Displaced Palestinians return to retrieve their belongings from their homes in the area where the Israeli army operated in the northern Gaza Strip on June 4. Photo: Associated Press
[Episcopal News Service] An Israeli military attack June 5 on an Anglican hospital in Gaza killed five people, including three journalists, the Diocese of Jerusalem said in a written statement, condemning the violence as an “unprovoked assault against civilians.”
The deadly attack is the eighth time Al Ahli Arab Hospital, which is operated by the region’s Anglican province, has been hit by blasts and airstrikes in Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas that began with Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The hospital in Gaza has struggled to remain open to care for patients while under regular threat of aerial bombardment and hindered by shortages of fuel, food and water.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has only escalated in recent months after the breakdown of an Israel-Hamas ceasefire. Israel responded with resumed military strikes and new restrictions on much-needed humanitarian aid for the densely populated territory’s civilian residents – some of whom have been killed while seeking assistance at the few remaining aid distribution sites. The Trump administration this year has done little to intervene against Israel’s blockade of the territory, and on June 4, the United States vetoed a Security Council measure at the United Nations that would have called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire.
The latest attack on Ahli Hospital so far has generated little attention from Western news outlets, though the Qatar-based Al Jazeera has reported that the cause was an Israeli military drone strike. Two of the journalists killed reportedly were former employees of the Palestine Today TV channel.
The Diocese of Jerusalem didn’t say where the Israeli strike hit in the hospital complex or specify any damage to buildings. It said the fatal victims included a Palestinian father who was escorting his son to the hospital’s surgical unit for treatment. Thirty others were injured, including four hospital employees.
“The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem condemns this attack in the strongest possible terms, calling upon the Israeli Army to respect the internationally protected sanctity of Ahli Hospital and all other hospitals throughout the Gaza Strip, as their beleaguered doctors, nurses, and medical staff seek to treat those innocents, mostly women and children, who have been severely injured in continued military assaults,” the diocese said.
“We further call upon the leaders of the international community to enforce the combatants’ adherence to the Fourth Geneva Convention with respect to its provisions for special protections for hospitals, medical personnel, journalists, and civilians in general.”
The Episcopal Church shared the diocese’s statement in a Facebook post, saying: “We in The Episcopal Church stand with Archbishop Hosam Naoum and the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem in condemning this attack. We urge the Israeli government to respect international human rights law.”
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed the strike to the German News Agency, saying it occurred in the hospital’s courtyard and that its intended target was an Islamic Jihad terrorist who Israel says had been using the space as a command center.
Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, however, questioned such claims in a statement he issued expressing solidarity with Naoum. “I condemn yet another callous, reckless attack on the Anglican-run Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza,” Cottrell said.
“Despite our repeated requests, the Israeli Government has been unable to prove its claims that Al Ahli Hospital has been used by Hamas. Instead this is part of a relentless and outrageous pattern of attacks on hospitals and health care facilities in Gaza. There is no justification for this under international humanitarian law.”
The Anglican hospital also was hit by an Israeli airstrike about two months ago, on April 13, an attack that destroyed a two-story genetic laboratory and severely damaged the pharmacy, the emergency department and nearby buildings, including St. Phillip’s Church.
Ahli Hospital and other Gaza hospitals had been struck previously since Hamas’ initial 2023 attack on Israeli communities, when the militant group massacred hundreds and took many others hostage. Israel responded with airstrikes and a ground invasion that reportedly have killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and left much of Gaza in ruins.
“Humanity is failing” the people of Gaza, International Committee of the Red Cross President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger told the BBC.
“We cannot continue to watch what is happening. It’s surpassing any acceptable, legal, moral and humane standard. The level of destruction, the level of suffering,” Spoljaric said. “More importantly, the fact that we are watching a people entirely stripped of its human dignity. It should really shock our collective conscience.”
The Episcopal Church’s Washington, D.C.-based Office of Government Relations has encouraged Episcopalians, through its Episcopal Public Policy Network, to contact U.S. officials about the crisis and advocate for peace. On May 30, it also included a prayer for Gaza and the West Bank in its latest weekly prayers.
“We grieve for those killed and wounded by the Israeli military at aid distribution sites, and for those desperate for life’s necessities amid fear and violence,” the prayer said. “We pray for the Israeli government to allow critically needed aid to enter Gaza.”
– David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.