Two hundred Christian leaders from around the world are calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Embrace the Middle East, which partners with Christians in the Middle East, has been at the forefront of the call, made in a joint letter. The organisation has called for world powers to do more to bring about a lasting peace in the region.
The letter, which was signed by 25 leaders from the UK, said that the writers ‘abhor the ongoing violence’ which has now lasted for over nine months, and that ‘these atrocities stain the conscience of all humanity, and in this, we include ourselves as Christian leaders and the global church.’
It called for hostages to be released, for the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and for the transfer of weapons to Israel to be stopped due to breaches of international law.
There are varying reports concerning how many have been killed in Gaza since Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7th, which saw over 1,100 Israelis killed and hundreds taken as hostages.
The letter claims that over 39,000 people have been killed by the Israeli military since October 7th, and that over two thirds of the territory has been displaced or destroyed to the point that it is no longer inhabitable, leaving about two million people without basic living conditions and necessities.
The letter called for a lasting peace to be sought in the territory and for work to be done to improve basic living standards for those who have been displaced. It also expressed concern that a wider regional conflict may arise between Israel and Hezbollah and claimed that Israeli forces are now also targeting Palestinians in what they described as a ‘largely unreported and bloody confrontation’ in the West Bank.
The co-writers expressed fear that hope of finding a non-violent solution is fading on all sides of the conflict, and that due to many having fled the region or been killed, there may soon be no Christians left in Gaza and Israel.
Matt Adcock, Embrace’s Head of Communications said: ‘We wanted to write to global leaders to highlight the urgency of the situation and our concern as united Christians from around the world. We fear that if leaders and those with influence do not exert every effort for peace now, then the consequences could be catastrophic.
‘Unfortunately, since writing, the situation has deteriorated further and we are urging people to pray that the message in this letter is heeded immediately,' he said.
