Gaza: Clergy and aid workers remain in church despite evacuation order

Mother and child on ruin of their home

Source: CAFOD

Gaza City residents were airdropped Israeli leaflets on Tuesday ordering them to evacuate immediately as the government in Tel Aviv said it was about to obliterate the area in an assault to wipe out Hamas.

One million people called Gaza City home before the onset of Israeli attacks in October 2023 destroyed most homes and infrastructure.

Amid continuing bombings and raids, they have been preparing for weeks for the expected onslaught since the Israeli government said it devised a plan purportedly designed to deal Hamas a fatal blow in what it says are the militant group's last strongholds.

Residents have been instructed to move to a designated "humanitarian zone" in the already overcrowded Al-Mawasi area along the coast in the south, where thousands of Palestinians have already been sheltering in tents amid continuing bombing.

Tuesday's evacuation orders reportedly caused panic among the city's residents, who say there is no safe place to go to escape bombardment and a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.

At a tent area housing displaced cancer patients, people say they are trapped.

Clergy and aid workers at the Catholic Church of the Holy Family, have decided to remain in place.

Elizabeth Funnell, CAFOD's Middle East Programme representative, said: "Our partners at the Catholic church inside Gaza City, have told us they will continue to remain in place.

"Hundreds of people are sheltering, exhausted, inside the Holy Family church compound, and it is heartbreaking to watch our partners and the communities they serve forced into yet more suffering.

"These are people whose homes have been damaged or destroyed, and whose livelihoods have vanished. Vulnerable, elderly, hungry and disabled people, many unable to leave, and frightened to stay.

"There is chaos and confusion, and everywhere is overcrowded. They have nowhere safe to go."

Three people living at the church lost their lives in July, when the church itself was hit by Israeli shelling. This despite being a sacred space protected under international humanitarian law. The incident shattered all sense of safety, yet the only hope for this community - made up of Christian and Muslims living together - is that the sanctity of the religious building can still offer them some protection.

To donate to CAFOD's Gaza Crisis Appeal see: https://cafod.org.uk/give/donate-to-emergencies/gaza-crisis-appeal