Gaza: Catholic parish struggling to survive

Fr Gabriel gives Communion to parishioner

Source: Aid to the Church in Need

The only Catholic parish in Gaza City has been forced to radically cut back on the aid it provides because of the three-month aid blockade, which was only (partially) lifted yesterday.

Father Gabriel Romanelli told Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that the parish has reduced resources to feed Christians sheltering in the Church, and a number of families living nearby, because Israeli authorities stopped emergency supplies from entering the territory.

He said: "For three months, we haven't received any aid. So, for now, we're rationing everything we have, and only after this rationing we can distribute it to the refugees in the compound and to people from outside."

But, he told ACN, the Church recently managed to distribute water both inside and outside the compound.

Yesterday (22nd May), Israel permitted 90 aid lorries to enter the Gaza Strip, but according to the UN no aid has yet been distributed following the 11-week blockade.

The UN estimated that around 500 trucks are needed every day to meet basic needs.

Father Romanelli said that "inside the parish compound, we are doing as well as possible, though we hear a lot of shelling, and sometimes shrapnel reaches our compound."

But the priest added that he has seen signs of mental illness, including depression, among the faithful.

Fr Gabriel went on to say that his main challenge is organising life in the parish under war-time conditions. The Church follows a regular schedule including silent prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament every morning and Mass in the afternoon.

Children have regular school lessons and other activities including weekly Bible study groups.

He concluded: "The most serious thing we see is that no one is talking about the end of the war or the right to stay here, or to rebuild homes, to start over. So we pray, and we ask people to pray and work for peace."

When the current conflict in Gaza broke out, most of the Christian population took refuge in the Holy Family Catholic parish and in the neighbouring Orthodox compound.

The Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip followed the terrorist attacks of 7th October 2023 carried out by Hamas and other jihadist groups operating from the territory.

The Catholic parish of the Holy Family looks after around 500 men, women and children, including a group with disabilities being looked after by the Missionaries of Charity.

According to Gaza's Ministry of Health and OHCHR (Office of the UN Commission for Human Rights) over 55,000 people in Gaza have been killed, as well as 166 journalists, 120 academics, 224 aid workers and medics. A study by OHCHR, veridied by three independent sources found that 70% of the casualties are women and children.

Around 52 members of the city's Christian population - which before the war stood at around 1,000 from both Orthodox and Catholic Churches - have either been killed in military attacks or died due to lack of medical attention.

LINK

Aid to the Church in Need: www.acnuk.org