Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in al-Quds have denounced the loss of more than 100 Palestinian lives in an Israeli attack on a crowd waiting for food in Gaza City, demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire there and unconditional access to life-saving commodities.
“We condemn this wanton attack against innocent civilians, and call for the warring parties to reach an immediate and lengthy ceasefire that allows for the speedy disbursement of relief supplies throughout the Gaza Strip, and for the enactment of a negotiated release of those held as captives and [prisoners],” they said in a statement released on Friday.
The church leaders also voiced solid support for the Christian communities in Gaza, which include more than 800 people and have now taken refuge in the Church of Saint Porphyrius and the Holy Family Church in Gaza City.
“We likewise extend these same expressions of solidarity to the intrepid staff and volunteers of the Anglican-run Ahli Hospital, and to the patients they serve,” the statement also read.
They finally demanded an end to Israeli hostilities in Gaza, the release of captives, and serious diplomatic discussion that would ultimately lead to a just and lasting peace in the Gaza Strip and across the occupied West Bank.
Hundreds of starving Palestinians had gathered to collect food aid when the Israeli military opened fire on them, in an attack that has been described as a massacre of civilians.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, at least 112 Palestinians were killed and 760 more injured in the assault.
Israel waged its brutal war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.
At least 30,228 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, and 71,377 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.
