IDF bombs Christian church in Gaza

 An explosion Thursday night at St. Porphyrius Greek Orthodox Church in Gaza City destroyed the church’s assembly hall, injuring and killing dozens of people inside.  

At least 500 people, including many of Gaza’s small Christian minority, have been sheltering in the church since the war began. The explosion killed at least 40 people, including 19 Christians, according to preliminary reports. 

Neither side of the conflict has released a statement claiming responsibility for the attack. Gaza authorities state that it was an Israeli airstrike, while Israel has not yet made a statement at the time of reporting. International Christian Concern continues to monitor the situation as more information becomes known and verified. 

St. Porphyrius is an ancient church, with the church’s original site dating to the 5th century AD. It is the largest of the three churches still open in the Gaza Strip and one of the main locations where Gaza’s Christian community have been sheltering during the war, believing it to be one of the last safe places in Gaza. 

The church is administered by the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which issued an official statement after the strike on their church in Gaza:  

“Despite the evident targeting of the facilities and shelters of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and other churches – including the Episcopal Church of Jerusalem Hospital, other schools, and social institutions – the Patriarchate, along with the other churches, remain committed to fulfilling its religious and moral duty in providing assistance, support, and refuge to those in need, amidst continuous Israeli demands to evacuate these institutions of civilians and the pressures exerted on the churches in this regard. The Patriarchate stresses that it will not abandon its religious and humanitarian duty, rooted in its Christian values, to provide all that is necessary in times of war and peace alike.” 

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People sheltering in two churches in Gaza

 While the bombardment of Hamas continues in the Gaza Strip, the small contingent of Christians there is sheltering in two churches. They, like many citizens in Gaza, wonder if they will live through this crisis. 

The past ten days have been filled with horror for southern Israel and for Gaza – hundreds were reportedly killed on Tuesday when a missile struck a hospital in northern Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The war began when Hamas executed the deadliest single terrorist attack in Israel’s 75-year history.

The initial Hamas attack has been retaliated by Israel through nonstop bombardment and a complete blockade on the more than 2 million populated Gaza Strip. Thousands of civilians have been killed in the war, and international negotiations to allow critical humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip through Egypt’s Rafah crossing have so far been unsuccessful.  

Gaza’s small Christian community has been sheltering in two churches in Gaza City during this week’s Israeli bombardment. Both churches lie within north Gaza, the area that the Israeli military has ordered civilians to leave in preparation for an expected ground invasion.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has been made aware of the churches and Christians’ presence in the area. IDF leaders have told private sources that they will protect and ensure that the churches do not become targets in the war.  

Gaza’s civilian population must be protected in this latest escalation of the Hamas-Israel war. Gaza’s churches must not become targets of war, and people taking refuge inside the churches must be protected.  

Political challenges and conflict in recent decades have threatened the continued survival of the Gazan church and its estimated 1,000 Christians who face persecution. 

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Myanmar military bomb refugee camps

The Burmese military, known as the Tatmadaw, bombed a refugee camp in the northern state of Kachin this week. The strike killed 29 and wounded 55, according to the Kachin rebel group as reported in the New York Times.

The military has killed 4,146 civilians, including 472 children, since it seized the country in a February 2021 coup and arrested 25,300, according to the rights group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

When the military took over the government in 2021, it promised that it would quickly conduct free and fair elections. It has broken that promise and self-imposed deadlines several times since, and analysts believe that the Tatmadaw could not conduct an election today given its tenuous control of the country.

Recent reports suggest that anti-junta militias have gained significant ground in recent months, reducing the area under solid Tatmadaw control to as little as 17%, according to the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar.

In September, ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), a regional bloc, voted to remove Myanmar from its scheduled chairmanship in 2026, replacing the country with the Philippines. ASEAN has consistently voiced its disapproval of Tatmadaw’s usurpation of the government.

Myanmar is a patchwork mosaic of ethnic and religious groups. Though a strong majority of the population is ethnic Burman, and an even greater percentage is Buddhist. The communities that make up the rest are well-established, well-organized, and mostly predate the formation of the modern state by centuries.

The Tatmadaw has long persecuted Rohingya Muslims and ethnic minority Christians including with bombings of civilians, torture, and attempts to forcefully convert minorities to Buddhism.

In many cases, Myanmar’s ethnic minorities have taken on a distinct religious identity as well. About 20-30% of ethnic Karen are Christians, while other groups—such as the Chin—are more than 90% Christian. This overlap of ethnic and religious identity has created a volatile situation for believers. In Chin State, for example, most of the population is Christian, creating a target-rich area for the military.

Many refugees from Myanmar flee directly across the western border into India and Bangladesh or across the eastern border into Thailand. Some end up resettling as far away as the United States and Australia, while many others face decades of uncertainty in massive refugee camps closer to Myanmar.

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