DaysofPal- The Orthodox Church in Gaza has condemned the ongoing Israeli military assault in the Zaytoun neighborhood east of Gaza City, warning that its true objective is the extermination and forced displacement of the population.
“This is our land and we have no other place. We will not leave, no matter the consequences,” said Elias Al-Jelda, a member of the Council of Trustees of the Arab Orthodox Church in Gaza.
Al-Jelda described the assault as “a true annihilation of history, land, and every marker of Palestinian existence,” accusing Israeli forces of systematically demolishing homes, carrying out mass killings, and destroying essential infrastructure.
He said the situation reflects “genocide by every measure”, noting that civilians are left with no refuge as entire streets are turned into mass graves.
The Orthodox official also warned that the offensive targets some of the oldest Islamic and Christian holy sites in the world in an effort to erase Palestinian identity and memory.
He stressed that the Israeli actions amount to “a massacre” that spares neither Muslims nor Christians but affects the Palestinian people as a whole.
Since last week, the Zaytoun neighborhood has faced continuous bombardment, with nearly 400 homes destroyed through a combination of explosive drones, heavy airstrikes, and artillery fire.
Local residents and rights groups say the campaign mirrors previous Israeli offensives in Rafah, Khan Younis, and northern Gaza, where entire districts were leveled to force mass displacement.
The assault comes less than a month after Israeli forces bombed the Church of the Holy Family in eastern Gaza, one of the enclave’s oldest Christian institutions.
The strike killed three people and wounded nine others, including parish priest Father Gabriel Romanelli.
The church, affiliated with the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem, has since become a refuge for civilians, particularly Christian families displaced by the war.
Christian leaders in Gaza have called on the international community to intervene urgently to halt what they describe as a campaign of genocide, protect the population, and safeguard holy sites under threat of destruction.
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