Gaza’s Christians celebrate mass on Palm Sunday amid Israel’s war on the enclave [Getty]
Gaza’s Christian community are celebrating Palm Sunday amid Israel’s intensification of strikes on the Palestinian enclave, including a deliberate strike on Gaza’s only Christian-run hospital.
In a pre-dawn strike, Israel hit Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City with missiles, with one child patient dying during the rushed evacuation because medical staff were unable to provide urgent care, it said.
The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem. which runs the hospital, said in a statement that the Israeli strike also damaged the adjacent Church of St. Phillip.
“The Diocese of Jerusalem condemns in the strongest terms today’s missile attacks on the Ahli Arab Hospital, an institution run by the Anglican Church in Jerusalem. The twin strikes demolished the two-storey Genetic Laboratory and damaged the Pharmacy and the Emergency Department buildings. It also resulted in other collateral damage to the surrounding buildings, including the church building of St. Philip’s,” the statement read.
“A mere twenty minutes prior to the attack, the Israeli army ordered all patients, employees, and displaced people to immediately evacuate the hospital premises prior to its bombing. We thank God that there were no injuries or deaths as a result of the bombing. However, one child who previously suffered a head injury tragically died as a result of the rushed evacuation process,” the statement added.
“The Diocese of Jerusalem is appalled at the bombing of the hospital now for the fifth time since the beginning of the war in 2023—and this time on the morning of Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week,” it concluded.
Palm Sunday commemorates the day that Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, during which residents of the city waved palm branches to welcome him. The day marks the beginning of Holy Week, the week leading up to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
On Saturday, the Patriarchal Vicariate in the Gaza Strip posted photos on its Facebook page of the decoration of Saint Porphyrius Church in Gaza City and the preparations underway for Palm Sunday.
These include decorating the church, which is the world’s third oldest Christian holy place, with palm fronds.
The day will culminate with a special mass, followed by feasts and family festivities afterwards.
Photos shared on the Patriarchal Vicariate’s Facebook page show children shaping the palm branches into crosses, hearts, and crowns to decorate the church entrances and courtyards, or to distribute among worshippers to carry during the occasion.
Out of a population of more than two million, approximately 1,100 Christians live in the Gaza Strip. Around 70 percent of them are Greek Orthodox, who have a central church in Jerusalem, while the rest are Roman Catholic.
Israel has targeted numerous Christian and Muslim places of worship, often used as makeshift shelters for displaced civilians, throughout its brutal war on Gaza. This includes an attack on the Church of Saint Porphyrius in 2023, which killed 18 Palestinian civilians. Over 450 Christian and Muslim Palestinians had been sheltering in the church.
Israel’s attack on the Palestinian enclave has killed at least 60,700 people, the vast majority of whom are women and children.
