Palestinian Christians in Gaza are worried their community could go extinct as Israel continues its relentless attack on the territory.
Gaza's health ministry notes that over 22,000 Palestinians have been killed since Oct. 7, with most of these deaths being women and children killed by Israel's indiscriminate bombing of Gaza.
Residential towers, places of worship and schools have been demolished by air strikes while Israel has also stopped almost all fuel, water, food and electricity supplies from entering the beleaguered region. (Related: Gaza’s dwindling Palestinian Christian community could be COMPLETELY WIPED OUT by Israeli attacks.)
As attacks escalated on churches in Gaza, where several Christians are taking shelter, the community has voiced fears over their existence.
Before the war began, Gaza had around 800 to 1,000 Christians – a decline from around 3,000 Christians in 2007. There is no telling how many more Palestinian Christians have fled from Gaza or been killed by Israel since Oct. 7.
"We're one of the oldest Christian communities in the world, and we face the threat of extinction," said Hammam Farah, a Palestinian Christian of Gazan descent living in Canada. In an interview with Middle East Eye, Farah said he has already lost many of his relatives who were still living in Gaza due to Israel's current "genocidal campaign."
Christians in Gaza not safe even in their own churches
Israel's military and genocidal campaign in Gaza has forced many Christians to evacuate their homes and head to the three remaining churches in the Strip. Many of these Palestinian Christians later found out that they couldn't even find sanctuary in their places of worship when, on Oct. 19, Israel bombarded the historic Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius.
"The ceiling collapsed [in the church], killing 18 people, including my cousin Soliman. He was 35 years old," said Farah. "His wife sustained serious injuries and has a broken back, broken hip and a broken jaw. They have two little boys who witnessed their father perishing beneath the rubble."
The bombing of the church – the current version of which was built in 1150 – killed nine children among the 18, injured nearly another 100 people and completely leveled the church's annex building.
The Holy Family Church, the only Catholic church in Gaza, was also recently targeted by the Israeli Defense Forces. The church is believed to be sheltering around 300 people, Christian and Muslim alike.
In a statement, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which oversees Catholic institutions in Palestine, Israel, Jordan and Cyprus, said that an Israeli sniper "murdered two Christian women inside the Holy Family Parish" and that an Israeli soldier fired a rocket that hit the neighboring Convent of the Sisters of Mother Theresa on Dec. 16.
The two women were Nahida Anton and her daughter Samar, who were walking from the church to the convent when they were fatally shot. Nahida was shot first, and then the sniper shot Samar while she was trying to carry her mother to safety.
A day after Christmas, the Gaza Baptist Church was significantly damaged following an Israeli attack. Rev. Hanna Massad, who leads the Baptist mission to Gaza, noted that more than 70 people from about 15 families had been sheltering inside the church. There is no word yet on how many people were killed or injured during the bombing.
"It breaks our hearts to see these images, as we built this building step by step in early 2000," said Massad, who has led the mission for decades. "This place had been a beacon of light for many people to come to know the Lord in Gaza, and we pray that it continues to be a blessing for our community."
Follow Genocide.news for more news about the Israeli military's genocidal campaign in Gaza.
Watch this video discussing how the Palestinian Christian community of Bethlehem canceled Christmas celebrations as they mourn over the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
This video is from the Vigilent Citizen channel on Brighteon.com.
More related articles:
Israeli airstrike destroying nearly 1,600-year-old Gaza church stuns Christian community.
Israeli airstrike hits CHURCH in Gaza, kills at least 18 Christians.
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