[Episcopal News Service] The Anglican hospital in Gaza reopened last week “despite intense military activity in the area,” the Diocese of Jerusalem said in a statement released days after it previously announced the forced closure of Al Ahli Arab Hospital in response to an Israeli evacuation order.
“Some staff were able to return” on July 11 and had performed eight surgeries that day, the diocese said, though “most patients and others in need of medical attention have not yet been able to make the same hazardous journey.”
“The Diocese of Jerusalem is committed to the continued ministry of healing and reconciliation,” the statement continued. “This is fulfilled beyond all expectation by the outstanding service and courage of the people of the diocese. The Ahli Arab Hospital is and will remain a beacon of hope in Gaza and beyond.”
The hospital, a core ministry of the Jerusalem-based Anglican province in the Middle East, has struggled alongside other Gazan health care providers to meet the needs of injured Palestinians under the Israeli military’s bombardment of the territory since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Early in the Israel-Hamas war, Al Ahli Hospital, while dealing with power outages and food and water shortages, continued to provide emergency treatment to Gazans displaced by violence as Israel ordered Palestinians in Northern Gaza to evacuate south.
Then on July 7, the Israeli military began ordering new evacuations from neighborhoods in Northern Gaza near Al Ahli Hospital, orders that a United Nations agency warned would “only fuel mass suffering for Palestinian families” who have been living through repeated displacements.
“These civilians must be protected – and their essential needs must be met, whether they flee or stay,” the U.N. relief coordination office said.
The Diocese of Jerusalem responded July 8 by condemning Israel’s latest evacuation orders and subsequent drone strikes on the area, which it said had forced the diocese to temporarily close the hospital.
“In a time of warfare and great suffering it is essential that emergency healthcare services are maintained to treat the injured and the dying,” Archbishop Hosam Naoum said. “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.”
The Israel Defense Forces responded by denying it had ordered the closure of the hospital. The military told Reuters that it had advised civilians in some parts of Gaza City to flee, to minimize the risk to their lives, while also making clear that it was unnecessary to evacuate hospitals. The Reuters report did not specify how the Israeli military intended to safeguard hospitals while potentially threatening the lives of those in the surrounding neighborhoods.
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry was among the Episcopal and Anglican leaders who issued statements last week protesting the latest developments. “We stand in solidarity with our Anglican family, including the archbishop of Canterbury, against the closure and evacuation of this vital diocesan health ministry,” Curry said in a July 8 statement. “This action violates the dignity of already-vulnerable people and is against international humanitarian law.”
Al Ahli Arab Hospital has been ministering as a Christian witness in Gaza City since 1882. The institution was founded by the Church of England’s Church Mission Society and was later run as a medical mission by the Southern Baptist Conference from 1954 to 1982. It then returned to the Anglican Church. Photo: Mary Frances Schjonberg/Episcopal News Service
In the update posted July 13 to its Facebook page, the Diocese of Jerusalem praised “the dedication and courage of our staff” for allowing Al Ahli Hospital to reopen. It also noted that a hospital ambulance had been fired on and severely damaged by a sniper, but the driver was unharmed and able to return safely to the hospital. No patients were in the ambulance at the time.
Al Ahli Hospital has been on the front lines of the humanitarian response to the crisis in the territory. On Oct. 17, as Palestinians sought refuge from Israeli airstrikes in the hospital’s courtyard, the courtyard was hit by a deadly blast, with unverified casualty estimates in the hundreds. Hamas blamed an Israeli airstrike, though the Israeli military said it had evidence that an errant Palestinian rocket was behind the blast. United States officials said their analysis supported Israel’s explanation.
Israel had declared war on Hamas after the armed Palestinian militant group, which controls Gaza, launched a coordinated, cross-border attack on communities in southern Israel on Oct. 7, massacring more than 1,200 Israeli civilians and taking an estimated 200 more hostage, some of whom are still being held by Hamas.
Israel’s military responded aggressively to Hamas’ surprise attack, first with airstrikes and then a ground invasion, further contributing to the chaos and humanitarian crisis among the more than 2 million who live in Gaza. The Palestinian death toll is nearing 40,000, according to the Hamas-led Health Ministry.
Israel and Hamas face increasing global pressure to reach a cease-fire agreement, though disagreements over the conditions of a cease-fire have slowed progress in those talks.
– David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.