Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator
The Church of Saint Porphyrius was hit by an Israeli airstrike on Thursday, October 19. The church was sheltering 500 Christians and Muslims who had lost their homes in previous airstrikes. Two people were confirmed dead and dozens injured, but the exact number of dead cannot be verified because those sheltering in the lower area of the church lay covered in rubble of the collapsed building. However, church sources on the scene, reported to their supporters in Manchester, Connecticut, they are estimating 150-200 are dead.
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The Jewish State of Israel has declared war on the 3 million Palestinian civilians of Gaza, who are mainly Muslim, while the Christian community numbers about 2,000 people. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) are attacking homes, hospitals, schools and churches since they launched Operation Swords of Iron in response to a large Hamas attack on Israeli civilians and soldiers beginning on October 7. The Christian faith originated in Palestine, in the streets of Bethlehem and Jerusalem in the Occupied West Bank, where the Christian community is larger than the Christian community in Gaza.
In Gaza, there are three churches: Greek Orthodox Church, Baptist Church, and Roman Catholic Church. The Church of Saint Porphyrius, Greek Orthodox, is the oldest active church in Gaza, located in Zeitoun, which is the same neighborhood as the Al Ahli Hospital, run by the Anglican Church (The Church of England) that was hit on October 17. St. Porphyrius was the 5th-century Bishop of Gaza, and he is entombed in the church.
While Europeans were still worshiping fire and stones, the Christians of Palestine were worshiping the Creator inside churches. The word Greek does not refer to the country known as Greece, but refers to the Greek language, as the Christian world was speaking Greek, and Aramaic in the earliest era. The Gaza Baptist Church sustained damage during Israeli airstrikes in 2008, and the church's pastor, and many of the congregation, subsequently fled the Gaza Strip.
The six-story building had been founded in 1954 and had about 200 members. The Holy Family Church in Gaza was partially destroyed in the 2014 Gaza War, when the church school and pastor's office were hit by an Israeli airstrike. In 2021, the school was damaged by an Israeli airstrike. The church, school and convents are now sheltering hundreds of people, and on October 9, Pope Francis called the church to offer his prayers and support. The Pope told Father Gabriel Romanelli that he was working to bring an end to the war.
The Catholic President of the United States, Joe Biden, came to Israel and gave the green-light to Prime Minister Netanyahu to continue his war against the Palestinian people of Gaza, the vast majority of which are unarmed civilians caught in the cross-fire. It appears that President Biden is far removed from the Pope, and is oblivious to his own professed faith. On October 11, Father Romanelli gave an interview in which he said the Christian residents of Rimal had been under violent bombardment by the Israeli airstrikes. The Catholic sisters of three orders were trying to help people in Gaza. The priest reported that Gaza had almost no electricity, no fuel for generators, and no water to drink, and they were unable to buy any supplies for the people.
On April 15, 2019, a fire destroyed parts of the Notre-Dame de Paris, a medieval Catholic cathedral in Paris, France. After the fire, there was a huge global outpouring of support, and a $135 million campaign was planned to rebuild the Notre-Dame de Paris. Christians in the Middle East, the birthplace of the faith, are asking the international community for help to stop the occupation, end the blockade of Gaza, and to pledge their support to rebuild Gaza and the West Bank. However, instead, the international community have sent the US President Joe Biden, the UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and the German Chancellor Olaf Shultz to Tel Aviv were they pledged their political and financial support to Israel, only. The Al Ahli Hospital suffered damages and deaths this week, and is administrated by the Church of England, which is the state religion of UK, and headed by King Charles III. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire" to ease the "epic human suffering".
However, Biden, Sunak and Shultz have encouraged Netanyahu to 'just go for it'. All three nations have huge Christian and Muslim populations, and yet all their support is focused on the Jewish State of Israel. At least 3,478 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza, while the figure stands at more than 1,400 people in Israel.
Steven Sahiounie is a two-time award-winning journalist
