far away they are," said Brent McDougal, the church's senior pastor.
McDougal said a missile landed around two miles from where the group was staying in Tel Aviv. He also said the group got to a safe place and they have booked flights to be back this week, and the church is working on helping other members of the group find flights.
"We have a team of 12 people who are in the Holy Land right now," Powell said. "There is some unrest and violence [in Israel] but we have word that our team is safe and their travels are taking them away from the more violent regions and places in the area. We will continue to pray for them... and lift up Israel and Palestine in that part of the world."
One of the members of the trip, McDougal, sent a text to the church staff letting everyone know that they were safe. On Saturday, the team was in Tel Aviv when they heard missiles exploding and were moved to Jerusalem for safety, Powell said.
The team is on an educational trip called "The Footsteps of Jesus Experience", which is set for two weeks.
On this trip, people get the chance to retrace some of the steps from New Testament sites. According to Powell, on Sunday, the team visited the community of Qumran, where the Dead Sea scrolls were found.
According to the Associated Press, the Israeli government formally declared war Sunday and gave the green light for “significant military steps” to retaliate against Hamas for its surprise attack. The death toll passed 1,100 dead and thousands wounded on both sides.
10News was told that the team continued on their initial scheduled trip visiting other sites.