In Depth:  Gaza

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Letter

Responding to Krish Kandiah: Middle East complexities

Date posted: 21 Nov 2024

Dear Editor,

Krish Kandiah is right to say that we should mourn with those who mourn, irrespective of nationality, and that God loves Jews and Gentiles alike (October en). There are, however, some uncomfortable comparisons to be made between Hamas/ Hezbollah and Israel that need to inform our prayers

Letter

7th October anniversary

Date posted: 23 Oct 2024

Dear Editor,

On the anniversary of the Israel/Gaza slaughter of Jews [by Hamas] and, learning that 9% of the 18–24 year olds in the UK are sympathetic to the Gaza/Hamas/ Hezbollah regimes, I am surprised how quiet pulpits have been on the topic, explaining why [some] Muslims turn to the cruellest of violence.

Do Gaza Christians face extinction?

Do Gaza Christians face extinction?

Iain Taylor
Iain Taylor

A Gazan Christian fears he may be one of the last Christians ever to have lived in the territory.

Embrace the Middle East is a Christian development agency that works to tackle poverty and injustice across the region. It currently works with Christians in Egypt, Iraq, Israel/Palestine, Lebanon and Syria, supporting various health, education and community projects which bring vital services to those at risk of marginalisation and exclusion.

Gaza: can Christianity now survive?

Gaza: can Christianity now survive?

Iain Taylor
Iain Taylor

Thirty out of the estimated 1,000 Christians still left in Gaza have been killed, according to local church sources.

And as Gaza’s Christian population continues to shrink, down from about 3,500 before the war began, commentators fear that one of the oldest Christian communities in the world may be literally dying out.

Gaza: Christians resilient as war goes on

Gaza: Christians resilient as war goes on

Iain Taylor
Iain Taylor

‘Jesus is in the rubble’ according to a Middle Eastern pastor, as Gaza continues to face intense Israeli military action and fears of war spreading accelerate.

Rhiannon de Laune (see photo), from Christian charity Embrace the Middle East, was quoting a Bethlehem pastor, Munther Isaac.

Gaza: Christians continue to serve

Gaza: Christians continue to serve

Iain Taylor
Iain Taylor

The appalling death and destruction inflicted by both sides during the current Israel/Hamas conflict in the Middle East has horrified the world. But even amidst the carnage and destruction so visible on our TV screens day after day, churches and Christian organisations are bringing help and hope to the region, even though they too have also become intended or accidental targets of the violence.

Christian TV station SAT-7, which broadcasts across the Middle East, reports that shelling caused severe damage to a new cancer ward at the Anglican Church-funded Al Ahli hospital in Gaza. An explosion in its courtyard, thought to have been caused by a misfired Gazan missile, killed almost 500 people sheltering there. The hospital continues to operate as best it can, however, and has been accepting patients from other besieged hospitals that have had to stop working.