Johnny Sakakini knows the suffering of the Palestinian people. He's lived it.
On October 23, 16 days after the Israel-Gaza War broke out, he got a call from his mother with some devastating news. Describing what had been told to her by relatives, his mother said 12 members in their wider family in Gaza had been killed by an Israeli rocket attack against a Christian church in Gaza City.
"They came to the church that Sunday, mothers, fathers and their kids," said Sakakini. "The parents told the kids, 'go to the hall (next to the chapel) and play with the other kids.' They went and moments later, there was a sound -- Psst! -- a missile came in and took out the whole hall."
In total, 80 people lost their lives in the attack on the hall, which was part of the Greek Orthodox St. Porphyrius Church, which dates to the 1100s and is one the oldest Christian churches in the world. Many of the people killed were refugees who had fled more war-torn areas and were seeking shelter in the church. Sakakini said he used to go to the church when he was a boy.
No explanation or apology was offered by Israeli authorities for the strike.
"They went to the church thinking they were safe," said Sakakini. "But they weren't safe. They weren't safe..." he repeated, his voice trailing off.
Sakakini is a Palestinian-American who came to the United States to escape the Israeli Occupation from the West Bank city of Ramallah in 1988. He now runs a restaurant called "Abi's Falafel" in Trumbull, CT.
He sat down recently to talk about the tragic incident at church, the war in Gaza and the Occupation in Palestine.
Our talk took place as the war in Gaza raged on with over 30,000 people killed. (3000 more people have been killed since the interview took place.) Another 1.5 million people have had to leave their homes and find shelter somewhere away from the violence.
The war began when Israel retaliated for an attack Oct. 7 in southern Israel by Hamas extremists that killed 1200 people attending a concert.
Israel has been accused of using disproportionate force in its military campaign and committing a number of war crimes, including carpet bombing residential neighborhoods and bombing churches, mosques and hospitals. The IDF has also bombed food centers, refugee camps and schools. Israel is also being criticized for blocking the delivery of food supplies into Gaza. There's now growing concern about famine engulfing the region.
On April 1, the Israeli military fired missiles at aid trucks from World Central Kitchen, killing seven workers. Israeli authorities said the attack was a mistake.
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