It pains me extremely to tell you that the situation facing Palestinian Christians in Gaza has gone from bad to worse, even desperate.
Since the start of the war, nearly 1,000 Christians have taken refuge in two historic churches in Gaza City and in a cluster of private homes nearby.
But their supplies of food, water and other essentials are almost exhausted.
And no one restocks them.
This is totally unacceptable.
The global community must act now – today.
The Israeli government must act now – today.
No more delays.
No more excuses.
The international community has a moral responsibility to resupply these Christians and to do so urgently.
Our own Christian NGO – The Joshua Fund – has been trying for over a month to cut through bureaucracy and provide food to our brothers and sisters in Gaza.
But we continue to face obstacles, literally and figuratively, everywhere we turn.
The same goes for other Christian NGOs I spoke with.
I call on Christians around the world to urgently pray that these bureaucratic logjams will be resolved immediately.
The Joshua Fund is ready, willing and able to pay for food for our brothers and sisters in Gaza.
But no one seems willing to help us literally deliver aid to the churches in Gaza City.
Christians shelter in churches in Gaza but supplies are running out (Photo credit: ALL ARAB NEWS sources)
WHAT EXACTLY ARE GAZA CHRISTIANS SAYING?
“The situation is bad around us,” a Palestinian Christian in Gaza told ALL ARAB NEWS.
“The noises (of the explosions) scare us. We are trapped in the basement.
“The children are asking for food. »
“The grandmother of a group of children had bread and cheese that she was hiding,” the source told us. “She gave it to them. We adults didn’t eat anything.
Another Arab Christian source told ALL ARAB NEWS that “there is almost no food left in the two churches.”
“The children are asking for food,” the source told me.
“The adults don’t eat. If there is food, they give it to the children.”
“Adults only eat crumbs. »
ALL ARAB NEWS also learned that “the water tanks of the Latin Church (in Gaza City) exploded” due to street fighting between Hamas and the Israeli army.
This means that the Christians in this church are quickly running out of fresh water.
“The water reservoirs were bombed so we have no water,” a source tells us. “It is very difficult to wash and use the toilet. »
“If the situation around us was good, we would go out (of the church) to look for things (food and water). But the situation is bad. Lots of heavy bombing.
“People are really scared.”
WHY ARE AID TRUCKS NOT BRINGING FOOD AND WATER TO CHRISTIANS IN GAZA CITY?
Here is the main problem.
The only aid that can enter Gaza is through the Rafah crossing, located on the border between Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip.
All this aid must be coordinated and approved by the Egyptian Red Crescent, which is a Muslim organization, the Islamic version of the American Red Cross.
While it is true that hundreds and hundreds of trucks full of food, medical supplies, water, fuel and other aid are arriving in southern Gaza through the Rafah crossing, none of these supplies happens to the Christians of the north.
I am not saying that Red Crescent officials intentionally refuse to send food and other aid to Christians.
It’s possible, but I haven’t heard anyone claim it.
Rather, it seems that Palestinian Christians are falling through the cracks of the system, amid the enormous and desperate needs of Palestinian Muslims.
Before Christian NGOs can obtain aid through the Rafah crossing, a memorandum of understanding must be established with the Egyptian Red Crescent.
But with hundreds of global NGOs trying to help, there is a bureaucratic backlog.
The Red Crescent does not process and approve applications quickly enough.
And to my knowledge, they do not give priority to Christian NGOs.
But even if a memorandum of understanding is established with the Red Crescent, their regulations stipulate that it takes at least 15 days for aid trucks to be approved to enter Gaza.
And then come the security checks.
The list of conditions required to obtain all these approvals is long.
Christians in Gaza are suffering terribly.
As we have previously reported, there are only about a thousand Christians left in Gaza.
That’s down from more than 3,000 when Hamas came to power in Gaza in 2007.
Fewer than 100 Christians have been able to obtain visas for other countries and leave Gaza in the past 60 days.
Others try to obtain visas, but this can be long and tedious.
Then, of course, there are now more than two million Muslims crowded into the southern half of the Gaza Strip.
Additionally, very heavy fighting is underway as the IDF enters Hamas strongholds in Khan Younis and other towns in southern Gaza.
Conclusion: only Muslims are supported.
Christians in Gaza are ignored.
THE WORLD MUST ACT – ISRAEL MUST ACT – IMMEDIATELY
This is totally unacceptable.
Although this terrible situation is not Israel’s fault, it was Hamas who started this horrible war, not Israel; and it was Hamas that broke the temporary truce last week, not Israel – the Israeli government has a moral responsibility here.
Yes, it’s true that Christians in Gaza are not asking the Israeli army to help them.
Yes, it’s true that Palestinian Christians say they don’t want Israeli aid.
For what?
Because they fear being labeled collaborators with Israel – which amounts to a death sentence in Gaza.
These Christians are afraid of bombings, tanks and Israeli soldiers.
But they are also afraid of Hamas.
They are terrified of going south, where humanitarian supplies are located, because they fear being raped or killed by Hamas members and/or sympathizers.
Or being bombed or shot down along the way.
However, the Israeli government cannot allow Christians in Gaza to starve.
Or run out of water.
Hamas wants Christians to die.
But Israel must not allow this to happen.
Israeli officials at the highest levels must find an immediate way to allow international NGOs – like the Joshua Fund – to provide food, water, medical supplies, doctors and other assistance to our brothers now and sisters.
NOW.
Before it is too late.
LEARN MORE:
BREAKING: Palestinian Christians begin to safely leave Gaza – here’s what we know now
