The al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City — where an airstrike killed hundreds of people Tuesday — is owned and operated by a branch of the Anglican Communion, one of the largest Christian groups in the world.
Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said in a post on X @JustinWelby: This is an appalling and devastating loss of innocent lives. The Ahli hospital is run by the Anglican church. I mourn with our brothers and sisters – please pray for them. I renew my appeal for civilians to be protected in this devastating war. May the Lord God have mercy.”
The 80-bed hospital normally sees about 3,500 outpatient visits a month, according to the website of the Diocese of Jerusalem, the local branch of the Anglican Communion that runs al-Ahli. It handles about 300 surgeries and roughly 600 radiological visits a month.
The hospital building was not only being used by medics and patients but was packed with Palestinians seeking shelter after evacuation orders from Israel.
Eileen Spencer, head of the American fundraising arm for the diocese, told The Washington Post that after the strike Tuesday, “we don’t know if the hospital will still be standing.”
Al-Ahli is Gaza’s only independent, Christian-led medical facility, Spencer said. “I don’t understand what the point of all this is. There are so many casualties, and it seems like it is just going to get worse.”
Tuesday had been a day of fasting and prayer for peace in the Holy Land, called for by Pope Francis, the Anglican Communion and other Christian denominations. After the hospital attack, the Diocese of Jerusalem called for a day of mourning Wednesday.
In a written statement, the diocese said, “The devastation witnessed, coupled with the sacrilegious targeting of the church, strikes at the very core of human decency. We assert unequivocally that this is deserving international condemnation and retribution. An urgent appeal resonates for the international community to fulfil its duty in protecting civilians and ensuring that such inhumane horrific acts are not replicated.”
The hospital was founded in 1882, according to the Jerusalem diocese’s website. It runs a free program for breast cancer detection and provides free medical care and food to people in nearby towns and villages.
“With well-tended grounds, it is a haven of peace in the middle of one of the world’s most troubled places,”the website says.
On Oct. 8, in the hours after the Hamas attack on Israel, the hospital launched a fundraising appeal, saying it was urgent to get medicine and other supplies for emergencies that the staff predicted would come.
“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 paralyzed, with all institutions and private sectors closed, affecting the people’s access to basic needs, particularly health,” hospital director Suhaila Tarazi wrote in the appeal. “AAH is committed to continuing to provide 24/7 health services for all people in need of medical care.”
An Israeli rocket hit al-Ahli on Saturday, according to the Anglican Communion’s news service. It landed on the cancer treatment center, severely damaging two floors where the ultrasound and mammography wards are. Four hospital staff were injured.
“The Diagnostic Centre is the Crown Jewel of Ahli Hospital, providing cancer diagnosis as a prelude to various treatment options both at Ahli and in other facilities,” the Anglican Archbishop of Jerusalem Hosam Naoum said in a story about the Saturday strike. The hospital was due to open a new chemotherapy center there next month, Naoum said.
The hospital is one of the 20 medical facilities in northern Gaza facing evacuation orders from the Israeli military, according to the World Health Organization.
Hundreds are believed dead after what Palestinian officials say was an Israeli airstrike Tuesday on the hospital courtyard where displaced Gazans were taking shelter. The Israel Defense Forces blamed the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, saying “a barrage of rockets” was passing near the hospital when it was hit.
Violence and protests broke out in many Arab cities following the hospital attack, and within hours, Jordan’s foreign minister said his country would not host a summit that had been planned for Wednesday with President Biden, Jordanian King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
A spokesperson for the London-based Anglican Communion declined to comment on details of the strike, saying information was still being gathered.
“We grieve at the continuing loss of innocent lives. The latest news from Gaza is distressing and comes on top of what has been an appalling 10 days for Israelis and Palestinians alike,” Gavin Drake wrote to The Post. “At the moment, we are monitoring the situation closely and continuing to gather information in this fast moving situation.”
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, leader of the Episcopal Church, which is the U.S. branch of the Anglican Communion, said in a statement Tuesday that he had visited the hospital in 2018 and saw how “they were passionately committed to anyone who had need.”
“I ask you to pray fervently for the birthplace of the Abrahamic faiths and for all its people. Pray for those who have been hurt, harmed, or killed — regardless of who they are or who did it,” he continued. “Pray also for the leaders and people of the entire region, that they will find the way to a just peace where all may live in safety and security as God intends.”
