“They want us to evacuate the parish, but if we have to die, we must die next to Jesus” – Flama Agency

The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza continues to generate death and devastation throughout the Strip, where the humanitarian situation remains catastrophic, especially in the southern border city of Rafah, which is threatened by a ground attack. In the north, the apparent calm in areas such as Al-Zaytoun, the eastern neighborhood of Gaza City – and where Holy Family Parish is located – has been disturbed by violence. He asked to leave it that they received the civilians who were still there; It is a request, in this sense, sent by the Israeli army, which aroused the fear of the Palestinian population.

While the death toll from the conflict, according to the authorities in Gaza, is rising and exceeds 29,000 people, bombs have returned to this part of the Strip after destroying many of its facilities during the first months of the war. “But, as they have done on other occasions, they are ordering us to leave We want to continue to stay within the church“, as he knew it inan agency sir One of the nuns inside the only Catholic temple in Gaza, Nabila SalehIt houses hundreds of people, some of whom (25) were martyred since the beginning of the massacre. Nearly a thousand Arab Catholics live in this parish, which lacks resources such as water, electricity, and food.

He explains that the reason they refuse to evacuate the area is because it is almost impossible to transport the elderly, sick and disabled in the parish. A situation that would jeopardize their safety. “If we had to die, we would prefer to do so and stay as close as possible to Jesus, near the altar. “We will not leave here, this is our home and we will stay here,” admit some Christians who have been living together for weeks in this temple, where bombs can be heard exploding. Repeatedly and where his structure is built, which is increasingly weakened, he is the only refuge for them all.

For her part, the nun disputes in this publication that “no one is doing anything to stop this war,” and that is why she speaks of the international community as a structure that “lacks courage,” as she puts it. “While they are not moving, people are still dying here under the bombs, from hunger and hardship. What else do they want from the poor?“, Nabila Saleh denounced.