Statement of Solidarity Following the Strike on the Anglican Ahli Arab Hospital, Gaza
15 April 2025
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” – Matthew 5:9
“Ka hari te hunga ka whakatūtū i te rangimārie: ka huaina hoki rātou he tamariki nā te Atua.” - Matiu 5:9
Archbishops Don Tamihere, Sione Ulu’ilakepa and Justin Duckworth of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia strongly denounce the missile attacks on the Anglican Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, carried out in the early hours of Palm Sunday, 13 April 2025.
Run by the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem, this hospital has long stood as a place of refuge, healing and hope — and was the last fully operational hospital in Gaza City.
We are deeply relieved that, despite the scale of destruction, no lives were lost in the blast itself.
On 13 April 2025, our friends in the Diocese of Jerusalem reported that the hospital was given just 20 minutes’ notice from the Israeli army to evacuate the premises. Tragically, a young girl who was a patient lost her life in the chaos of the rushed evacuation.
Some patients, still confined to their hospital beds, were forced to flee into the night with nowhere to turn at 2 am. Several suffered serious injuries, with some experiencing reopened wounds from the blast.
The impact of the strike was severe. The hospital’s two-storey laboratory was destroyed. The Pharmacy, Emergency Department, and the on-site St Philip’s Church have also suffered serious damage.
Our province has long supported health and care in Gaza. That work continues. We invite you to stand with us in prayer, solidarity, and action. Donate to the Christian World Service ‘Gaza Palestine Emergency Appeal’ and the Anglican Missions' ‘Hope for the Holy Land Appeal’.
We stand with the Diocese of Jerusalem and “call upon all governments and people of goodwill to intervene to stop all kinds of attacks on medical and humanitarian institutions. We pray and call for the end of this horrific war and suffering of so many.”
Archbishop Don Tamihere - Primate & Archbishop
Archbishop Sione Ulu’ilakepa - Primate & Archbishop
Archbishop Justin Duckworth - Primate & Archbishop
