The Anglican Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem runs the al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza. Its director, Suhaila Tarazi, has issued an emergency appeal to support its health services in this time of crisis.
The appeal is as follows:
“On 7 October 7 at 6.30 am, the people of Gaza woke up scared, witnessing a horrible situation. They couldn’t figure out what was going on for the first 20 to 30 minutes. Official channels then confirmed that Palestinian militant groups had fired thousands of rockets towards Israel. Clashes occurred in the border towns. Israel’s military has since bombed back some targets in the Gaza Strip, and the Israeli government declared it would respond with a huge retaliation against Gaza and Palestinian fighters.
“The situation is severely critical, and the consequences for people in Gaza are very bad, particularly in the health sector. The Ministry of Health has triggered an emergency situation and asked all health-service providers to increase their emergency response capacity. Life in Gaza is paralysed, with all institutions and private sectors closed, affecting the people’s access to basic needs, particularly health.
“Governmental hospitals have prioritised emergency cases, deprioritising elective surgeries and non-emergency health cases. According to the catastrophe that has started to affect the deteriorated healthcare system and people living in Gaza, AAH is committed to continuing to provide 24/7 health services for all people in need of medical care.
“The role of AAH could be highly significant in saving lives during emergencies and in eliminating the gap in the healthcare system.
“AAH management has held an internal emergency meeting to discuss the situation, to agree on an AAH response plan, and to identify the required resources to ensure provision of comprehensive healthcare. The team will schedule its technical staff to ensure that the hospital is accessible 24 hours a day.
“In order to ensure that Ahli is able to respond to the increasing need, AAH is in urgent need of medications and other resources for an emergency response. This is an appeal for your generous donations that would greatly support AAH’s response, which will positively affect the lives of vulnerable people in Gaza.
“Please pray with us that this wave of violence will be stopped, as there are no winners in wars. All are losers,” Suhaila Tarazi concluded.
Archbishop Hosam Naoum said: “Thank you for your prayers and expressions of support for the safety of our clergy and people in the Diocese of Jerusalem.
“Please circulate this appeal as widely as possible, so that our hospital can be in a position to extend emergency medical services to those casualties caught in the crossfire.
“Thank you once again for your prayers and support, especially in this present, very grave situation.”
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The Anglican Alliance encourages support for the Diocese of Jerusalem’s response to the crisis with this emergency appeal for the vital healing work of al-Ahli Arab Hospital. The Anglican Alliance is in touch with other churches and agencies across the Communion. There are a range of ways that individuals and organisations can donate to the appeal:
Supporting the appeal
People who wish to respond to the appeal can do so through a number of partners of the Diocese of Jerusalem:
- Aotearoa/New Zealand/Polynesia: Anglican Missions
- Australia: Anglican Board of Mission Anglicans in Development and Anglican Overseas Aid
- Canada: Canadian Companions of the Diocese of Jerusalem and Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund
- UK: The Jerusalem and Middle East Church Association and USPG
- USA: Episcopal Relief & Development and The American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem
Holding in prayer
We continue to lift up prayer for the Holy Land in this time of unfolding violence. The Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem, an ecumenical group of Christian leaders which includes Archbishop Hosam Naoum, the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem, have issued a statement: “As custodians of the Christian faith, deeply rooted in the Holy Land, we stand in solidarity with the people of this region, who are enduring the devastating consequences of continued strife.” The church leaders called for “lasting solutions that promote justice, peace, and reconciliation for the people of this land, who have endured the burdens of conflict for far too long.”
