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The Gaza headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity, the Sisters of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, is under siege by the Israeli army according to one of the nuns inside the building.
The nuns and their 60 guests, most of whom are disabled and handicapped, are trapped in the facility without food, water, medicine, electricity or gas, according to Sr Chiara.
The “whole area” where the nuns’ facility is located “is surrounded by the Israeli army” said Fr Francis Xavier Rayappangari.
“Communications with the outside world have been cut off” said Fr Rayappangari, Commissary of the Holy Land in India.
“Sometimes, some generous and courageous people bring something to eat. Whatever they receive from outside, the sisters serve their guests first. If there is anything left, they eat that. Sometimes they only have one meal a day.”
The convent of the Sisters of Mother Teresa and the Holy Family parish are near the al-Shifa hospital. The hospital has been under siege by Israeli forces for days.
Local sources report that the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) gave the nuns an opportunity to be evacuated, but not the disabled and the remaining staff.
The nuns declined to leave.
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The intense combat in the area has affected not only the nearby Holy Family Catholic Church, the lone Catholic parish in Gaza, but also the small Missionaries of Charity convent.
Rayappangari also said witnessing the horrors of war has become a daily occurrence not only at the convent but also at the nearby parish, where an estimated 700 people have sought refuge from the shelling and combat.
“One lady wanted to go home in order to take a bath” Fr Rayappangari said, recounting a story he heard from the sisters. “As she stepped out of the campus, she was shot and died bleeding.
“May the Prince of Peace give peace to this land” he said.
Sources
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