We received and [now] publish [the following text] from Milad Jubran Basir, Italian-Palestinian journalist:

“The Israeli army, supported by Western powers, spares nothing in Gaza.

Unfortunately, in addition to healthcare personnel, ambulances, schools, hospitals, civil protection offices and schools, UNRWA (The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) offices, and mosques, now it is the churches’ turn.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health denounces the massacre of 16 Palestinian citizens of the Christian faith which occurred during the night of last Thursday [October 19, 2023] at the Orthodox Church in Gaza.

For the Christian faithful of Gaza, the Church, in addition to being a place of worship and prayer, has also become a refuge for many citizens during this absurd and inhumane war.

Yet another tragedy that adds to many others, unfortunately without any reaction from anyone; the world and the international community are helpless, if not indifferent, in the face of what the Palestinian people are suffering.

We , [in the rest of the world], must all do our part to put an end to this terrible tragedy, [to put in place] an immediate ceasefire, and to get medicines, food and water to the civilian population who are exhausted. No one can say they didn’t know, those who remain silent are complicit .

We [ Palestinians] are not numbers!

‘My name is Viola Al-Amash. I’m 26 years old and I just became a mother to little Alya. I studied at Al-Ahzar University and work at Caritas in Gaza as a laboratory technician, serving my tormented people. Don’t say I’m Christian. It does not matter. I am Palestinian, and I died in the Church of Saint Porphyry in Gaza, together with my daughter and my husband, my sister, her husband and their 3 young children. A ruthless enemy mowed us down while we sought refuge in a sacred place that I considered inviolable. My little girl will never grow up. Alya is gone.’

‘My name is Bisan, I’m in my 3rd year of medical school and I love my cat madly. I can’t wait to be able to take care of my people and I dream of a big house with lots of cats and lots of

flowers. My favorite quote: My life is the perfect cemetery of buried hopes. Don’t write that I’m Muslim, it doesn’t matter. I am Palestinian and I died with my entire family during an air attack in Gaza. My parents, my siblings and my cat all died with me. We did everything we could to survive but our destiny is sealed from the day we are born.’

We Palestinians, Christians, and Muslims united, ask the civilized and democratic world for justice, freedom and peace; we ask to have the right to loudly proclaim our self-determination, to have our own state based on law and legality and international law.

We ask the Italian civil society to support us in this historic and decisive phase in our liberation struggle.

There is a need for mediators, diplomacy, and people of common sense and goodwill who would do everything possible to urgently reach a ceasefire, then open negotiations that ensure lasting peace, through respect for human rights for all the populations living in the region, without exception.”