(TheConservativeTimes.org) – Last week, one of Gaza’s oldest churches was apparently struck by Israeli fire during an air assault. Saint Porphyrius was one of the oldest Greek Orthodox Churches in the world. It was said to have been nearly 1,700 years old. Gazan officials stated that 18 Christians, including children, died in the church bombing. The church’s representatives said no one should ignore the bombing of a church sheltering people from war. They said it was “a war crime.” Israel’s administrators announced they were not targeting the church but a Hamas control station in the vicinity of it.
2.3 million people live in and near Gaza. Israel has been repeatedly battering this region with air strikes following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7. On that day, Hamas terrorists paraglided over the Israeli border and murdered several hundred young people at an outdoor music festival.
Israel has also put a blockade on food and other supplies from reaching Gaza. The United Nations announced over a million people have found themselves without a place to live. So far, 3,785 Palestinian civilians have died. According to Palestinian representatives, this would also include over 1,500 children.
A passerby said the people at St. Porphyrius were hoping to find shelter from the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Instead, they found “destruction.” An emergency responder noted two individuals had managed to survive on the higher levels of the church, while those on the lower floors did not make it and were stuck under the wreckage.
A town in the northern part of Gaza, Zahara, was given a ten-minute warning before a drone strike occurred. The town was struck by F-16 warplanes 30 minutes later that morning. Around 25 apartments were completely demolished.
A spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said about 13,000 properties have been destroyed and over 140,000 have sustained damage.
Israel said it would refuse to allow aid from its country to reach Palestine. It is waiting until the roughly 200 hostages are released from Hamas. President Biden convinced Israel to give aid to the civilians of Gaza while trying to avoid Hamas acquiring any of those resources. Right now, the humanitarian aid supplies are waiting on the border near Egypt. Biden said there are innocent civilians in Palestine who want to “live in peace and have opportunity.”
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