Greek Orthodox Church in Gaza City, where hundreds of displaced Palestinians had taken refuge, was hit by an Israeli airstrike overnight, the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and Hamas government officials said. The Hamas government’s press office said 18 Christian Palestinians were killed in the raid, while Palestinian officials indicated that at least 500 people — Muslims and Christians — had sought refuge in the church.
The Patriarchate has not yet announced a death toll.
Eyewitnesses said the Israeli strike appeared to target an area near the church, where many residents of Gaza City have sought refuge.
The Israeli army admitted today that it carried out an airstrike in the area yesterday.
“Earlier today (yesterday, Thursday) Israeli military warplanes attacked the command and control center of a Hamas terrorist who had been involved in firing rockets and shells against Israel,” an army spokesman said.
This center “was used to launch attacks against Israel and there was a terrorist infrastructure of the terrorist organization Hamas”, he clarified.
“Human Shield”
“After the attack by the Israeli army the wall of a church located in the area was damaged. We have been informed that there are reports of casualties and the process of confirming the incident has begun,” the spokesman noted.
He emphasized that “Hamas is deliberately placing itself in populated areas with civilians and using the residents of the Gaza Strip as human shields”, while repeating the request of the Israeli army to evacuate the northern part of the enclave.
According to eyewitnesses, the front of the church and an adjacent building were damaged by the airstrike. As the eyewitnesses added, many injured were taken to the hospital, according to international agencies and the Athens News Agency.
The Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem condemned “in the strongest terms the Israeli airstrike that hit the church site in Gaza City,” according to a statement on its website.
“The Patriarchate underlines that the targeting of churches, as well as the shelters they offer to protect innocent citizens, especially children and women who have lost their homes due to Israeli airstrikes against residential areas in the last 13 days, is a crime of war and cannot be ignored,” the statement added.
Agios Porphyrios is the oldest, still active church in the Palestinian enclave. It is located in a historic quarter of old Gaza and, according to tradition, it houses the relics of Saint Porphyry, who was the bishop of Gaza in the 5th century.
It is not far from the al-Ahli hospital that was hit on Tuesday night, killing 471 people, according to Hamas’ tally. The Islamist group blamed Israel for the massacre at the hospital, while the Israeli military denied responsibility and blamed the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The number of Christians in the Gaza Strip has declined in recent years. It is estimated that there are less than a thousand left (most of whom are Orthodox), while before Hamas took power in Gaza (2007), Christians numbered more than seven thousand.
Source: News Beast
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