"I can't imagine any harm coming to these little angels"

by Mercy Aiken

What is life like for people surviving in the Gaza Strip right now? This is a question that haunts me. My imagination may be overactive, but I often think about those in the tents, those still alive under the rubble, those who survived nine months of hell only to finally succumb to death via famine, wasting disease, or a surprise bombing. I also think of the hostages. (Where are they? How many are still alive?) And perhaps most especially, I try to put myself in the position of the Gazan Christians who are sheltering in the Saint Porphyius Orthodox Church and the Holy Family Catholic church—because that is where I would be if I were there. It is in these churches where the families of some of my friends in Bethlehem are sheltering; where some have tragically died and where they are continuing to die.

As far as using my imagination to picture the lay of the land, I do know this much: the entire “Christian section” is mainly in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City with the two big churches, a smaller Baptist church, the Lighthouse Christian school and the Al Ahli Anglican (formerly Baptist) hospital all within close distance to each other, some of them almost connecting. Most of Gaza’s tiny Christian community lives(d) in or quite close to this this neighborhood. Rimal has been a Christian area since the dawn of Christianity – it is alleged in fact to be one of the places where the Holy Family stopped and rested as they fled to Egypt. It was one of the nicest areas of Gaza, I am told, full of leafy neighborhoods and cafes. Their neighborhood, also home to international NGOs, etc, had never been bombed (to my knowledge) in any past Israeli bombing campaign in the Strip. But now, much of it is flattened, and most homes destroyed.

Gaza’s Christian community is one of the oldest in the world with a rich history that stood firm through all the changes; the many conquering armies and occupying powers that came and went from the Holy Land over the past two thousand years. And now, here in our day, under my government’s full military and diplomatic support for Israel to do as it pleases to Gaza, this community is on the verge of extinction.

Life in the churches

Over the past nine months, the suffering of those in the churches has been well-documented, such as the October bombing of part of the Saint Poryphius Orthodox church, killing 18 people and injuring many others. (One of my Bethlehem friends, Shireen, lost her aunt in that bombing. Another injured aunt had to undergo a hip replacement without anesthesia).

In November, the local piano player for the Baptist church, elderly Elham Farah decided to visit her nearby home. The weather was getting colder, and she wanted to gather warm clothes and check on the state of her home. Right outside of her front door, she was sniped in the leg. She fell in the street, unable to move. Her cell phone was with her, and she called for help but anyone who tried to assist her was also shot at, leaving Elham to slowly bleed to death in the cold street as night approached. Later, her body was run over by a tank.

Shortly after this, elderly Nahida Anton was sniped by an Israeli soldier as she made her way across the church compound to use a restroom. When her daughter Samar went out to rescue here, she was also shot. Those who tried to rescue them were also shot at and some were injured. The church was placed under siege and those sheltering there were forced to remain inside with the bodies of Nahida and Samar lying in the yard.

I cannot imagine this trauma. What was their Christmas like?

The sniping that our brothers and sisters experienced in the churches is the norm across Gaza. It is no secret that Israeli snipers have been killing people indiscriminately. In the past week, Israeli media +972 released an article detailing interviews with five soldiers who served in Gaza over the past months: ‘I’m bored, so I shoot’: The Israeli army’s approval of free-for-all violence in Gaza.

My friend, Daoud Kuttab, Palestinian evangelical journalist, details his dismay over the apathy of the Christian West to the suffering of their brothers and sisters in Christ: Why does the Christian West ignore Palestinian Christians’ plight? Another Palestinian evangelical friend, Fares Abraham details some of the anguish and embarrassment he feel as a Palestinian evangelical (now based in the USA). When he visits the Middle East, people question him about the indifference (at best) of the American church towards Middle Eastern Christians. He doesn’t know how to answer. I hope my fellow North American Christians will read these articles with open hearts.

The above is backdrop to the upcoming posts in which I will share about my interactions in Cairo with Gazan Christians and Muslims who had just escaped.

But before I close this post, I must make it an urgent prayer request:

After everything that has already happened, Gaza’s Christians may now be facing their biggest challenge since the war began.

Yesterday, the Israeli army issued a command that everyone remaining in north Gaza—about 200,000 people, including approximately 800 people left in the churches—must evacuate to the south. And, as if to prove good their point, Israel bombed a UNRWA school housing displaced people, killing about 28 of them and injuring close to 60, mostly women and children. You can see the video here of the people playing volleyball in the courtyard when the bombs begin to fall.

The people in the churches do not know what to do. Should they leave? But where? After nine months of malnutrition, lack of medicine and intense stress, people are now beginning to die of sickness. There are elderly people in the church, and many who are sick and weak. After a time of prayer, they have decided to remain in the churches together. And if they die, they will die together.

I spoke with my friend Sahar, who worked at the Al Ahli Anglican hospital in Gaza and recently escaped to Cairo. She is one of the people I will tell you more about in an upcoming post.

I will give her the last words:

“Al Ahli hospital is a tragic situation now. They evacuated all the people. It is terrible. They were shooting in the hospital, they told me. The drones were in the hospital, I think. I don’t know what this insanity is. Just now they told me at the Latin (Catholic) church they are all feeling horrified, (but) they decided to stay. They can’t move. The elderly and old people, the sick, those in wheelchairs, small children. Where to go? My heart is aching for them. I don’t know what to tell them. I keep calling them just to see how they are doing. It is not a human way to live. They live condensed in one room, fifteen people. No electricity, no fans, high humidity. This is really inhumane-- for nine months now.

Most of them are courageous, and they are faithful people. They pray and pray, that is the only hope for all of them. Alhamdillilah. I pray every night for them. I pray for everybody.

I hope God will let peace be prevalent. Mercy is all we need in this world. I don’t know where all this violence comes from. I can’t imagine all this evil in the world here. This should stop. I pray for this whole thing to stop. It must stop, all this suffering. I am afraid for the people, the small kids. The small children that I stayed with in the church. I carried them. I was babysitting them. I can’t imagine any harm touching these little angels.”

Please join Sahar, myself, and others in prayer. Let us pray for an end to this ongoing and incalculably damaging tragedy that is damaging ALL of us in one way or another, whether we know it or not.

Dear Lord, wherever we are right now, I ask that you would help us stop for just a moment and lift our hearts in prayer for Gaza. We pray that our brothers and sisters will continue to be courageous and that they will find their shelter under your wings. That whatever happens to them, whatever they go through, they will feel your presence with them. For the weak and the dying, let them feel that they are being held in your arms. For the priests and ministers, encourage and strengthen them as they minister to the flock. We pray for protection over these churches. We pray for the others in even more vulnerable places. We pray for the soldiers. Have mercy on them too, dear Lord, and show them your goodness and your reality. Please help us, empower us to rise up now with courage and clarity to be peacemakers. For all who live in Gaza, Palestine and Israel, people whom you love. Keep these little angels close to your heart. In Jesus’ name.

This blog was originally posted at https://mercyaiken.substack.com/p/i-cant-imagine-any-harm-coming-to