A senior church leader in Jerusalem has compared the situation in Gaza with the dystopian series The Hunger Games.
In a strongly worded address to the Church of England's General Synod in York, Most Rev Hosam Naoum, Archbishop in Jerusalem for the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, has said hospitals continue to be bombed, with medical supplies in short supply and a "horrifying" system of food distribution. He added that there are only three sites open for one hour a day for two million people.
Calling for a restoration of humanitarian supplies including food and medicine, under UN supervision, Archbishop Hosam said there should be no targeting of civilians, especially emergency workers and medical staff.
He called for the release of all hostages and captives and a permanent ceasefire for the end of the war and rebuilding of Gaza – "not ethnic cleansing that is presently being discussed by the Israeli and US Government.”
He said the church is committed to peace building and reconciliation – a message he said he had repeated "time and time again", but that these were "alien terms" that people across both sides of the divide refuse to talk about or listen to:
“I realise that as a Church we live and embody the gospel and we are not politicians.
“However, we need to speak out in the face of injustices and be prophetic for the sake of our people and our calling as Christians.
“But where a church is wounded and constrained we need the wider body of Christ to help us to be the church in brutal and damaging times.”
The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem is home to about 7000 Anglicans worshiping within 28 different congregations. It is also responsible for more than 30 institutions, including hospitals, schools, clinics and rehabilitation centres. The Diocese is scattered across five separate countries or territories: Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Israel.