The Palestinian Authority announced that the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyry was bombed. At the time of the attack, the church was a refuge for displaced Palestinians.
The Greek Orthodox Church of St. Porphyry in the Gaza Strip was destroyed in an Israeli bombardment, and there are also victims, Greek public television ERT reported, citing the Ministry of Interior Affairs in the Gaza Strip.
Last week there were allegations that the church was destroyed by rocket fire, but these were later denied.
It became a refuge for the displaced
– The Ministry of Internal Affairs in Gaza reported the collapse of the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyry as a result of Israeli raids and confirmed the presence of injured people who took refuge in the church. According to ERT, there were mostly children and women in the church – it added.
As Al Jazeera’s correspondent from Gaza City reported, at least two people were killed and many others were injured.
The archbishop who was in the church during the attack spoke
The bishop of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church, Archbishop Alexius of Tiberias, told Greek television ERT that there were casualties in the attack on the Greek Orthodox Church in the Gaza Strip.
– They hit the offices and the entrance to the church. They fired a rocket and the whole building collapsed. There were many Christians inside, many of whom were injured, and we also have dead people – said the archbishop who was in the bombed church.
– They should bring bulldozers to see how many people are under the ruins – he said and added that more than 400 people live in the church.
The church campus in Gaza City is owned by the Jerusalem Orthodox Patriarchate, which issued a statement after the attack saying the church remains committed to fulfilling its religious and moral duty to provide aid, support and shelter to those in need.
– The attack on churches and their institutions, along with the shelters they provide to protect innocent citizens, especially children and women who lost their homes due to Israeli airstrikes on residential areas in the past thirteen days, is a war crime that cannot be ignored – it is stated in a statement.
The Church of St. Porphyry is 1,616 years old, and it became a refuge for those displaced by Israeli bombing, of all faiths. The third is the oldest church in the world.
An apartment building was also affected
Also, at least 10 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit a residential building in the central Gaza Strip on Thursday night, health officials at Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital said.
The airstrike in Deir al-Balah also wounded at least 35 people, health officials said. According to officials, there are children among the dead and wounded. The target structure was a three-story apartment building, health officials and witnesses said.