The Anglican Archbishop of Jerusalem and the Middle East, which covers the West Bank and Gaza, has said that the population of Christians in Gaza had dropped 40 per cent in a few months – and that it was his expectation that “none will be left after this war is over”.
He told RTE’s Prime Time that the prospect of the Holy land being devoid of Christians – those he described as living stones – as “our worst nightmare”.
Archbishop Hosam Naoum also told Independent.ie “For us this is a really worrying situation because Gaza is one of the most ancient centres of Christianity,”
He welcomed the decision of the Irish government to recognise the state of Palestine, saying it was “momentous” and that it “brings joy to a lot of Palestinians”, adding that “it would have been the better if Israel was part of that move”.
The Archbishop’s congregation funds the only operating hospital – the Al-Ahli hospital – in the north of Gaza, which was the subject of a rocket attack last year, though it remains the subject of controversy who fired the rocket. Up to 200 people were killed in the attack.
“The hospital is a beacon of hope to many Gazans,” he said, explaining that they had also opened a new clinic in Rafah, saying their presence promoted peace and reconciliation and healing.
“We hear statistics of people who are injured or have died and about the work we are doing on the ground, whether in Gaza or Rafah,” Dr Naoum said, adding that the situation was “far worse” than what people saw in the media, the Irish Independent reported.
“You hear about numbers and figures but to see the suffering on the ground… it is something that grieves us all.”
“In war, no one wins. That is what really breaks our heart – we are seeing the loss of innocent lives, and the conflict doesn’t bring anything besides violence and death,” Dr Naoum said.
The current violence in the region began on 7 October last year when Hamas gunmen launched a deadly attack across Israel’s border killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages. Since then, Israel’s ferocious campaign of the crowded Gaza region has left some 35,000 people and more than twice that number injured, the Hamas Ministry for Health says.
The Archbishop said that until Israel took control of the Rafah crossing the congregation had lost 400 Christians out of 1,000. “Up until Israel took control of the Rafah crossing we had lost 400 Christians out of 1,000,” Dr Naoum said.
“The population has dropped 40pc within a few months. If it wasn’t for the closing of the Rafah crossing, more would have left.
“My expectation is that none will be left after this war is over. For us this is a really worrying situation because Gaza is one of the most ancient centres of Christianity.”
Archbishop Naoum visited Ireland this week for a short joint retreat with clergy from Dublin and Glendalough. At a service in St Ann’s Church, Dawson Street, the results of a Shine a Light appeal for the Diocese of Jerusalem were shared. with in excess of €216,000 raised.
“What the hospital is doing and what it has done and will continue to do is absolutely phenomenal. The Church continues to serve in the direst places – places of want and need,” he said.
He thanked the people in Ireland who supported the Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough’s appeal for the Gaza hospital.
Hospitals in the region have been left without necessary equipment and supplies for months now, with BBC reporting a doctor saying that “because of the shortage of painkillers we leave patients to scream for hours and hours.” The World Health Organization (WHO) has described the state of healthcare in Gaza as being “beyond words”.
The WHO says that only around one third of Gaza’s 36 hospitals still function, leaving critical health care facilities “inaccessible” to patients impacted by the ongoing war.
Doctors across Gaza describe operating on patients without anesthetic...
— SpottyIreland (@SpottyIreland) March 12, 2024
"Because of the shortage of painkillers we leave patients to scream for hours and hours," https://t.co/zql12W3t1B
Israel insists that it is targeting specific areas where Hamas “systematically uses hospitals and medical centres for its terror activities”.
Archbishop Naoum said that the world needed to “come together” for peace in Gaza., and that any ceasefire would have to “implement justice for the whole region” and “provide a vision for the future” after the end of the war.
“This is a devastating war, but hopefully it will bring an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, that the two sides with the international community can really come together and say, enough with war, enough with violence,” he said.
“Let’s imagine the Holy Land for the future and for the sake of generations, where both Palestinians and Israelis can live side by side in peace and harmony,” Archbishop Naoum added.
“I think what’s happening now in Ireland and in many other countries in Europe, this will be a step towards an awakening so that both nations can come and have a grip about how important peace is.”
Archbishop Hosam Naoum of The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and Archbishop Michael Jackson of Dublin and Glendalough pray for peace in Christ Church Cathedral Dublin this evening. @cccdub pic.twitter.com/aY3RNawn2R
— Dublin & Glendalough (@UnitedDioceses) May 29, 2024