Gaza war crimes Netenyahu 'Jewish' government 'NOT Gods Chosen People, you can see by their actions'

Gaza war crimes Netenyahu 'Jewish' government 'NOT Gods Chosen People, you can see by their actions'

Under Israeli attack: Who are the Christians of Gaza?

They’re small in number, but with deep roots that they are unwilling to leave behind.
Worshippers in the courtyard light their candles from each other
Worshippers in the courtyard of the Church of Saint Porphyrius in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of the Old City of Gaza light their candles on April 15, 2023 [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]
By Lorraine Mallinder
Published On 1 Nov 20231 Nov 2023

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/1/under-israeli-attack-who-are-the-christians-of-gaza

In one of the defining moments so far of Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza, a deadly explosion at the al-Ahli Arab Hospital on October 17 killed close to 500 people, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Two days later, Israel bombed the Church of Saint Porphyrius, the Gaza Strip’s oldest, killing at least 18 people.

The deadly attacks on the hospital — an Anglican institution — and the church have brought into sharp focus the enclave’s embattled Christian minority, which, like the rest of the Gaza Strip, is under assault from relentless Israeli bombardment.

The Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem described the attack on the church as a “war crime”.
Worshippers attend a funeral at Greek Orthodox Saint Porphyrius Church, in Gaza City
Mourners attend a funeral for Palestinians killed in an Israeli attack that damaged the Greek Orthodox Saint Porphyrius Church in Gaza City on October 20, 2023 [Mohammed al-Masri/Reuters]

The Christian community was left reeling, yet most have not left the besieged city, which lays claim to a rich seam of Christian heritage going back two millennia.

So who are Gaza’s Christians?
How many Christians live in Gaza and where did they come from?

The number of Christians in Gaza has dwindled in recent years. Today there are only approximately 1,000 left, a sharp drop from the 3,000 registered in 2007, when Hamas assumed complete control over the enclave.

According to Kamel Ayyad, a spokesperson for the Church of Saint Porphyrius, the majority of the population is from Gaza itself. The rest fled here after the creation of the state of Israel, which displaced about 700,000 Palestinians – an event they refer to as the Nakba, or “catastrophe”.

Hamas rule brought an Israel-led land, air and sea blockade, accelerating the flight of Christians from the poverty-stricken enclave. “It’s become very difficult for people to live here,” says Ayyad. “Many of the Christians left for the West Bank, for America, Canada or the Arab world, seeking better education and health.”

While most of Gaza’s Christians belong to the Greek Orthodox faith, smaller numbers worship at the Catholic Holy Family Church and the Gaza Baptist Church. The former recently released a video of parish children praying, the din of bombs in the background.