October 15, 2023 – Fatah Media: The Besieged Churches Of Gaza Offer Prayers And Hold Masses In Order To Stop The Israeli Aggression And Achieve Peace
Palestinian Christians in Gaza performed Sunday prayers in the churches of the Holy Family for the Latins and Saint Porphyrius for the Greek Orthodox.
About 1,000 Christian citizens live in the besieged and stricken sector, the majority of whom belong to the Orthodox and Catholic churches, in addition to the presence of the Baptist church. A number of Christian citizens fled to the Holy Family Church and its affiliated school, after the homes of a number of them were destroyed as a result of the Israeli bombing, and they searched for a safe refuge.
Masses were held and prayers were offered in the two churches during the past days in order to stop the war on the Gaza Strip and achieve peace and security.
Today, Sunday, the Church of the Holy Family witnessed the granting of the “Sacrament of Baptism” to the child, Daniel Alaa Shaheen. Bishop Alexios and Father Silas also presided over the mass in the Church of Saint Porphyrus, with the participation of a crowd of worshipers, who took refuge in the two churches, or who were able to arrive from their homes.
Earlier, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, said, “All the Palestinian Christians in the Gaza Strip are fine. The homes of some were destroyed but without casualties, and they are now gathered in the monastery and school, assuming that they are safe. Of course, they are under great pressure. They have Enough food for a while, but if the siege continues, there will be a problem,” he said, expressing his fear that the war on Gaza would continue for a long time.
He stressed that as long as the Palestinian issue, and the freedom, dignity and future of Palestinians, are not taken into consideration, in the necessary ways today, the prospects for peace will remain increasingly difficult.
In turn, the spokesman for the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem, Father Issa Musleh, said, “Today we stand before a heinous crime against innocent people in the Gaza Strip. It is unthinkable for us to be slaughtered in front of a world that does nothing, and from here we call on the world to take immediate action to stop the genocide that is taking place.” committed against innocent Palestinians.”
Musleh added: “Our message is to stop this war and put pressure on the Israeli occupation government, in order to open safe corridors to deliver medicines, food supplies, and baby formula to the defenseless in Gaza.”
He stressed that the Palestinian people will not kneel, will not leave, and will remain rooted in their land, and the ongoing displacement plan is completely unacceptable, calling for uniting the national ranks to confront all occupation plans.
In a statement issued on Friday, the patriarchs and heads of churches in Jerusalem called for allowing humanitarian supplies to enter the Gaza Strip, “so that thousands of innocent civilians can obtain medical treatment and basic supplies.”
They stressed that “the order to evacuate northern Gaza and the request to transfer 1.1 million people, including all the Christian Palestinians there, will deepen the already horrific humanitarian catastrophe.”
They called on the churches and Christians in the Holy Land and all philanthropists around the world to “fast and pray next Tuesday, October 17” for the sake of peace.
Today, Sunday, Pope Francis issued a call to expedite the opening of humanitarian corridors in the besieged Gaza Strip, which is subject to continuous Israeli bombing.
“Humanitarian law must be respected, especially in Gaza, where it is urgent and necessary to ensure (open) humanitarian corridors and assist the population,” the Pope said after praying the Angelus in St. Peter’s Basilica Square.
In a not final outcome, the Ministry of Health announced today that the number of martyrs among our people in the Gaza Strip has risen to 2,329, the majority of whom are children and women, while the number of wounded has reached 9,042, since the beginning of the aggression.
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