'I fear my family members sheltering in a Gaza church won't survive Christmas'

16 December 2023 , 20:16

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Lib Dem Layla Moran fears for the safety of her family members (Image: PA)

I have extended family sheltering in a church in Gaza City, and I am desperately worried they aren’t going to survive to Christmas.

My mother is Palestinian, and while we are mainly a West Bank family we have a small number of extended family in Gaza. In the first week following Oct 7th their house was bombed by the IDF and they sought sanctuary in their local Catholic Church.

They have been there every day since, over 60 days now. Their situation has gone from bad to worse. They share the church complex with about 300 people and the nuns who have been looking after them.

They sleep on mattresses on the floor in Sunday school rooms. There is little electricity and phone calls were snatched then relayed to the rest of us. Recently they’ve been down to a meal a day and no access to medicine. One family member of mine died because he needed a hospital and couldn’t get to one.

But the last few days have been the worst yet. On Tuesday they reported several attacks, including white phosphorus being thrown into the complex.

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The bin collector was shot and when they emerged from the buildings they saw bullets covering the yard. Another man who acts like a caretaker for several building was also shot.

Their bodies lay rotting having not been collected days later. No one can leave their rooms let alone the building to get food.

The generators that were providing enough electricity to charge phones to at least let people know they are safe have stopped working.

The one left for the nuns was attacked this morning and that was the one that pumped the water and so there is now no water flowing at all. The soldiers are at the gates. We don’t know why this is happening and what is going to happen next.

These are innocent civilians. They are Christians, with advent and Christmas just a week away. The irony of the carols we sing of peace on Earth ring in my ears as I try to raise the alarm.

Please don’t hurt them. They are not unavoidable collateral damage and have nothing to do with Hamas. I and the Lib Dems have been calling for a bilateral ceasefire for weeks now. Our calls on their own can’t stop the fighting, but at least we know we are trying.

Layla Moran