Catholic and Orthodox clergy say they intend to remain in Gaza City

Catholic and Orthodox priests and nuns intend to remain in Gaza City, where the Israeli army has tightened its grip in recent days ahead of a planned offensive, the two religious communities announced Tuesday.

"We do not know exactly what will happen on the ground, not only for our community, but for the entire population," the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said in a joint statement. But "leaving Gaza City and attempting to flee south would amount to a death sentence," and "that is why the priests and nuns have decided to stay and continue caring for all those who will remain in the parish complexes," they said.

Defense Minister Israel Katz "approved" the offensive against Gaza City last week, after more than 22 months of war that have devastated the Palestinian territory and killed tens of thousands, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu subsequently gave his consent. Israel considers Gaza City, ravaged by war and officially struck by famine according to the United Nations, as one of the last strongholds of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

"At the time we publish this statement, evacuation orders have already been given for several neighborhoods of Gaza City," the patriarchates noted. Since the start of the war, the buildings of the Greek Orthodox parish of Saint Porphyrius and those of the Latin parish of the Holy Family "have served as a refuge for hundreds of civilians," many of whom are weakened and suffering from malnutrition. "Like all other residents of Gaza City, the refugees living in these parish complexes will have to decide in good conscience what they want to do," the patriarchates said.

About 635 Christians are now in the whole of the Gaza Strip, along with about a dozen priests and nuns, according to data provided Tuesday to AFP by a spokesman for the Latin Patriarchate. In early March, the Israeli government imposed a total humanitarian blockade on the Gaza Strip, leading to severe food shortages, the worst since the start of the war in Gaza, which was triggered by Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

This article originally appeared in French in AFP