About 500 Palestinians have been killed in a blast at a Gaza hospital crammed with patients and displaced people, ABC News has reported.
A civil defence chief in the Hamas-ruled Gaza told Al Jazeera the victims of the hospital explosion included many ill patients, children and women among them.
Israel and Palestinian militants have blamed each other for the attack, with Palestinian health authorities saying the explosion was caused by an Israeli air strike.
This latest blast comes after Israel launched an unrelenting bombing campaign against the densely populated territory in retaliation for a Hamas assault on Israel on October 7.
‘If I die, I will have a dignified death’:
The Gaza strip is home to an estimated 1,100 Christian citizens. In a time of desperation and fear, the Orthodox Church of St Porphyrios in Gaza has been acting as a symbol of hope and safety.
On Saturday night, photos showed how St Porphyrios church in Gaza had been transformed into a place of refuge, with Christians praying and singing.
Roya News shared that hundreds of displaced Palestinian families have also found comfort in the church’s walls.
Archbishop Tiberiados Alexios of Gaza said in a statement that he will leave no one behind as war rages around them.
“As long as there is at least one Christian in the territory of Gaza, I will not go anywhere, because I can be a hope for them, so I will stay in the province that believes in me. If I die, I will have a dignified death as my destiny!” the Archbishop said.
