Gaza and the Occult

Internet Screenshot of Hamas Poster Showing Six Finger Fist

After praying for more than 500 days for the safe return of the hostages cruelly held in Gaza, we are horrified to learn that the two beautiful red-headed Bibas baby boys and their kidnapped Mom Shiri were murdered by Hamas, and their remains are due to be returned by tomorrow (Thursday). Baby Kfir is the youngest hostage in the history of humanity, brutally kidnapped from his home when he was only 9 months old.

Please pray for Yarden Bibas, the recently released husband and father of this precious family, because we can’t imagine his suffering. The entire nation is angry and in deep mourning.

As I taught in a recent video [“Overcoming End-Time Strongholds], there are genuine strongholds of evil in the earth that must be conquered, and Gaza is surely one of them.

A stronghold is generally defined as a place that has been fortified to protect it against attack.

In the Bible, the term "stronghold" carries both literal and metaphorical meanings.

Strongholds are not only physical like Gaza, but they can also be spiritual. In the New Testament, strongholds often symbolize mental, emotional, or spiritual barriers to faith. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 declares, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for the pulling down of strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God."

Mondo Gonzales, an archaeologist and prophecy expert associated with the ministry Prophecy Watchers, along with other eschatologists such as L.A. Marzulli and Rabbi Jason Sobel, in recent interviews and videos have linked the Gaza Strip to the Nephilim giants of biblical lore. This suggests an occult or spiritual stronghold that ties ancient history to the modern conflict.

The Nephilim are introduced in Genesis 6:4, described as the offspring of the "sons of God" and "daughters of men," often interpreted as "mighty men" or "giants." The term appears again in Numbers 13: 33, where Israelite spies during the Exodus report seeing the Nephilim (or their descendants, the Anakim) in Canaan, describing them as towering figures that made the spies feel like "grasshoppers."

Pastor Mondo Gonzales and others such as the late great Bible teacher Chuck Missler connect these Nephilim to other giant-like groups in Scripture, such as the Rephaim (Genesis 14) and Anakim (Joshua 11), arguing they represent a hybrid race—part human, part demonic—resulting from fallen angels intermingling with humans.

According to the Bible, the Nephilim did not survive the flood; the story of Noah's Ark states that only those on the ark were spared, meaning all Nephilim perished in the flood. But in the Bible there are post-Flood references to giants like the Anakim, Rephaim, and Goliath (1 Samuel 17). These are cited as evidence of their reappearance, particularly in the region of Canaan, which includes modern-day Gaza.

Second Peter 2:5 states that all of the ungodly were wiped out in Noah’s flood. Genesis 7 in multiple verses confirms that indeed all of humanity and all soulish creatures associated with humanity, except for those on board the ark, were killed. Thus, the Nephilim did not survive the flood catastrophe.

The second appearance of giants after the Flood seems much more limited. Thanks especially to heroes like Joshua and King David and his mighty men, the post-flood Nephilim were exterminated. But spiritual forces remain. And because Jesus Himself stated in Matthew 24 that the End Times will be “like the days of Noah,” some eschatologists expect the Nephilim hybrids to reappear, perhaps masquerading as aliens.

Pastor Gonzales and his peers recently emphasized that Gaza’s historical and biblical significance ties it to the giant clans. Joshua 11:21-22 states that Joshua eradicated the Anakim from much of the land but left some in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod—Philistine cities. Goliath, the famous giant slain by David, hailed from Gath, reinforcing the idea that these areas remained enclaves of Nephilim descendants. Gonzales points to archaeological findings in Gath, such as large structures and inscriptions resembling Goliath’s name, as suggestive evidence of a giant presence.

Some eschatologists argue that Gaza was never fully purged of these entities or their spiritual influence. L.A. Marzulli, for instance, posits that a "territorial spirit"—a demonic entity tied to the Nephilim—has persisted in Gaza since ancient times, never deposed by Joshua and Caleb’s conquests. This spirit, they claim, fuels the region’s ongoing conflict, casting it as a spiritual battleground rather than merely a geopolitical one.

The occult aspect emerges from the interpretation of Nephilim as supernatural beings with a demonic lineage. Gonzales describes them as "half human, half demonic," possessing extraordinary strength and size.

Marzulli takes this further, suggesting that modern terrorist groups like Hamas might knowingly or unknowingly tap into this ancient Nephilim spirit. He cited the recent 2025 Hamas propaganda banner depicting a six-fingered fist—echoing the six-fingered Philistine giant in 2 Samuel 21:20.

This theory leans heavily on extra-biblical sources like the Book of Enoch, which elaborates on the Nephilim’s origins and fate, and on speculative connections between ancient texts and contemporary events. The six-fingered motif, while striking, could alternatively be an artistic error or cultural symbol, but eschatologists frame it as evidence of an occult awareness among Gaza’s modern inhabitants.

In the context of End-times prophecy, Pastor Gonzales and others see Gaza’s unrest as part of a larger pattern. They reference Genesis 14 (Abraham’s encounter with Rephaim) and Joshua’s incomplete conquest as setting the stage for a spiritual stronghold that persists into the present. This ties into Matthew 24: 8’s "birth pains," suggesting that escalating conflicts in Nephilim-linked regions signal the approach of apocalyptic events.

Marzulli adds that engaging Gaza today—politically or militarily, as with Donald Trump’s 2025 pledge to rebuild it—might provoke these ancient spirits, aligning with prophecies of demonic activity in the last days. However, the God of Israel is greater, and Gaza’s conflicts have clear historical and political roots, which critics argue need no supernatural explanation.

Any honest observer whose moral compass is intact should be able to look at the images of terrorists—featuring genocidal antisemitic chants, glorification of murder, the near-lynching of hostages, and a well-fed civilian population—and realize that Gaza and Hezbollah hideouts are strongholds in the biblical sense of the word. They’re deeply propagandized and entrenched in radicalism. One thing is for sure, terrorists can never play a role in governing a territory like Gaza, and prophetic intercessors surely have our work cut out for us.

There’s a generation preserved by God, and it’s us who will stand in the gap and prevail in prayer until Romans 11: 26 comes to pass, and so all Israel shall be saved.

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