Layla Moran's family trapped in Catholic church and under attack from IDF

[Silence1]

BBC article Layla Moran's family among hundreds trapped in Gaza church - BBC News

I can't decide if some Israeli officials are completely ignorant or they just say this kind of rubbish knowing that some people will hear and believe it.
I did read an article on Israeli propaganda and that they do put out lies because by the time the lies are disproved, many will have already heard and believed their untruths.

This is a quote from the Independent article. This is Israel in action.

"Describing the situation as “horrific”, she says aunt Najwa, in her 70s, was badly injured when an Israeli airstrike hit the Orthodox church in October. Najwa underwent surgery without anaesthesia in the city's al-Ahli Hospital, which had also just been hit. The hospital has since been raided by Israeli forces and is now shut.
Having faced a harrowing two-mile journey, Najwa is sheltering in the Catholic church, where she “exists in diapers, with no one to help her walk or move.”
“She is in deep pain, all she wants to do is die,” says Awwad. She mentions another uncle in his 80s who died 10 days ago at the Holy Family Church when his appendix burst and there was no hospital to take him to."

Pleased to see these 2 women's photos here
May their souls rest in Peace,
No one is safe in Gaza .

The Times of Israel are reporting that the IDF has refuted the incident.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-refutes-claim-it-targeted-sole-catholic-church-in-gaza-after-2-women-said-killed/

From yesterday Layla Morans twitter account

''Update. I finally have some GOOD NEWS to share. The tanks and the soldiers have moved off and can no longer be seen at the gates. They also can’t see the snipers anymore although they’re still worried. Food hasn’t been received so we will keep chasing.''

The IDF claim not to have been operational in the area. Who is telling the truth? Doubt we'll ever know.

Well isn't that convenient.

If they were not operational in the area where did it come from that they were going to allow a two hour window for people to use the toilet? And deliver food there as it was besieged?
It doesn't make sense

And in this instance I would trust Layla Moran than the IDF. And the Pope

The spokesperson couldn't even get the church right
He was was talking about a different church in a different area which Layla Moran had to point out

As mentioned previously too

So people are pretending to get shot and pretending to be starving and besieged in a church? Is that what you're saying?

You can literally read what I said, rather than make up things I didn't.

Fair enough. It's what you're suggesting.

The empathy for those being terrorised and murdered is so touching.

The IDF have been very wooly about it . There was a skirmish near a church, there was a rocket launcher near a church, they were shooting spotters near a church.

This is an article by a Christian sheltering in the Orthodox Church and what life has been life since the Israeli Govt decided to invade Gaza and exact revenge.
Could equally be a Muslim or any Gaza citizen.
I get so angry reading people saying there are no innocents in Gaza, that they are animals or IDF has only bombed a small % of buildings and killed a small % of people.

Gaza civilians are or were people, just like you and I, with homes, lives and hopes now destroyed. And still it is not enough for the Israeli Govt.

I’m a Palestinian Christian in Gaza. I want peace—for my homeland and my family. | America Magazine

Just in case there is anybody who cant be bothered reading the article . Here's a little excerpt. I guess some people will just keep telling themselves its all Hamas's fault and the stupid civilians who didn't leave everything or the weak/sick behind , walk to the desert, live in a tent and piss in a pot.

"The stress level is high. We didn’t think about food before, about electricity. They seemed like small things in our daily life. Now, our entire days are scheduled and defined by them. We have zero connection with the Internet and a poor connection with mobile devices. Sometimes we can’t reach our friends or our families who are not with us. Sometimes we hear bad news about our friends—news that we should have heard 10 days ago. But we’re doing all that we can to hang in there. We’re doing our best to stay strong.

During the pause in fighting, my wife and I were able to leave the church to go back to visit our home. I don’t know how to describe our visit. We might be better off if we had not had that chance to return. We drove my car and saw what has become of the city. Everything is on the ground. Demolished. You can barely recognize the streets. It’s a horror show. Words, videos, not even pictures can capture what it is like to drive through Gaza and see the destruction. It’s beyond comprehension."

@Silence1 that article is Heartbreaking, particularly the point that even when the bombing stops there will be nowhere for civilians to go back to and no infrastructure to enable them to live there again. Israel have made sure they cannot rebuild their lives.

In memory of Benjamin Zephaniah, the poet and life long supporter of Palestine who recently passed away, here is his poem on Palestine published over 20 years ago in his book Too Black Too Strong.

Christmas Has Been Shot

Christmas has been shot away this year,
There are too many choppers chopping up the sky
Too many bullets in the air for good tidings,
There will be no Christ and no mass
And darkness has fallen upon the land.
No one shall make a joyful noise unto the Lord
Or serve the Lord with gladness,
No one shall come before his presence with singing,
And Palestinian Christians who want to declare
The name of the Lord in Jerusalem
Or glorify the boy in Bethlehem
Have been told to piss off to Jordan,
Syria or Iraq.

All the saints have been told
To wait for the resumption of peace talks
And the angels of the Lord have been told
To wait until the Americans are ready
Because Zion means something else now,
And yes it was written that the truth shall flow
From the mouths of babe and suckling,
But babes and sucklings beware
The soldiers have orders to kill,
And the spirit of King Herod is alive.
They're not doing Christmas this year,
It has been shot away'And anyway
Christ is no messiah,' said the soldier
'This is our Promised Land. '

What we see over Bethlehem this year
Is a spineless, skeleton of a Christmas,
A Christmas that has been occupied, strangled
And driven to tears, crying tear gas and burning,
It's a Christmas that has no songs or sermons
Except the song of the bomber;
As loud as dying
As quiet as death.
Welcome to the birthplace of his holiness
Welcome to the humiliation of the natives,
Here even flowers are shot down
If they fly the local flag,
You will not hear the bells of Christmas
And you will not hear the women sing.
'And let me tell you something else,'
said the soldier
'No virgin gave birth here - we wouldn't allow it.'

Sorry gentiles
It looks like it's gonna be a cold Christmas,
Ain't no spirit of the Lord moving over the manger
Just a nuclear power
Flying in from Tel Aviv via Washington DC.
The power of the almighty has come for sure
To suck Christmas dryAnd to blow Christmas away.
There will be no mercyAnd no rejoicing
And no worshipping any little Black Palestinian boy,
And no crosses
And no three wise women or men
And no Arab shepherds,
Because Christmas has been done in
Christmas is coughing and choking
Christmas has been hit by bullets from the west,
So if you want to do Christmas this year
Take a bible,
Sit indoors,
And do your own thing,
Just don't do it in Bethlehem.

@Desertrose2023 thank you so much for posting that. What a powerful piece of poetry, and so very true and very relevant right now.

Yes, thank you DesertRose 💐

Thanks @Desertrose2023 still pertinent 20 yrs after it was written

Saw some photos earlier of Bethlehem usually bustling with tourists and Christmas joy at this time of year - closed shops, deserted streets, no usual Christmas decorations or tree and the baby Jesus in the crib nestled in rubble [in sympathy with Gazas plight],

Plus IDF tanks blocking all the roads into the town

What do you think is happening there?

The church isn't under attack and all the reports are lies?
Hamas spent time scoping out the church and used snipers to shoot two women whilst the IDF sat in their tank and watched on?
The women got caught in sniper cross fire? You know what snipers are trained to do and how unlikely that is, right?
The church is being besieged by Hamas and the occupants of the church hallucinated tanks?

If there was a tank there then it was IDF.

I can understand why you wouldn't believe anything Hamas say but what is your excuse for doubting the reports of civilians?

How are people able to hold onto the idea that the IDF can do no wrong when there is a mountain of evidence to prove otherwise?

Thanks @BelleHathor @Efacsen @MissyB1

another one worth a quick watch is the Xmas video message from the Palestinian Ambassador to the UK, Husam Zomlot. His words are sad but still hopeful.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/C1ID5XeASAB/?igsh=MTcwZjFjNng4YmJ6Zg==

I wouldn’t bother. When people post questions regarding the competency of the IDF’s response on October 7 they’re accused of minimizing atrocities, supporting terrorism/Hamas, reported to the CST and the thread gets deleted. Yet this kind of detached from reality attempt to deny the IDF’s accountability of their actions - which the Pope himself has called terrorism and the Archbishop of Westminister called “cold blooded killing” - is apparently perfectly acceptable.

As a poster I saw on social media said the other day, the “we’ll never know” who did it excuse was also rolled out for the first hospital bombing. That was about 20 hospitals and 15,000 killings ago.

Thank you @Desertrose2023 and thank you Benjamin Zephaniah, a visionary poet and compassionate man. Gone too soon. Actually, that poem made me cry.