Gaza and Israel

Steve Fouch
CMF Head of Communications
The Hamas attack on largely undefended Israelis on 7 October 2023 has shocked the world. The murder of around 1,200 (Israelis – both Jew and Arab – and several foreigners) [1] and the kidnap of another 240 [2] from southern Israel has rightly been almost universally condemned. [3]The Israeli response has also shocked the world. In seeking to destroy Hamas’ infrastructure through bombardment and ground assault of the Gaza Strip, [4] the death toll among Palestinian civilians (given by the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry as over 14,500 as of 21 November) [5] has also raised anger and international protest. [6]

At the time of writing, the war has paused for prisoner exchanges and to allow much-needed food, water, fuel, and medicines to reach the beleaguered population of just over two million in the Gaza Strip. The infrastructure of several major hospitals in Gaza has been significantly damaged; health workers have died or are dealing with a lack of power, water, medicines, or other essential supplies to care for the injured, the sick, pregnant women, and their children. [7]

CMF stands in support of our fellow health workers who seek to save lives and work constructively for peace in both Gaza and Israel. In particular, we have been praying for the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, run by the Anglican Church (Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem), and we have links and contacts with the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, where cancer and palliative care services were being developed and supported with the input of some CMF members. [8] Those services have all but stopped through a lack of resources. Many of the staff or their families have been injured or killed in the fighting and the bombardments.

Meanwhile, in Israel, the EMMS Nazareth Hospital continues to serve as a Christian hospital to a primarily Arab Israeli community. They face particular challenges at the moment, as heightened inter-community tensions bring hostility and fresh difficulties in relations with the wider community.

CMF has convened a series of prayer meetings to bring together members with links to the region, including the three hospitals named above. Please continue to pray with us for peace, for aid to reach those most in need, and above all, impossible as it now seems, for reconciliation and healing between the communities in Israel, Gaza, the West Bank and the wider world, sundered by the war and the history of this region.

If you want to support the work of Nazareth Hospital or Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, you can get more details on the following websites:

■ Nazareth Hospital Trust – nazarethtrust.org

■ American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem – afedj.org/institution/ahli-arab-hospital-gaza-city

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References

(accessed 28/11/2023)

  1. Israel revises Hamas attack death toll to ‘around 1,200’. Reuters. 10 November 2023. reut.rs/3T4KO6T
  2. Vinograd C, Kershner I. Israel’s Attackers Took About 240 Hostages. New York Times. 20 November 2023. nyti.ms/3usYf6k
  3. US and Europe lead world condemnation of Hamas attacks on Israel. France 24. 8 October 2023. bit.ly/3QQPhY0
  4. Gaza Strip. The World Factbook (CIA). Updated 20 November 2023. bit.ly/40ZTnBT
  5. Al-Mughrab N, Mackenzie J. Israel-Hamas hostage deal edges closer despite fierce fighting in Gaza. Reuters. 20 November 2023. reut.rs/3Tja61t
  6. Wintour P. Arab nations condemn Israel’s Gaza assault during UN debate. The Guardian. 26 October 2023. bit.ly/3Rivh1U
  7. Coghlan R , Leng M. We are no strangers to death but the misery of this Gaza war is the worst human suffering. The Guardian. November 2023. bit.ly/3RkcMKM
  8. Ibid

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