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The Sunday service had been taking place in a morning of quietness and calm, a rare chance of reflection amid the turbulence of war. That ended as the last prayers were being held, the sound of air strikes and tank rounds echoing not far from the church: the ‘humanitarian ceasefire’ was over.
It was one interlude on 24 hours of truce and counter-truce . A six hour window agreed on Saturday by Israel and Hamas; the Israeli government extending it to 12; Hamas rejecting it, fighting starting again; the Israelis offering a 24 hour ceasefire, only to cancel it; Hamas then offering their own 24 hours ceasefire; Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu charging that Hamas had breached its own ceasefire.
Amid all this two things were clear to the refugees who had taken refuge at St Porphyrios: they were not going to go back to their homes they had been forced to abandon, and they were not going to move to the mosque down the road. Both, they felt, would be highly dangerous.
Around 2,000 people, the vast majority of them women and children, including infants, had gathered at the Greek Orthodox church in Zaytun, and although caring for them was meant to be shared with the Katib Weleyat, most, all of them men, went to the mosque to pray and to use the washing facilities. Families sleep on mattresses in the corridors and rooms of the church and adjoining buildings, meals are provided, and doctors from a nearby private hospital have been providing medical care.
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflictShow all 124 1 /124In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian boy peaks from behind Palestinian militants of the Ezzedine al-Qassam brigade, the armed wing of Hamas, during a rally to commemorate the 27th anniversary of the Islamist movement's creation
AFP
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man carries the body of his daughter, who was killed during Israeli shelling, outside the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian girls play inside their school which was destroyed during the 50 days of conflict between Israel and Hamas last summer, in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Members of Hamas security forces march during their graduation ceremony at the fisherman's port in Gaza City
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict An Israeli soldier gestures in relief as he walks with comrades near the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip after returning from the Hamas-controlled Palestinian coastal enclave
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict An Israeli Merkava tank moves along a road near the border with the Gaza Strip, Southern Israel
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians attend Friday noon prayers next to a destroyed mosque was hit by Israeli strikes in Gaza City
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians attend Friday noon prayers in a destroyed mosque that was hit by Israeli strikes, in Gaza City, as Israel and Gaza militants resumed cross-border attacks after a three-day truce expired and Egyptian-brokered talks on a new border deal for blockaded Gaza hit a deadlock
AP Photo
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians attend Friday noon prayers in the shadow of a toppled minaret at a mosque that was hit by Israeli strikes in Gaza City, as Israel and Gaza militants resumed cross-border attacks after a three-day truce expired and Egyptian-brokered talks on a new border deal for blockaded Gaza hit a deadlock
AP
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Relatives mourn during the funeral of 10-year old Ibraheem al-Dawawsa. According to medics the child died in an Israeli airstrike on a mosque which is under construction. The boy is the first dead in Gaza after a 72-hours ceasefire
EPA
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A relative of Palestinian boy Ibrahim Al-Dawawsa, 12, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike, grieves during his funeral in Gaza City
AP Photo
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians attend Friday noon prayers in a destroyed mosque that was hit by Israeli strikes, in Gaza City
AP
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Smoke rises following Israeli air strikes in northern Gaza City. The Israeli army hit targets in the Gaza Strip in response to rocket attacks by Palestinian militants, after a three-day ceasefire ended and Egypt-mediated indirect talks failed to secure a longer truce
EPA
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man stands on the rubble of a home destroyed by an Israeli air strike in Rafah
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Israeli soldiers embrace each other as they sing at a staging area at an unspecified location near the Gaza border
EPA
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A shell lies on the ground at the heavily damaged Sobhi Abu Karsh school in Gaza City
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A shrapnel-holed wall in the Sobhi Abu Karsh school in Gaza City’s al-Shejaea neighbourhood
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Israeli soldiers celebrate after returning to Israel from Gaza
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian men ride a donkey cart past destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian inspects destroyed houses and the area where the Al-Wafaa hospital used to stand
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man holds his child in his destroyed home in Beit Hanoun
EPA
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian brothers sit on the rubble of their house in front of an apartment block in part of the northern Beit Hanun district of the Gaza Strip after a 72-hour truce accepted by Israel and Hamas came into effect
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A general view shows destruction in part of the northern Beit Hanun district of Gaza Strip at the beginning of a 72-hour truce accepted by Israel and Hamas
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian carries his belongings from rubble of his destroyed house in Khoza-a neighbourhood in the east of Khanyounis town in the southern Gaza Strip
EPA
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Backdropped by the damaged minaret of the Al-Azba mosque, Palestinians inspect the damage to the Nada Towers residential neighborhood in the town of Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip
AP
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians used pieces of cardboard as protection from the sun while queuing up in front of a bakery in Gaza City. A seven-hour humanitarian ceasefire called by Israel went into effect in most of the Gaza Strip, after an attack that killed 10 people at a UN-run school
EPA
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict An Israeli soldier rides an armoured personnel carrier (APC) towards a staging area near the border with the Gaza Strip. Palestinians accused Israel of breaking its own ceasefire on Monday by launching a bomb attack on a refugee camp in Gaza City that killed an eight-year-old girl and wounded 29 other people
REUTERS
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians carry bags as they return to check on what is left of their homes and businesses following the Israeli military offensive, close to the Rafah refugee camp, in southern Gaza Strip
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Civil defence workers and medics are searching the neighborhood looking for victims of the ongoing Israeli military operation which has killed some 1,829 Palestinians, mainly civilians in nearly one month
AFP
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man picks through rubble in a classroom inside a UN school that was hit by shelling
Getty Images
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man inspects the damage at a UN school at the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian civilians wounded during Israeli shelling in a UN school wait at the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Damage inside a classroom caused by Israeli shelling of the Abu Hussein UN school
AP
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians walk next to the collapsed minaret of a destroyed mosque in Gaza City. It was destroyed in an overnight Israeli airstrike on Tuesday
EPA
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians who lost relatives in an Israeli strike on a compound housing a UN school in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, mourn outside the Kamal Edwin hospital in Beit Lahia where victims from the attack were brought
AFP/Getty Images
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Smoke and fire from the explosion of an Israeli strike rise over Gaza City amid Israel's heaviest air and artillery assault in more than three weeks of Israel-Hamas fighting
AP Photo
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians who lost relatives in an Israeli strike on a compound housing a UN school in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, mourn outside the Kamal Edwin hospital in Beit Lahia
AFP
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Flames engulf the fuel tanks of the only power plant supplying electricity to the Gaza Strip after it was hit by overnight Israeli shelling, in the south of Gaza City
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians from a damaged apartment building inspect the damage to a neighboring building, the offices of the Hamas movement's Al-Aqsa satellite TV station, in Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, destroyed by an Israeli strike
AP
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict An Israeli soldier prays on the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip as smoke billows from a power plant following overnight Israeli shelling in the coastal Palestinian enclave. The only power plant supplying electricity to the Gaza Strip was knocked out of commission by Israeli shelling, deputy director of the energy authority in the Palestinian territory said
AFP
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A building within the Gaza port is seen on fire after several strikes
Getty Images
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict The rubble of the house of the Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, – pictured in the poster, hit by a pre-dawn Israeli strike, in Gaza City
AP
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Smoke rises from Tuffah neighbourhood after Israeli air strikes in the east of Gaza City. Relentless bombardment has crippled the city’s infrastructure
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A woman wounded in an Israeli strike is taken to hospital in Beit Lahia, Gaza
Getty Images
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man walks in front of a fire raging at the Gaza's main power plant following an overnight Israeli airstrike, south of Gaza City
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Horses belonging to internally displaced Palestinians look for eatable things in the rubbish outside a UN school, which was transformed into a shelter in the Jabalia district, northern Gaza Strip
EPA
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian girl poses while playing during the first day of Eid al-Fitr in a United Nations school.Muslims usually start the day by visiting cemeteries, to pay their respects to the dead, and then exchange family visits
AP
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian Abir Shamaleh, left, sits next to the grave of her son Saher, a civilian according to the family, who was killed in an Israeli strike during the war, as members of the family visit a cemetery in Gaza City. Monday marked the beginning of the three-day Eid al-Fitr holiday, which caps the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan
AP
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict An Israeli army Merkava tank rolls along the border between Israel and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. The UN Security Council joined US President Barack Obama in calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, after Israel and Hamas ignored calls for a truce despite mounting civilian casualties
AFP
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A wounded Palestinian woman runs in the street after Israeli airstrikes in Al Tufah neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man cries after identifying the body of his loved one, killed in an Israeli strike, inside the morgue of Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian Ahmed Jadallah, center, 75, prepares a body for burial at the morgue of Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian mother mourns over the body of her son, Abd al-Karim al-Shibari, who was killed after a UN school in the northern Beit Hanun district of the Gaza Strip was hit by an Israeli shell, at the morgue of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian medics run carrying children, wounded in an Israeli strike on a compound housing a U.N. school in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip, into the emergency room of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian wounded in an Israeli strike on a compound housing a UN school in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip, flashes the V-sign for "Victory" as he arrives on a stretcher at the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian helps a relative, wounded in an Israeli strike in Gaza City
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians inspect the rubble of a destroyed house after Israeli airstrikes in Al Tufah neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Members of the El Ajramy family salvage some of their belongings from their house, which was destroyed by an overnight Israeli strike in the Jebaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians inspect the wreckage of a car following an Israeli air strike in Gaza City
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian helps his son who got injured when a UN school for refugees was allegedly hit by an Israeli tank shell in the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya, Gaza Strip
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man carries a child, wounded in an Israeli strike on a compound housing a U.N. school in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip, into the emergency room of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian girls cry after their father was killed in a UN-operated school after an alleged Israeli attack in Beit Hanun town, northern Gaza strip
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian children, wounded in an Israeli strike on a compound housing a U.N. school in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip, cry as they lay on the floor at the emergency room of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man cries over the body of his son who died when a UN school for refugees was, according to medics, hit by an Israeli tank shell in the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya, Gaza Strip
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian youth carries a child, wounded in an Israeli strike on a compound housing a U.N. school in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip, into the emergency room of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A pool of blood in a UN-operated school after an Israeli air strikes in Beit Hanun town, northern Gaza strip
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian medic carries a wounded injured to a treatment room of Nasser hospital, following an Israeli airstrike at their family house in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A relative of two-year old Palestinian Salma Radiya killed by shrapnel from an Israeli tank shell in the north of the Gaza Strip holds her body at the morgue of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man carries his father as he and others run to take cover during an Israeli air strike in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians paramedics run for cover from Israeli air strike during their search for injured people in the damaged area in Al Shejaeiya neighbourhood, during an Israeli military operation in the east Gaza City
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians flee during a two hour temporary ceasefire in Gaza City's Shijaiyah neighborhood
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man holds a copy of the Koran, Islam's holy book, near a heavily damaged mosque following an Israeli military strike in Gaza city
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian relatives of Tawfiq al -Aga, who medics said was killed in Israeli shelling, mourn during his funeral in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Red cross staff arrive to the damaged area in Al Shejaeiya neighbourhood, during an Israeli military operation in the east Gaza City
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian mother lies on the ground as she mourns the death of her son, who medics said was killed by Israeli shelling, at a hospital in Gaza City
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A relative of two-year old Palestinian Salma Radiya who was killed by shrapnel from an Israeli tank shell in the north of the Gaza Strip holds her body in the street outside the morgue of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A mourner touches a wreath placed on the grave of fallen Israeli soldier Natan Cohen, killed during fighting in Gaza, during his funeral in the town of Modi'in, between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A mourner reacts during the funeral for Israeli soldier Natan Cohen, killed during fighting in Gaza on Tuesday, in the town of Modi'in, between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Soldiers carry the coffin of Sergeant Max Steinberg during his funeral in Jerusalem, Israel
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict The parents of Sergeant Max Steinberg grieve at his coffin during his funeral in Jerusalem, Israel
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Jewish worshipper takes part in a special prayer at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City for the well-being of Israeli soldiers in Gaza
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A banner depicting the names of Palestinians killed in Israel's ongoing assault on the Gaza Strip hangs on the landmark Pigeon Rock in Beirut's Rawshe seafront
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict An Israel officer with a bird on his shoulder speaks to his soldiers after they returned from a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, at an army deployment area near Israel's border with the besieged Palestinian territory, as the conflict entered its third week with neither side showing any sign of willingness to pull back
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian families who fled their homes from east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip ride on a car in their way to the city of Khan Younis
AP
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Smoke from an Israeli strike rises over Gaza City
AP
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict An Israeli 155mm self-propelled howitzer fires from southern Israeli into the Gaza Strip
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In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict The morgue attendant hands over the body to a relative of two-year-old Palestinian Lamar Radiya killed by shrapnel from an Israeli tank shell in the north of the Gaza Strip
Getty Images
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man, in clothes stained with the blood of his father, who medics said was killed by Israeli shelling, mourns as he disembarks an ambulance transporting his father's body, at a hospital in Khan Younis
Reuters
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza conflict Israeli soldiers carry the coffin of Sgt. Max Steinberg, during his funeral at the Mount Herzel military cemetery in Jerusalem. Steinberg, a 24-year-old American citizen who grew up in Southern California's San Fernando Valley, was killed while fighting in Gaza
AP
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip Palestinian paramedics carry a six-month-old baby into the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia after he was injured in an Israeli strike in the norhtern Gaza Strip
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip A relative of Shahed Qishtah, a nine-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed in an Israeli strike while playing, left the Kamal Adwan hospital where he brought her in Beit Lahia in the norhtern Gaza Strip
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian child screams in pain at the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip after she was hit by shrapnel during an Israeli military strike near her family house
Getty
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip The father of a nine-year-old girl, Shahed Qishtah, leads a relative carrying her to hospital in Beit Lahia, Gaza; she died of her injuries
AFP/Getty Images
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip An injured Palestinian at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip Mourning relatives of the Kelani family cry as they attend the funeral in Beit Lahiya, Gaza
EPA
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip Brothers and family members of Ibrahim al-Kelani, the father and husband of a family of seven with dual Palestinian-German citizenship, attend his funeral in Beit Lahiya town in the northern Gaza Strip
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip Relatives of Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant Abduallah El-Buhasi, who medics said was killed in an Israeli air strike, mourn during his funeral in Deir El-Balah in the central Gaza Strip
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian woman runs to seek cover from tear gas fired by Israeli soldiers during clashes at a protest against the Israeli attacks on Gaza Strip, at Howwara checkpoint near the west bank city of Nablus
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike in Al Shejaeiya neighbourhood during a military operation in eastern Gaza City
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip A member of Palestinian Selam family is rescued under the wreckage of their house, destroyed by an Israeli airstrike within the 'Operation Protective Edge'
Getty Images
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip Firemen cut Palestinians free from the wreckage of the building, in which 11 Palestinians died and others injured following an Israel assault in Rimal, in Gaza City
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip One member of Palestinian Selam family is is killed and 8 others get wounded after an Israeli airstrike, hit their hose and destroyed it within the 'Operation Protective Edge'
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian man is helped to flee Gaza City's Shijaiyah neighborhood, after an Israeli strike in the area
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip Palestinians inspect the rubble of the destroyed Al Aqsa Martyrs' mosque in Gaza City
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip Palestinian rescuers inspect the damage of Al-Shalam (Peace) tower, destroyed by an Israeli strike
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian inspects the damage of the Al-Shalam (Peace) tower, destroyed by an Israeli strike
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian walks inside the Al Aqsa Martyrs mosque destroyed by an Israeli strike in Gaza City
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip Palestinians look at the remains of a mosque, which police said was hit in an Israeli air strike, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip Palestinian firefighters extinguish fire at a house destroyed by an Israeli air strike in Gaza City
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian man stands on the wreckage of a car as he searches the rubble of his destroyed apartment for belongings following an Israeli air strike in the center of Gaza City
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip Smoke rises as flames spread across buildings after Israeli strikes in the Shijaiyah neighborhood in Gaza City
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Northern city of Nazareth Israeli riot police arrest an Arab Israeli man during clashes that followed a protest against Israel's military offensive on the Gaza Strip, in the northern city of Nazareth
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Northern city of Nazareth Israeli riot police keep watch during clashes that followed a protest against Israel's military offensive on the Gaza Strip, in the northern city of Nazareth
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip Palestinians inspect a destroyed house after an Israeli air strike in the Gaza City
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip Palestinian medics tend to a boy who they said was wounded in an Israeli shelling, at a hospital, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Southern Gaza Strip Palestinian medics from Gaza City's al-Shifa hospital react while body bags with the remain of ten children arrive after an Israeli air strike in Gaza City
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Sderot, Israel Israeli soldiers stand near their tank while smoke due to airstrikes and shelling rises from Gaza near Sderot
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza border Israeli soldiers of the 155mm artillery cannons unit fire towards the Gaza Strip from their position near Israel's border with the coastal Palestinian enclave
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza border An Israeli tank manoeuvres outside the northern Gaza Strip
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel-Gaza border Israeli cannon fires artillery shells from an artillery unit near the Israeli border with Gaza
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Holon, near Tel Aviv The parents of 32-year-old Israeli army captain Tzafrir Bar-Or, a commander of the Golani Brigade killed the previous day fighting a group of Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, mourn over his coffin during his funeral in the central town of Holon, near Tel Aviv
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Holon, near Tel Aviv An Israeli female soldier mourns during the funeral of 32-year-old Israeli army captain Tzafrir Bar-Or, a commander of the Golani Brigade killed the previous day fighting a group of Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, in the central town of Holon, near Tel Aviv
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Holon, near Tel Aviv Family members of Major Tsafrir Bar-Or mourn and cry during his funeral in Holon. Major Tsafrir was killed during the operation 'Protective Edge'
In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Israel An Israeli soldier inspects an Israeli home allegedly hit by a Hamas rocket in Sderot
The midnight prayers for the last Friday of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting, were held at the courtyard of St Porphyrios. “It would have been simply too risky going there, they might have bombed the mosque,” Sajal Abu-Hamsha wanted to explain, sitting this afternoon at the same courtyard. “We certainly would not go and live there, the Israelis have bombed so many mosques already”. Around a dozen gathered around murmured agreement.
Sajal and her husband Fadil cannot take their family of 10 back to their home at the town of Beit Hanoun. They returned during the ceasefire on Saturday to find it had been pulverised. “There was nothing left, we did not have much time when we had to leave out home, there were things we wanted to collect, but everything had been destroyed. We came back here quickly, we feel we are safe here.”
St Porphyrios has been hit by tank shells, blowing up water tanks, damaging a neighbouring house belonging to the church, as well as some tombs in the adjoining graveyard. “That was last Monday and we haven’t been hit since. The Israelis know where we are and I can only hope what happened last week was a mistake, we have had things nearby, but no more damage so far” said Alexios, the Archbishop of Tiberias and Gaza, after holding the morning service.
The congregation had been no more than 20, compared to around 250 before the conflict. “People are scared, they don’t want to leave their home, petrol for the car is a problem”, pointed out the Archbishop. Later in afternoon, the body of a Christian woman was found buried under debris nearby. The total death toll for Palestinians stands at 1060, according to health officials in Gaza. Forty-three Israeli soldiers have been killed.
St Porphyrios dates back to 407 AD. It was converted to a mosque in the 7 Century and a new church built in the 12 Century. “This has been a place of God for a long time and if people seek sanctuary it is our duty to provide it. But we cannot take any more, there are around 600 people in the church itself, 430 of them are children, 117 of them are babies aged 20, 30 days. So the fact is”, said the Archbishop, “we can’t take any more, we would not be able cope.
“I know people feel safer here than a mosque. I know a number of mosques had been bombed; why the Israelis do it? Who knows?”
The Israeli military insists that Muslim holy place had been hit because they were being used by militants. After missile strikes reduced al-Farouq mosque , near the Nuseirat refugee camp to rubble, leaving just the minaret standing, it issued aerial photos which showed, it stated, that rockets were being stored there.
No explanations, however, have been given for other attacks. Ten minutes’ drive from the church, the dome of the Al-Shamaa mosque was pitted with holes, the windows had been in blown in. The building next door, attached to the mosque and used for ablutions before prayers, was the main target. “But they fired at the mosque as well”, maintained Ahmad Huddad, the caretaker. “So you see, not even a place of worship is safe now.”
That was the definite view of the al-Adawi, an extended family of 30 who arrived outside St Porphyrios. They had left their home between Zaytun and Shujayia following fierce bombardment, returning during the truce on Saturday. But that got cancelled, shelling began, and they left again.
They had tried UN shelters, unused schools, to find they were full. Now they have been told there was no room at the church either.
The al-Adawis were experiencing the social strains on an already fractured society which have come with more than 100,000 people on the move. “We were staying with my brother-in-law for a while, but he became unhappy with having so many people in the house, that is the reason we went back to our home” explained Mohammed al-Adawi. “But it got really dangerous this morning, so we left. We had put all our hoped on this church, all we need is somewhere to sleep.”
Two men joined the conversation. “We can’t have 100 people coming here every day from other areas” declared Ahmed Shabaan. “Everyone is under pressure here, they should stay in their own areas, or they should keep going, maybe to Gaza City. This area cannot take any more.” His companion offered them a temporary place at the mosque. “You will be alright there” he assured, before admitting that he was not staying there himself.
The family were adamant they were not going to go down that path. “I got this at a mosque” claimed Safwan al-Adawi, pointing to a cut on his head, “and I had just gone there to pray”. Mr Shabaan, who was keen stress that he was an American citizen, had served briefly in the US army, and had broad experience of life, was dismissive: “That is the problem here, it’s the culture, people think others should look after them.”
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