ISTANBUL

The Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem released a statement late Thursday expressing its “strongest condemnation” of an Israeli airstrike on its church compound in the city of Gaza and stressing its commitment to its humanitarian duty to shelter civilians regardless of the Israeli “war crime.”

In the statement published on its official website, the Patriarchate said that “targeting churches and their institutions, along with the shelters they provide to protect innocent citizens, especially children and women who have lost their homes due to Israeli airstrikes on residential areas over the past thirteen days, constitutes a war crime that cannot be ignored.”

The statement referred to previous Israeli attacks on institutions linked to the Patriarchate in the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

“Despite the evident targeting of the facilities and shelters of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and other churches – including the Episcopal Church of Jerusalem Hospital, other schools, and social institutions – the Patriarchate, along with the other churches, remains committed to fulfilling its religious and moral duty in providing assistance, support, and refuge to those in need amidst continuous Israeli demands to evacuate these institutions of civilians and the pressures exerted on the churches in this regard,” it added.

The Patriarchate also said “it will not abandon its religious and humanitarian duty, rooted in its Christian values, to provide all that is necessary in times of war and peace alike.”

At least two women were killed and scores of others injured in the Israeli attack Thursday on the Greek Orthodox Church in Gaza, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.

Earlier, the Ministry of Interior in the Gaza Strip said there were a significant number of civilian casualties, both fatalities and injuries, resulting from a "new massacre" committed by the Israeli military against displaced people sheltering in the church.

There have been no immediate comments from the Israeli side on the report.