HOLY LAND: Christians in Gaza consider themselves ‘lucky’

Hundreds of Christians sheltering at Gaza’s only Catholic church – and receiving essential support – consider themselves fortunate to be alive, according to the priest looking after them.

Father Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest at Holy Family Church, told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that about 500 of a thousand Christians remaining in Gaza have taken refuge at the parish compound.

The Argentinian priest said that the Church has provided emergency help not only to those sheltering in the parish but also thousands of other families, “ensuring that aid reaches everyone in real need, because the situation in Gaza at the moment is of extreme poverty”.

He added: “Living in close quarters with 500 people isn’t easy, but even so, we consider ourselves lucky.

“As we say, we live with Jesus, in his house, and despite everything, we manage not only to survive, but also to help thousands of other families with food, water and medication, though all of this is limited, as for the past few weeks the borders have been closed to humanitarian aid.”

Father Romanelli said that those living at Holy Family Church “pray the Rosary every day with the children and the adults, before the Blessed Sacrament”.          

He added: “God grant that we have true peace soon, that this war should end.”

He explained that some people “who had the opportunity to leave, have already done so. Some want to leave, others don’t.

“Many want to remain because they were born here, this is their land, and they see themselves as the descendants of the first Christians, which is indeed the case, as are all the Christians in the Holy Land.”

Both Christian compounds in Gaza have been impacted by the war – 18 people died when Saint Porphyrius Greek Orthodox Church was hit by at airstrike in October 2023, and two women were shot dead by military snipers at the Holy Family Church in December the same year.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, ACN’s main project partner in the Holy Land, continues to provide support to Christian families in Gaza, as well as to the wider civilian population. 

ACN help in the Holy Land has included emergency aid, food, housing, school fees and medical assistance to hundreds of Christian families, as well as job creation programmes, support for Christian-run organisations and pastoral projects.

ACN’s UK office is only able to contribute to the support in the West Bank and East Jerusalem because the UK government’s counter-terrorism sanctions make it impossible to transfer funds into Gaza.