Embrace condemns Israel’s Palm Sunday attack on Al Ahli Hospital
We stand with the Diocese of Jerusalem in condemning Israel’s attack on Al Ahli Hospital during the early hours of Palm Sunday. We urge an immediate end to the war and the protection of all medical and faith-based institutions. Al Ahli is a long-standing Embrace partner and one of the last functioning hospitals in Gaza City.
In its statement, the Diocese of Jerusalem condemned “in the strongest terms [the] missile attacks on the Ahli Arab Hospital, an institution run by the Anglican Church in Jerusalem. The twin strikes demolished the two-storey Genetic Laboratory and damaged the Pharmacy and the Emergency Department buildings. It also resulted in other collateral damage to the surrounding buildings, including the church building of St. Philip’s.”
The Diocese stated that the Israeli military ordered all patients, employees, and displaced people to evacuate the hospital premises only “a mere twenty minutes prior to the attack”.
The Pontifical Mission for Palestine, another Embrace partner, stated that “the debris from the airstrike reached the St. Porphyrius Greek Orthodox Church, which was preparing for the Palm Sunday celebration along with the local community, which continues to reside in the church compound.”
In the face of such dark moments in the history of this long conflict, we cannot stay silent as medical and humanitarian institutions, of faith and not, are attacked and prevented from serving the most vulnerable. Our partners and others in the area are working relentlessly to continue serving those in need in the midst of war and chaos. We must stand with them as they do so.
Equally important is our duty to call on the UK Government and the international community to intervene with concrete actions to stop this conflict, return to a ceasefire, and work towards a lasting and just peace. While UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy rightly condemned the “deplorable attack” on Al Ahli Hospital and described the ongoing conflict as “bloodshed,” strong words must now be followed by meaningful action. We continue to call for the immediate suspension of arms sales to Israel and the pursuit of a just peace. The export of arms and provision of military aid to Israel merely fuels this conflict and diminishes the prospect of an end to this war.
During this Holy Week, leading up to one of the most significant festivities of the Christian faith, we also call on all Churches, denominations and religious institutions to come together to stand with their Palestinian brothers and sisters in Gaza, as part of the body of Christ that is suffering, and stand with all who are affected by this conflict and facing loss, pain and injustice.
