First of all, I would like to thank you for your donations over the past months and years, and for your prayers for peace in places where violence and hatred prevail, as they now do in the Holy Land.

It is in this difficult context that I am once again contacting you to appeal for your generosity and prayers.

For over six months, we have been witnessing live the systematic destruction of Gaza, with the loss of thousands of lives, especially of children and women. And over 1.5 million people are on the brink of starvation, particularly in northern Gaza.

This suffering is also endured by the Christian communities that have remained in northern Gaza and need your help. They include some 550 people crammed into the Greek Orthodox parish church of St. Porphyrius; about 500 people who have taken refuge in the Holy Family Catholic church; and the Missionaries of Charity, who look after people with mental and physical disabilities.

Before October 7, these communities were providing quality social services in Gaza, including education, health care and job creation for the youth.But now they have nothing left and have even lost loved ones.

• On October 20, 2023, a missile fired at the St. Porphyrius parish by the Israeli army killed Viola Al ’Amash, her husband and baby, and 14 other people. Viola was an employee of our partner, Caritas Jerusalem.

• On December 17, an Israeli army sniper murdered Nahida Khalil Anton, 70, and her 50-year-olddaughter, Samar, in addition to wounding seven others. These attacks had a single aim: to create panic and to force the communities to move to southern Gaza.

But they have courageously refused to leave.

Despite it all, the confined Christians are not hesitating to share what little they have―food, hygiene products, drinking water and medicines―with Muslim neighbors who are even worse off than them.

Acknowledging their significance, Pope Francis wrote in his Holy Week letter to them, “You are lamps shining in the night, seeds of goodness in a land rent asunder by conflicts.”

Indeed, these Palestinian Christian communities have been in the Holy Land for hundreds of years. In their deeds and commitment, they are a true sign of hope, bringing Christ’s love to these darkest moments in their history.

Please pray for peace and for them, as they are exhausted.

Thank you for your generous donation, which will go directly to families in need.

May peace be with you!