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.
Of those 30, 19 have been killed by military action. Two were women shot dead by sniper fire at the Holy Family Catholic Church, Gaza City. The remaining 17 were killed while taking refuge at St Porphyrios Greek Orthodox Church, when Israeli rockets hit its compound during an aerial attack on a Hamas command post. A further 11 have died from lack of medical care, including 48-year-old Hani Abu Daud, after he was unable to receive dialysis treatment due to the lack of fuel and electricity.
