Courtesy of Jill Duggar/Instagram
‘Counting On’ Alum Jill Duggar Speaks Out Amid The Israel-Hamas War: ‘I Know the Feeling’
Jill Duggar is speaking out amid the Israel-Hamas war, reflecting on a frightening time when she was forced to “deal with daily threats of war” while expressing deep sympathy for those in the Middle East.
“My heart is heavy for anyone living in a war-torn country,” the former reality TV star, 32, wrote via her Instagram Stories on Wednesday, October 11. “Though vastly different, I know the feeling of living in another country, terrified at times of the very real threat that my husband and I, along with our infant baby might be murdered, as our close friends were kidnapped and murdered.”
While Jill didn’t delve deeper into the specifics of her situation, she and her husband, Derick Dillard, moved to Central America in 2015 following the cancelation of TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting. The family relocated to the area to do mission work, and lived in the region for several years.
“Our personal situation was temporary,” the 19 Kids and Counting alum continued. “There is no easy solution. But evil and brutality and terrorism cannot rule … It must be stopped.”
The family of three returned to the United States in 2017 prior to the birth of the couple’s second child, Samuel Scott Dillard, that July.
“As you all know, our last couple weeks in Central America were pretty crazy ones,” the couple wrote via their website following their arrival stateside. “We have continued to stay in contact with our friends and trust that God will continue to sustain them as they persevere in the difficult areas they live.”
In the June 2017 post, the TLC alums touched on the scary situations they faced while overseas. “The family of our friend who was murdered was forced to move every night due to threats on their lives,” they continued. “Recently, they were finally able to rent a place in a different area where they will be able to stay for the next couple months.”
They concluded their message looking forward to the arrival of their son, adding, “Jill and baby have continued to check out well, and we appreciate your prayers for a great delivery.”
The couple first announced the “new endeavor” shortly after headlines broke in 2015 about Jill’s older brother Josh Duggar and the revelation that he molested five underaged girls — including her and her sister Jessa Duggar. His parents Jim Bob Duggar and Michelle Duggar learned about the inappropriate touching in 2002 but the patriarch, 58, consulted with the elders of his church and opted to send his son to a Christian rehab center instead of reporting it to the authorities.
Jill later condemned her parents for going the extra mile to cover up Josh’s crimes against his sisters in her memoir Counting the Cost, noting that it made her feel “sick.”
“Though I love my parents and it made a lot of sense that they would want to protect and care for their child,” Jill explained in her book, which was released on September 12. “I couldn’t help but think about the lengths that Pops had gone to in order to guard Josh’s privacy and keep him from being publicly humiliated.”
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