Christian leaders condemn Israeli military attacks on Palm Sunday against Anglican Hospital

Church leaders in Israel expressed their outrage after the Israel Defense Forces (FDI) launched a series of air attacks on Ramos Sunday, with two missiles that hit the Al-Ahli hospital in the city of Gaza.

The Anglican episcopal diocese of Jerusalem, which manages the hospital, condemned the attacks “in the most energetic terms” in a Disussed statement on Sundayinforming that a child suffering from a head injury “died tragically as a result of the rushed evacuation process,” which, according to reports, was carried out in less than 20 minutes.

“The Diocese of Jerusalem is dismayed by the hospital bombardment, now for the fifth time since the beginning of the war in 2023 – and this time on the morning of Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week,” says the statement.

“We call on all governments and people of good will to intervene and stop all kinds of attacks against medical and humanitarian institutions. We pray and cry out for the end of this horrendous war and the suffering of so many.”

Although no more deaths were reported because of the bombing, the Anglican diocese reported that the “twin attacks” destroyed the two -story genetic laboratory of the hospital and damaged the buildings of the pharmacy and the emergency department. It was also pointed out that there was collateral damage in the surroundings, including a nearby church.

According to international law, hospitals enjoy special protection. “This hospital, already affected by months of siege, was one of the last headlights of medical hope in Gaza, where dozens of health institutions have been systematically destroyed,” he wrote in a statement on April 13 Patriarch Orthodox of Jerusalem, Theophilos III.

“Stripping these sanctuaries of life and dignity is a tragedy that transcends all the borders of politics and enters the scope of the sacred,” he added.

Al Ahli is the only Christian hospital in Gaza and one of the last important hospitals that continue to work in the northern part of the region, según Associated Press.

The FDI wrote in a publication on social networks, after the attack, which were aiming at a “Hamás Command and Control Center inside the hospital Al Ahli”, which, they assured, Hamas used “to plan and execute terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and FDI troops”.

“Although the IDF have reiterated that military activity should cease within medical facilities in Gaza, Hamas continues to flagrantly violate international law and abuse the civilian population,” the publication continued. “Before the attack, measures to mitigate damage to civilians or the hospital complex were taken, including early warnings in the terrorist infrastructure area, the use of precise ammunition and aerial surveillance.”

Translated and adapted by ACI Press. Originally published in CNA.