London:

In an effort to support the impoverished Christians in the war-stricken Holy land, Aid to Church in Need (ACN) has committed to send an aid package of 190,000 EUR. ACN in its statement released on November 23 said “The funds will go to poor Christians in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Christian migrant workers and asylum seekers in Israel.”

Through this aid, the pontifical foundation is collaborating with the initiative put forth by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem(LPJ), Pierbattista Card. Pizzaballa.  The LPJ in a press release issued earlier this month appealed to the public to coordinate with their initiative saying that they “are facing a crisis that affects countless families from different religions and all our institutions including schools, hospitals and parishes.”

“Please continue to pray for our small Christian community so that they may give an unshakable testimony of faith and hope," stated the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem in his appeal. With this venture, ACN looks forward “to secure a constant supply of basic necessities, including hygiene kits, medicine, food and fuel, to the isolated Christian communities in the Gaza Strip.”

ACN is also assisting the Vicariate for Migrants and Asylum Seekers (VMAS) to provide “housing, healthcare and other essential services to displaced Christian migrants living in Israel.” VMAS was established by LPJ in 2021 “to direct the Church’s efforts in serving, organizing and catechizing the extensive population of Roman Catholic migrants in Israel.”

The Pontifical foundation stated that the Christians in the Holy Land depend upon tourism for their livelihood, but with the ongoing situation they have lost their source of income as the tourism industry ceased functioning. Moreover, many people are not able to travel for work due to closed checkpoints and other restrictions.

Israel declared war against the Islamist militant group Hamas, following Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7 that killed over 1400 people in Israel. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, 15,082 were killed, 38,850 got injured and 16,50,000 displaced in Palestine ever since the war began.