18 people, all Orthodox Palestinianswere killed in an Israeli attack on the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyry in Gaza, Palestinian authorities announced at noon.
The same number of victims was mentioned earlier in a conversation with SKAI Metropolitan Alexios of Gaza, abbot of the monastery of St. Porphyrios. Sources from the Gaza Strip administration also spoke this morning of dozens of people trapped under the rubble, while the number of wounded remains unknown. It is noted that this is a place where many civilians sought refuge.
Greek Foreign Ministry on the attack on the Greek Orthodox Church in Gaza: “We express deep sorrow at the loss of life.”
The Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem directly attributed the strike to Israel. An Israeli army spokesman interviewed by the French news agency responded yesterday to a similar Hamas statement that the matter was under investigation and he could not confirm reports of an “Israeli strike.”
A Christian man with special needs was pulled out alive from under the rubble of the Greek Orthodox Church which was targeted by Israeli missiles in #Gaza last night. pic.twitter.com/EBtMCKIut8
— PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) October 20, 2023
A Christian with special needs has been pulled alive from the rubble of a Greek Orthodox church that was hit by Israeli rockets in the Gaza Strip last night.
Jerusalem Patriarchate: Hitting churches is a war crime. IN In his statement today he said:
“The Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem expresses its strongest condemnation of the Israeli airstrike that hit its church compound in Gaza City. The attack targeted churches and their institutions, including shelters that provide protection to civilians, especially women and children who lost their homes as a result of Israeli airstrikes on populated areas over the past thirteen days constitute a war crime that cannot be ignored.”
The Church of Saint Porphyry is the oldest Christian church in the Gaza Strip. It is located next to the mosque in the historical quarter of the city. The statement noted that the Patriarchate, along with other churches, remains committed to providing assistance and shelter to citizens, despite Israel’s constant orders to evacuate institutions. “The Patriarchy emphasizes that it will not abandon its religious and humanitarian duty, stemming from its Christian values, in order to provide everything necessary in times of war and peace,” – the statement says.
https://twitter.com/ytirawi/status/1715128598728696179
The Israeli massacre of the Palestinian Christian community after the bombing of the Church of St. Porphyry (the 3rd oldest church in the world) led to the death of 40 Palestinians. The death toll is expected to rise sharply in the coming hours.
An Al Jazeera correspondent in Gaza reports that thousands of people have been forced from their homes and are rushing to find shelter in the courtyards of hospitals, schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), and shelters of all kinds.
They assumed that they would be safe there, as were those who took refuge in the Greek Orthodox Church, but it appears that all places are now under fire.
Edition protothema notes that about 25 people with Greek passports live in the Gaza Strip. 13 people said they want to leave and are in constant contact with the consulate and embassy. It was decided that as soon as Rafa was revealed, they would go to Egypt. The rest, mostly associated with the church, said they would stay.
Site of bombardment that leveled the Orthodox Church administration building and caused heavy damage to the historic Church. Utter devastation pic.twitter.com/fp0yvtN24g
— Nour Odeh 🇵🇸🍉 #NojusticeNopeace (@nour_odeh) October 19, 2023
The site of the shelling, as a result of which the administrative building of the Orthodox Church was destroyed and great damage was caused to the historical church.
The Israeli army today admitted that it carried out an airstrike in the area yesterday. “Earlier today (yesterday, Thursday), Israeli army fighters attacked the command and control post of a Hamas terrorist involved in firing rockets and shells at Israel,” an army spokesman said. This center “was used to perform attacks on Israel, and it housed the terrorist infrastructure of the terrorist organization Hamas,” he said.
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