08.07.2024
Al Ahli Anglican Hospital Forced to Close – Archbishops Call for Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza
Archbishop Hosam Naoum and Archbishop Michael Jackson condemn hospital closure.
The Diocese of Jerusalem has reported today (Monday July 8) that Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City has been forced to close. In a statement earlier today our partner diocese said that in the midst of escalating military activity in the Old Gaza City area of the Gaza Strip “we are sorry to report that the Al Ahli Arab Anglican Hospital has been compelled to close by the Israel army”.
The statement says that Hospital Director Suheila Tarazi reported that on Sunday July 7 between 6 pm and 7 pm, a large amount of firing from drones occurred in the immediate vicinity of the hospital. This was immediately followed by an IDF announcement that the area had been declared a Red Zone and everyone should immediately evacuate all the buildings including everyone in the hospital.
The diocese said that as a result, all vulnerable people sheltering in the hospital grounds, the staff and all patients had to leave the safety of the grounds of the hospital. Inevitably, this placed the injured and the sick in great jeopardy.
“To our great dismay, our hospital is now out of operation at a time when its services are in very significant demand, and where injured and sick people have few other options for places to receive urgent medical care,” the statement says. “We are also deeply distressed that today one of our ambulances was fired at en route to the hospital. We currently have no information about the condition of our driver and any patients who were being transported for treatment.”
Archbishop Hosam Naoum, Anglican Archbishop of the Diocese of Jerusalem, said: “We protest the closure of our hospital in the strongest possible terms. In a time of warfare and great suffering it is essential that emergency healthcare services are maintained to treat the injured and the dying. We appeal to the Israeli forces to permit us to continue our sacred ministry of medical care and healing. We plead for an end to the targeting of civilians and all vulnerable people and demand all parties agree to an immediate ceasefire.’
This evening Archbishop Michael Jackson has echoed Archbishop Naoum’s call.
“Throughout the conflict that has raged in Gaza for more days and months than any of us ever imagined, Al Ahli has been a beacon of care and a light of hope. The courage and commitment shown by staff to serving those in need has been unsurpassed and unimaginable and beyond any sense of putting themselves first,” he stated.
He added: “For the diocese and the Archbishop to have to report to the world that the actions of those involved in this war have now prevented the hospital from doing its work is an indictment of the conflict itself. Like Archbishop Hosam, I pray for and with all in need – as I encourage you also to do so – and like him I call for a ceasefire and an ending of hostilities with immediate effect”.