Christian Palestinian scholar says Gazans are trapped by Israeli attacks, snipers

By Anadolu Staff

ISTANBUL (AA) - Expressing deep concern for her relatives in Gaza, a Palestinian Catholic scholar stressed the difficulty they face in escaping the current situation, saying Gazans find themselves trapped by unending Israeli attacks, including by snipers.

Shireen Awwad Hilal, director of Bethlehem Bible College in the occupied West Bank city of the same name, told Anadolu that her mother has roots in Gaza, and still has numerous relatives living there.

However, Hilal said: “I lost my one aunt and one uncle, and one of my aunts is severely injured.”

Highlighting the diverse ages within her family, ranging from 10 to 80 years old, including cousins, uncles, and children, Hilal expressed the scale of the challenges they are collectively facing: "We are about 30 people all together in Gaza."

“It's not easy to escape because they are now trapped,” as “there are lots of snipers,” she stressed.

“Even less than a week ago, snipers killed two women who were in the church walking,” she added, apparently referring to the killing of two women in the Holy Family Parish in Gaza earlier this month, with seven other people injured, according to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

“One (woman) was killed as she tried to carry the other to safety,” said the patriarchate, calling the incident a “cold blooded” killing.

Hilal said her relatives are gripped by fear, unable to leave due to the lack of a foreign passport, relying solely on their Palestinian passports.

“So it's not easy to move,” she said.

Describing the situation in Gaza, she said: "It's not a conflict, it's a state of war."

She added: “It's genocide even, not only war, when I say genocide means everyone they're trying or aiming to kill.”

“Even the basic necessities for a living are now scarce,” she said, telling how there is no food, no electricity, no water, no medicine, no hospitals, no schools, and no fuel, due to a continuing Israeli blockade.

“People are now eating from canned food,” she stressed.

- ‘We should live like any normal human beings’

“I feel disappointed with the whole world. I mean not everybody, but mostly the governments,” Hilal said.

“I feel disgusted by all the government who actually voted not to cease-fire,” she explained.

Last week the UN Security Council, after four delays, passed a resolution urging urgent action to secure uninterrupted humanitarian aid in Gaza. The resolution got 13 yes votes, with the US and Russia abstaining.

“We should live like any normal human beings,” she said. “People look at us as second (class) citizens like as you know, not important.”

“If it was done somewhere else, they would care,” she said.

Stressing the importance of worldwide advocacy, she urged people to speak up loudly and put pressure on governments, emphasizing the need for a halt to the situation.

“We have been, you know, lifting our prayers to the Lord and praying loud because we this is the only way we will be finding a solution,” she highlighted.

“We lost hope in all situations and all solutions that were actually on the table – nothing worked,” Hilal added.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, killing nearly 21,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 54,536 others, according to local health authorities.

Around 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.