Christians in Gaza work through grief and hope as Easter begins
▶ Daily calls from Pope Francis give strength to many who have not stepped outside church for months
In the northern Gaza Strip, about 800 Christians who have sought refuge in two churches pray for an end to the war.
Their prayers for Easter are filled with sorrow and grief for lives lost, but remain tinged with hope for peace.
Christians sought refuge in the Holy Family Church, the only Roman Catholic parish in Gaza, and the historic Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius, after war broke out following the October 7 attacks.
Grieving for lost friends and relatives, they choose to stay within each compound, despite the churches being only a five-minute walk apart, for fear of Israeli bombings.
With food supplies having dwindled, parishioners often make do with bread, as is the case with other Gaza residents.
The tiny number of Christians in Gaza before the war – 1,017 out of the enclave’s population of 2.3 million – has dropped further, with many having left.
“It’s inhuman, horrible conditions. More than 50 per cent have not been outside the door of the church for six months because they are so scared,” George Anton, who lives with his family in the Holy Family Church and is a manager with a Catholic humanitarian organisation, told The National.
Mr Anton says his aunt and cousin were shot dead by Israeli snipers as they walked from the church to a convent building, while 10 other relatives were wounded in December.
The Roman Catholic Church condemned the December 16 attack that killed two parishioners in the church complex. The Israeli army denied its snipers were involved.
“How can you recover from this? It was an attack on the church itself,” Mr Anton said.
The community has pulled together with daily Mass services, a mobile clinic and a project to support the mental health of children.
About 600 Christians – including 57 children, the elderly and people with disabilities – are housed in the Catholic church and about 260 people, mainly Christians, live in the nearby Greek Orthodox church.
People are assigned different tasks such as purchasing food, cooking and managing electricity and water supplies.
“We spend hours and hours to gather food for 600 people,” Mr Anton said about his team that goes to the market daily.
“Sometimes, we spend days to collect enough flour and rice to feed so many people. Many times we go to the market and we don’t find anything.”
When only wheat is available, the congregation is asked to manage with bread that day. Food expenses are largely covered by the church or philanthropic businessmen.
Evening phone calls from Pope Francis help to build hope. Since October, the Pope has called most days at 8pm Gaza time and spoken to Father Youssef Asaad to check what support the parish requires.
“The Pope is still talking to the priest every day and our priest shares these calls with us,” Mr Anton said. “The Pope speaks to everyone ... The people ask him about security. They ask him to push the Israelis to allow assistance to get to the community and to the churches.”
In Gaza, church pews are decorated with palm leaves to mark Palm Sunday, the start of the holy week leading to Easter. “When we celebrate Easter Mass, we hope with prayers we can change the hearts of Israelis and Palestinians to sit together and find a peaceful way through dialogue,” Mr Anton said.
The Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius was hit in an Israeli strike that killed 18 and wounded dozens on October 20 last year. Despite the damage, many have remained there as the church offers more protection than the demarcated safe zones in the south.
Rami Aljelda, 31, who works for a humanitarian organisation and lives with his family in the church, said they were “doing their best to stay alive”.
“We feel we are next. We feel that any moment can be our last,” he said. “We are doing our best to stay resilient. Every day we hear we have lost a community member, we hear terrible news of people we know killed in an air strike.”
After October 7, some took refuge in the Catholic church while others moved south and those with foreign passports left.
Mr Aljelda wants to leave Gaza and is appealing to friends and family for help. “When I go out on the streets, I see nothing but destruction. I feel I’m in an apocalypse movie,” he said.
Gaza residents have lost their homes and cars in Israeli bombings and soaring prices have eaten into their savings. They speak of hunger, shortage of water and bathrooms shared with hundreds of people.
“The first priority is water for the bathrooms,” Mr Aljelda said. “We need electricity mainly to get the water from the well to fill tanks on the roof. We can’t take a shower more than once a week.”
About 600 Christians are housed in the Catholic church while another 260 live in the nearby Greek Orthodox church