Lost in the investigation of the bombing of the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City on Oct. 17 is the followup bombing about 36 hours later by an Israeli airstrike of the St. Porphyrios Greek Orthodox complex, not far away. According to Gaza government officials and to the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, over 500 were killed in their sleep, both Christians and Muslims. Israel has not attempted to dispute this, only claiming that the church sanctuary itself was not hit. Hundreds of displaced Palestinians had fled to the protection of the church grounds. AFP cited witnesses who thought that a place nearby appeared to be the target of the strike.
An Israeli Defense Force spokesman stated on Oct. 19: “Earlier today (Thursday) Israeli military fighter jets attacked the command and control center of a Hamas terrorist who was involved in firing rockets and shells at Israel.” This center “served to launch attacks against Israel and there was a terrorist infrastructure of the terrorist organization Hamas.” Notably, the statement did not say that they hit what they attacked; thus, this was taken as the closest they would come to at least admitting bombing activity in the area. (In the case of the bombing of the hospital, Israel denied the New York Times request yesterday to produce the records of the bombing raids they conducted around the time and in the vicinity of the hospital destruction.)
The Patriarchate of Jerusalem stated about the bombing of the church complex: “They hit the offices and the entrance of the monastery. They were bombarded with a missile and the whole building collapsed. There were Christians inside, many of whom have been injured.” The Archbishop Alexios of Tiberias stated: “They have to bring bulldozers, so we can see how many people are under the rubble,” he said. He stressed that there were more than 400 people in the monastery at the time.
The first report from the St. Porphyrios Orthodox Church itself included: “Archbishop Alexios appears to have been located and is alive, but we don’t know if he is injured. We have no word on the condition of any other of the more than 500 people being housed at the church and monastery, including the person who has been our source for most of our information…. The bombs hit the two church halls where the refugees, including children and babies, were sleeping.”
The Greek Greek Orthodox Patriarchate statement emphasized that “targeting churches and its [sic] affiliated institutions, in addition to the shelters they provide to protect innocent citizens, especially children and women who lost their homes as a result of the Israeli bombing of residential areas during the past thirteen days, constitutes a war crime that cannot be ignored.”
The World Council of Churches has also strongly condemned the attack. Its general secretary, Rev. Jerry Pillay, stated: “We condemn this unconscionable attack on a sacred compound and call upon the world community to enforce protections in Gaza for sanctuaries of refuge, including hospitals, schools, and houses of worship.”
