Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham and COO Edward Graham gathered in Jerusalem Sunday with three generations of their family to dedicate the 20th ambulance given by Samaritan’s Purse to Magen David Adom, Israel’s national ambulance service.
Franklin Graham joined Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, Pastor Greg Laurie, and others in celebrating the blessing of new ambulances provided by Samaritan’s Purse to Magen David Adom.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Pastor Greg Laurie, whose congregation, Harvest Church of California and Hawaii helped purchase this latest emergency vehicle, participated in the ceremony.
“Magen David Adom are the first responders,” Franklin Graham said. “Their drivers were killed. The people they were carrying were killed. They lost 14 ambulances on Oct. 7, 2023. We’ve replaced all those, but now we’re adding armored ambulances.”
The June 1 dedication marked the sixth such armored vehicle to be gifted to Magen David Adom by Samaritan’s Purse. This one is unique because it contains an intensive care unit.
“It is a hospital on wheels,” said Uri Shacham, Magen David Adom’s chief of staff.
Franklin Graham expressed the heart behind the gift.
“We dedicate it to the Lord Jesus Christ and it’s important that we show in a tangible way to the people of Israel that we as Christians stand with them,” he said.
Edward Graham described the life-saving importance of the vehicles provided by Samaritan’s Purse during almost two years of serving the country since the attacks.
“We want to give them a safe way to get civilians out of harm’s way and get the treatment they need,” he said.
Pastor Laurie reiterated the importance of the support provided to the Israeli people.
“We’re saying today, you’re not alone. We stand with you. We pray for you. The Bible says, ‘Pray for the peace of Jerusalem’ (Psalm 122:6), and we do pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”
Laurie also chose the Scripture verse that appears on the armored ambulance: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).
A Wall of Protection
The ceremony took place outside the Tower of David, an ancient fortress still standing within the walls of the old city.
Franklin Graham and Edward Graham, along with other family and officials, celebrated the dedication of the latest emergency vehicle.
“It’s not just by chance that the ambulance sits at the wall,” said Eli Bin, Magen David Adom’s director general. “This ambulance will become part of our modern defense. It represents defense, kindness, protection to anyone who needs it. … The new ambulance is another brick in Israel’s wall of protection.”
This particular vehicle will be deployed to an Arab area of Judea and Samaria. Another 22 armored ambulances will be provided by Samaritan’s Purse before the end of the year.
Often First In, Last Out
“It is an extraordinary gift that Samaritan’s Purse and Harvest Church are making possible today,” said Ambassador Huckabee, who attended the event together with his wife, Janet.
Franklin Graham, Pastor Greg Laurie, left, and Ambassador Huckabee meet with a first responder as he shows them inside the 20th vehicle we provided for Magen David Adom’s fleet.
“I’ve known Franklin Graham and the incredible work of Samaritan’s Purse for a long time. There isn’t another organization like them—there just isn’t. Wherever there is a calamity, whether it’s in the United States or in any part of the world, they’re usually the first to show up, and the last to leave.
“But I pray never again will any of us have to wear this yellow ribbon as a reminder that while we are enjoying our freedom, there are those who are not,” addressing the families of hostages who were present for the event.
A Surviving Hostage Remembers
For Karina Engel, this prayerful plea hit close to home. Engel and her two daughters had hidden in their safe room in October 2023, only to be abducted by Hamas. The mother and daughters were separated in captivity and held for 52 days before their release was negotiated in a hostage deal. That’s when she learned her husband, Ronen, was dead. His body is still being held by Hamas in Gaza.
One of the ambulances Samaritan’s Purse gifted to Magen David Adom in January is dedicated to Ronen’s memory.
“One of the things that really moved us after such a long period of pain … was receiving the ambulance dedicated in Ronen’s memory,” Engel said. “The ambulance is stationed in Kiryat Gat, and fittingly, it’s just a few meters from our home.”
She says that every morning as she leaves for work, she sees the station and is grateful her beloved husband is being honored in such a way. Seeing her husband’s name memorialized there has helped her grieve him and cherish the importance of his life.
The ambulance was provided by Samaritan’s Purse in partnership with Harvest Church in California and Hawaii.
During the gathering, Engel met with the Grahams and fittingly pinned a yellow hostage pin on Franklin Graham’s jacket. The pins are a continued token of remembrance and prayer for the release of captives, both dead and alive.
Like a Good Samaritan
In addition to Franklin Graham and Edward Graham, other Graham family members were also in attendance at the ambulance dedication, held during Shavuot, the Jewish celebration of Pentecost. This included Franklin Graham’s wife, Jane Austin Graham; his son, Will Graham, vice president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association along with his wife and two children; and daughter Cissie Graham Lynch, senior advisor and ministry spokesperson at Samaritan’s Purse, and her three children.
In addition to giving the ambulances, Samaritan’s Purse continues to serve the people of Israel and Gaza by providing water, food vouchers, and basic medical checkups. Please continue to pray that God would protect Israel from its enemies and that peace would come to the region.
Gilad Erdan, global president of Magen David Adom and former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, said, “Like a Good Samaritan, you came to Israel’s aid in its time of greatest need.”
Israel Response Samaritan’s Purse is helping meet the physical and spiritual needs of people on both sides of the Israel-Hamas war. In partnership with local churches and ministry partners, we are bringing urgently needed relief to communities deeply impacted by the conflict.
