Patriarchs: Priests and nuns will remain in Gaza City, witnesses of charity
Cardinal Pizzaballa and Greek Orthodox Theophilus III reject the prospect of "evacuation" in the face of the Israeli military operation already underway. “There can be no future based on imprisonment, the displacement of Palestinians, or revenge,” they say. The Sisters of Mother Teresa, who arrived in 1973 after the killing of the local parish priest, serve a community devastated by hunger and war. In Tel Aviv, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum is marking a “National Day of Struggle”.
Milan (AsiaNews) – The Greek Orthodox Primate of Jerusalem, Theophilos III, and the Primate of the Latins, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, issued a joint statement (available on their websites)
In it they note that, faced with the suffering of a people in what can already be described as "hell" on earth, a reference to the threats made by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz against Hamas, the clergy and nuns of the Catholic and Greek Orthodox Churches in Gaza forcefully affirm their decision to remain.
Despite the offensive undertaken by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), they will neither evacuate nor flee, but will live up to their mission, bear witness to mercy and Christian charity in a Gaza Strip ravaged by hunger and war, and continue to provide assistance and aid to those unable to leave.
The two Christian leaders warn that “There can be no future based on captivity, displacement of Palestinians or revenge.”
Hell’s gate
The joint statement notes at the start that “A few weeks ago, the Israeli government announced its decision to take control of Gaza City. In recent days, the media have repeatedly reported a massive military mobilization and preparations for an imminent offensive. The same reports indicate that the population of Gaza City, where hundreds of thousands of civilians live — and where our Christian community is located — is to be evacuated and relocated to the south of the Strip.”
The Israeli military issued “evacuation orders” for several neighbourhoods in Gaza City and “Reports of heavy bombardment continue”.
“There is more destruction and death in a situation that was already dramatic before this operation. It seems that the Israeli government’s announcement that ‘the gates of hell will open’ is indeed taking on tragic forms,” Christian leaders say.
“The experience of past campaigns in Gaza, the declared intentions of the Israeli government with regard to the current operation, and the reports now reaching us from the ground, show that the operation is not just a threat, but a reality that is already in the process of being implemented.”
Cardinal Pizzaballa and Theophilus III also note that Gaza’s Christian institutions, from the Greek Orthodox complex of St Porphyrius to the Latin Holy Family compound, were not spared by the war, despite being "a refuge for hundreds of civilians."
“Among them are elderly people, women, and children. In the Latin compound, we are hosting since many years people with disabilities, who are under the care of the Sisters Missionaries of Charity,” reads the statement.
“Among those who have sought shelter within the walls of the compounds, many are weakened and malnourished due to the hardships of the last months.
“Leaving Gaza City and trying to flee to the south would be nothing less than a death sentence. For this reason, the clergy and nuns have decided to remain and continue to care for all those who will be in the compounds.
“We do not know exactly what will happen on the ground, not only for our community, but for the entire population. We can only repeat what we have already said: There can be no future based on captivity, displacement of Palestinians or revenge.”
Citing Pope Leo XIV’s words, the two prelate stress: “All peoples, even the smallest and weakest, must be respected by the powerful in their identity and rights, especially the right to live in their own lands; and no one can force them into exile.”
The patriarchs condemn the “deliberate and forcible mass displacement of civilians. It is time to end this spiral of violence, to put an end to war and to prioritize the common good of the people,” including Israeli and foreign hostages held by Hamas.
“There is no reason to justify keeping civilians as prisoners and hostages in dramatic conditions. It is now time for the healing of the long-suffering families on all sides.
“With equal urgency, we appeal to the international community to act for an end of this senseless and destructive war, and for the return of the missing people and the Israeli hostages.”
Nuns witnesses of charity
The patriarchs’ joint statement further demonstrates the unity of Jerusalem's Christian leaders, following the joint visit of Cardinal Pizzaballa and Patriarch Theophilos III to the Gaza Strip in July, in response to the attack on the Holy Family compound that left three dead and many wounded.
One of the most significant passages of the patriarchs' statement, in addition to the necessary appeal for an end to the war and the release of prisoners, is the one reserved for the men and women religious who have chosen to remain to convey a message of love and charity in the face of devastation.
In nearly two years of conflict, the work of Mother Teresa's Sisters, who have cared for "people with disabilities" for many years, has taken on particular significance. They, like the priests, have chosen to continue caring for those in St Porphyrius and the Holy Family who have no other place to seek refuge.
For some 52 years, the Missionaries of Charity have shared the fate of the Christian and non-Christian communities in the Gaza Strip, an enclave long considered an "open-air prison" for its approximately two million residents, and which has suffered more than 62,000 deaths, mostly civilians.
The Sisters arrived in February 1973, a few weeks after the killing of the then Latin parish priest, Father Hanna Al-Nimri, and their presence was immediately characterised by "sharing the suffering of this tormented land” to the point of accomplishing the difficult task of "cleaning the bloodstained walls.”
Despite the difficulties associated with many wars and the long-standing blockade imposed on Gaza, the nuns are crucial to the Holy Family parish.
They “care for 70 people” in their homes for children and vulnerable adults. In addition to offering for years spiritual assistance to the small Catholic community, they regularly visit "hundreds of homes of the poor, needy, and sick.”
In the first weeks of the war, in October 2023, AsiaNews spoke to the nuns, who were more concerned about the future of the weak and sick than about their own lives.
“We are not worried about ourselves,” they said, “but for disabled children and elderly people bedridden with bedsores. And also for the 600 people who took refuge in our convent after losing their homes in recent days due to the bombings.”
In the streets for the hostages
Meanwhile in Israel, protests are mounting among the relatives and families of the hostages. They are once again taking to the streets to demand that the government and the country's highest institutions mediate with the kidnappers for the release of their relatives, whose fate is a source of increasing apprehension.
A crowd gathered in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv as part of the "National Day of Struggle" called by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. Rallies were also held outside the homes of government ministers.
Following last week's general strike, this day is part of the so-called civil action to push the Jewish state's leaders to reach an agreement that will lead to the release of those still in Hamas's hands.
In the middle of Hostages Square stands a long table covered with yellow chairs, each marked with the face of a kidnapped person.
The plates are ready but empty. Pieces of pita bread, cans of beans, and sand are scattered across the black tablecloth, evoking hunger and the inhumane conditions of captivity.
At the same time, outrage and condemnation are growing among activist groups and foreign governments over yesterday's double attack on the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, which resulted in the deaths of five journalists who were reporting live on the war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu called it a “tragic accident”. Yet, since the war started, more than 200 journalists have been killed in attacks or military operations by the Jewish state.
For its part, the Israeli government continues to ban Western journalists and foreign media from entering the Strip, while backing the claims by 10 embedded influencers that there is no famine in Gaza and that accusations of “starvation” are just “lies”.
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