19.08.2025

‘Affront to human dignity’ – Statement of the Archbishop of Dublin on Attacks on Al–Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City

Our partners in the Diocese of Jerusalem have called on all people to cease turning the sacred space of healing of their Al–Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City into a battleground. In a statement yesterday they outlined a series of attacks in the hospital compound in the early hours of Sunday morning (August 17) which left several dead and injured and which left the hospital morgue and staff prayer room severely damaged. Archbishop Michael Jackson has expressed shock and sadness at this latest attack and described it as an affront to human dignity. His statement is below and is followed by the statement of the Diocese of Jerusalem.

“It is with shock and sadness that we in the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough learn of the latest attack on the Al–Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City.

“Such an attack on a place of sanctuary for those who are ill and injured is an affront to human dignity for everyone who holds with the sacredness of life.

“We stand in prayerful solidarity with those who work in the hospital and those who seek treatment there. Need and compassion connect us across the world.

“The United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough has a special relationship with the Diocese of Jerusalem and Al Ahli Arab Hospital. Just over a year ago we welcomed Archbishop Hosam and his clergy to Dublin on retreat.

“This bond of Christian friendship was more recently expressed in our diocesan Shine a Light Appeal. This appeal raised crucial funds to rebuild Al Ahli Arab Hospital, the oldest and only Christian hospital in Gaza, and to assist with the healthcare outreach of the Diocese of Jerusalem. We continue to thank all who have given generously.

“I encourage you all to hold the people who work and seek treatment in the hospital in your prayers as they once again seek to rebuild and regroup in the face of the ongoing threats and unimaginable hardships.

“In these dioceses we will continue to stand with our brothers and sisters in Christ and assist in any way possible.”

 

STATEMENT OF THE EPISCOPAN DIOCESE OF JERUSALEM ON SUNDAY’S MULTIPLE ATTACKS ON AL–AHLI ARAB HOSPITAL

August 18, 2025

Yesterday morning, Sunday, August 17th at 12:15 am, armed members of a local outlaw band entered the grounds of our Al–Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, demanding the treatment of one of their wounded gunmen. The medical staff readily complied and treated him promptly and with full respect, as they do with all their patients. Despite this, after doctors discharged him in good health, members of the band proceeded to set on fire the hospital morgue and staff prayer room, meanwhile blocking the hospital entrance to prevent firefighters from entering to extinguish the blaze.

As a result, the fire came dangerously close to tents currently serving as the hospital’s emergency department, forcing terrified doctors and nurses to quickly evacuate their equally alarmed patients. Although the outlaws’ leader subsequently arrived and intervened so that the fire could be extinguished, the two aforementioned sections of the hospital were left severely damaged.

Once members of this first band all departed and the staff settled in to resume normal operations, a second group of outlaws stormed into the hospital campus. Its members then began shooting into the air and shouting wildly for the next two hours. This attracted the attention of an IDF drone. Without its operator giving due warning to the staff, the drone fired suddenly into the hospital compound, killing seven and severely wounding five.

As the owner and manager of this, the oldest and only Christian hospital in Gaza, the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem condemns these multiple attacks and calls upon all parties to cease from making this sacred place of healing into a battleground, contrary to Articles 18 and 19 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Moreover, we implore the Occupying Power to fulfil its duty of protecting ours and other medical facilities in Gaza, as mandated under Article 56 of that same treaty.

We would like to thank the heads of the local clans and tribes who, later in the day, paid solidarity visits to the hospital, condemning the above acts. As a similar display of solidarity, we invite Christians and all people of goodwill around the world to pray and advocate on behalf of the courageous staff of our hospital – and, indeed, those of all such institutions in the combat zone – that they may continue, without further assaults or disruptions, Christ’s compassionate healing ministry in the very homeland in which our Lord himself served during His earthly life.

May God have mercy on us all.