Crisis deepens for Gaza’s Christians as families seek shelter in churches, writes Heba Saleh in Financial Times

GAZA STRIP — With a population ranging between 800 to 1000, the Christian community in the Gaza Strip faces an unprecedented crisis as the majority seek refuge in the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Porphyrius and the nearby Roman Catholic Holy Family Church.

Three hundred and forty families, constituting nearly the entire Christian population in Gaza, have sought shelter in these two churches, writes Heba Saleh in the Financial Times. Ram Tarazi, former head of an Orthodox cultural center destroyed in an Israeli airstrike, revealed that the Tarazi family, a sizable Palestinian Christian clan, is among those who fled their homes to find safety at the Church of St. Porphyrius.

In a phone call from inside the church, Tarazi shared with Saleh the harrowing experience of leaving their homes under bombardment. Uncertain about the fate of their houses after more than a month, he expressed concern for the survival of their residences located in close proximity to each other.

Within the St. Porphyrius complex, families now sleep on mattresses in buildings that once housed offices and residences for priests. Limited solar panel energy is available, sufficient only for charging phones. Children, grappling with boredom, find solace in the complex’s open courtyards.

Amidst the dire humanitarian conditions, Gaza’s churches are grappling with dwindling food supplies, and nearby shops offer little to buy. Tarazi highlighted the church’s minimal fuel reserves, cautiously used to pump drinking water.

Tragically, on 19 October, an Israeli airstrike destroyed a building within the St. Porphyrius complex and claimed the lives of 17 people, including four relatives of Tarazi, all laid to rest on church grounds.