RETURN TO AHLI HOSPITAL IN GAZA CITY AFTER FORCED CLOSURE

***UPDATE*** As of 11 July 2024, the Ahli Hospital & Jerusalem Princess Basma Centre Gaza Staff have returned to Ahli Hospital in anticipation of providing care. Read the Official Statement from the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem regarding this development.

The ongoing crisis in Gaza demands immediate action, and you have the power to make a real difference. Due to escalating military activity in the immediate area, Ahli Arab Hospital has been forced to close following an IDF order, jeopardizing critical medical care for countless vulnerable civilians.

Even though the main hospital building in Gaza City has been evacuated for the time being, the work of Ahli is far from over, as the hospital’s team continues to deliver vital healthcare services, demonstrating that their healing ministries are not confined to a single location. Recently, the generosity of AFEDJ supporters helped the hospital’s dedicated staff to extend their care well beyond the walls of Gaza City by establishing an outreach clinic in Rafah. This clinic remains operational, ensuring that thousands of displaced Palestinians in desperate need receive care regardless of the circumstances. Its success embodies a higher calling of compassion and resilience, showcasing the boundless dedication and strength of the Ahli staff, who face immense challenges daily but remain resolute in their mission to serve the most vulnerable.

Your immediate support can help to ensure continuity of care in Gaza, provide vital relief to Palestinian civilians directly affected by this crisis, and support the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem’s humanitarian institutions in the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan, and beyond, who have all been deeply impacted by the war.

Today, we invite you to partner with AFEDJ by making a gift for “where the need is greatest,” ensuring immediate impact and lasting transformation for those in need. Together, we can be a catalyst for real change, bringing hope and healing to those who need it most.

***OFFICIAL STATEMENT*** In the midst of escalating military activity in the Old Gaza City area of the Gaza Strip, we are sorry to report that the Al-Ahli Arab Anglican Hospital has been compelled to close by the Israel army. Suhaila Tarazi, Hospital Director, reported that on Sunday July 7, between 6 pm–7 pm, a large amount of firing from drones occurred in the immediate vicinity of the hospital. This was immediately followed by an IDF announcement that the area had been declared a Red Zone and everyone should immediately evacuate all the buildings including everyone in the hospital.

As a result, all vulnerable people sheltering in the hospital grounds, the staff and all patients, had to leave the safety of the grounds of the hospital. Inevitably, this placed the injured and the sick in great jeopardy. To our great dismay, our hospital is now out of operation at a time when its services are in very significant demand, and where injured and sick people have few other options for places to receive urgent medical care.

We are also deeply distressed that today one of our ambulances was fired at en route to the hospital. We currently have no information about the condition of our driver and any patients who were being transported for treatment.

Archbishop Hosam Naoum, Anglican Archbishop of the Diocese of Jerusalem, has said: ‘We protest the closure of our hospital in the strongest possible terms. In a time of warfare and great suffering it is essential that emergency healthcare services are maintained to treat the injured and the dying. 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.’ ***END OFFICIAL STATEMENT***

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ABOUT THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF JERUSALEM ☩

The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem supports 28 parishes with 30 priests and 7,000 Anglicans. The diocese also owns and operates 35 humanitarian institutions, schools, hospitals in Gaza and the West Bank, vocational training centers, clinics, centers for children with disabilities, and homes for the elderly throughout Palestine, Israel, Jordan, and Lebanon and Syria. 

Under the leadership of the Most Rev. Hosam E. Naoum, Anglican Archbishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, these institutions embody the values of equity, justice, and respect for the dignity of all people they serve. All institutions welcome people irrespective of their religion, ethnicity, or ability to pay. Many of the institutions are more than 100 years old. They employ 1800 people working in five countries. The positive impact of these institutions on their local communities is immense despite the incredible challenges posed by operating in a region besieged by unrelenting conflict.