The situation for Christians sheltering in a church in Gaza is “beyond desperate”, according to a British lawmaker whose family is among those trapped inside.
Stephen Timms, a Labour MP, posted on Twitter on Friday that his niece, cousin, two uncles and mother were sheltering with other ‘families of all religions’ in the church in Gaza City.
“They should not have had to take refuge in the church,” he wrote. “But for 11 nights now, and as a result of the conflict, they have been virtually imprisoned there.”
According to Timms, they have no electricity, no running water and are “temporarily confined” in the church, “as the bombing of residential areas nearby continues”.
Timms called for an immediate ceasefire so that his family and the other families in the church can return home safely, as well as for an end to the indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas and a resolution to the underlying conflict.
He said that they “desperately need peace and security” and that the “devastating reality” of the conflict had to be “fully exposed”.
