Palestinian Christians gathered inside Saint Porphyrius Church in Gaza’s Old City on April 13, 2025 to pray during Palm Sunday as Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza extends beyond 18 months. Gaza’s Christian community has come under threat as a low estimate of more than 61,700 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and over 90% of the population forcibly displaced.
Around 600 of the 1,000 Christians in Gaza at the start of the war are still in the besieged enclave, according to Open Doors US, a non-denominational mission that tracks persecuted Christians around the world. Gazan Christians are taking refuge in churches, which have not been spared from being targeted with U.S.-manufactured weaponry fired by Israeli forces.
Around 260 Christians have been sheltering inside Saint Porphyrius Church, one of the world’s oldest churches. Named after Saint Porphyrius, whose tomb is in the church, the Greek Orthodox Church was built in the 5th century and is also one of the oldest Christian sites in Gaza.
Israel has bombed Saint Porphyrius multiple times over the last 18 months — on Oct. 19, 2023 at least 17 Christians were killed in an Israeli airstrike that was called a war crime by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Full story and more in links below.
