It pains me beyond measure to report to you that the situation facing Palestinian Christians in Gaza has gone from bad to worse to desperate.
Since the beginning of the war, nearly 1,000 Christians have been sheltering in two historic church buildings in Gaza City, and in a group of private homes nearby.
But their food, water and other critical supplies have almost run out.
And no one is resupplying them.
This is completely unacceptable.
The world 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 more than a month to cut through the bureaucracy and get food to our brothers and sisters in Gaza.
But we keep hitting literal and figurative roadblocks wherever we turn.
So have other Christian NGOs that I have spoken to.
I call on Christians around the world to pray urgently that these bureaucratic log jams would be broken immediately.
The Joshua Fund is ready, willing, and able to pay for food to get to our brothers and sisters in Gaza.
But no one appears willing to help us literally get the aid to the churches in Gaza City.
Christians are sheltering in churches in Gaza but supplies are running out (photo credit: ALL ARAB NEWS sources)
WHAT EXACTLY ARE CHRISTIANS IN GAZA SAYING?
“The situation is bad around us,” a Palestinian Christian inside Gaza tells ALL ARAB NEWS.
“The sounds [of explosions] make us afraid. We are imprisoned in the basement.”
“The children are crying for food.”
“The grandmother of one group of children had some bread and cheese that she had been hiding,” the source told us. “She gave it to them. We adults did not eat anything.”
Another Arab Christian source told ALL ARAB NEWS: “There is almost no food left in both churches.”
“Children are crying for food,” the source told me.
“Adults don’t eat – if there is food, they give it to the children.”
“The adults are just eating crumbs.”
ALL ARAB NEWS has also learned that “the water tanks in the Latin Church [in Gaza City] exploded” due to street fighting between Hamas and the IDF.
This means the Christians in that church are quickly running out of fresh water.
“The tanks of water were bombed so we do not have water,” a source tells us. “It is very hard to wash and use the toilets.”
“If the situation around us was good, we would go out [of the church] to get things [food and water]. But the situation around is bad. Lots of hard bombing.”
“The people are really scared.”
WHY AREN’T AID TRUCKS GETTING FOOD & WATER TO THE CHRISTIANS IN GAZA CITY?
Here’s the main problem.
The only aid that can get into Gaza comes through the Rafah crossing, located on the border between the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip.
All of 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 upon hundreds of trucks filled with food, medical supplies, water, fuel and other aid are coming into southern Gaza through the Rafah crossing, none of these supplies are getting to the Christians in the north.
I’m not saying that the Red Crescent officials are intentionally refusing to send food and other aid to the Christians.
That is possible, but I have not heard anyone allege this.
Rather, it appears that Palestinian Christians are falling through the cracks in the system amidst enormous and desperate needs among Palestinian Muslims.
Before Christian NGOs can get aid through the Rafah crossing, one must establish a Memorandum of Understanding with the Egyptian Red Crescent.
But with hundreds of global NGOs trying to help, there is a bureaucratic backlog.
The Red Crescent isn’t processing and approving requests fast enough.
And to my knowledge, they are not prioritizing Christian NGOs.
But even if one establishes an MOU with the Red Crescent, their regulations state that it takes a minimum of 15 days to get trucks of aid approved for entry into Gaza.
And then come the security checks.
The list of requirements for getting all these approvals is long.
And so the Christians in Gaza are suffering terribly.
As we have reported before, there are only about 1,000 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 get visas to other countries and actually get out of Gaza over the past 60 days or so.
Others are trying to get visas but that can be a long and cumbersome process.
Then, of course, there are now upwards of two million Muslims crowded into the southern half of the Gaza Strip.
What’s more, very heavy fighting is underway as the IDF penetrates Hamas strongholds in Khan Younis and other southern cities in Gaza.
Bottom line: Only Muslims are being cared for.
The Christians of Gaza are being ignored.
THE WORLD MUST ACT – ISRAEL MUST ACT — IMMEDIATELY
This is completely unacceptable.
While this terrible situation is not Israel’s fault – it was Hamas that started this ghastly war, not Israel; and it was Hamas who broke the temporary truce last week, not Israel – the Israeli government does have a moral responsibility here.
Yes, it’s true that the Christians of Gaza are not asking the IDF to help them.
Yes, it’s true that Palestinian Christians say they don’t want Israeli help.
Why?
Because they fear being branded as Israeli collaborators – which is a death sentence in Gaza.
These Christians are afraid of Israeli bombings, tanks, and soldiers.
But they are also afraid of Hamas.
They are terrified of going south to where the aid supplies are because they fear being raped or killed by Hamas operatives and/or sympathizers.
Or being bombed or shot on the way.
Nevertheless, the Israeli government cannot allow Christians in Gaza to starve to death.
Or run out of water.
Hamas wants the Christians to die.
But Israel must not let this happen.
Israeli officials at the highest level must find an immediate way to allow international NGOs – like The Joshua Fund – to get food, water, medical supplies, doctors and other aid to our brothers and sisters right now.
Now.
Before it is too late.
READ MORE:
BREAKING: Palestinian Christians are beginning to safely leave Gaza – here’s what we know right now
