The Forgotten Minority: The Gaza Strip's Ancient and Dwindling Christians Population

Christians have been living in the Gaza Strip since the dawn of Christianity. Being a minority, they now face the same catastrophe as all other Gaza residents, and even Christian churches and hospitals can become targets for attack.

According to the latest statistics issued by the Latin Monastery Church in Gaza, in 2022 the Gaza Strip's Christian population amounted to about 1,100 along with more than two million Muslims. This is a big slump from the mid-Nineties when they numbered about 5,000. The majority of the Christian population in Gaza is Greek Orthodox.

In its report, Minority Rights Group International highlighted that “since the launch of the Palestinian Authority in 1994, Christians have also faced an increase in religious discrimination, especially since the onset of the second intifada in 2000”.

“Their demographic decline is evident in Gaza, for example, where the population has more than halved from around 2,300 in 1967 to less than 1,200 today,” said the report.

Not Only War Issues

The life of Christian communities in Gaza is tough not just because of Israeli strikes - they also have to contend with some persecution by Hamas in the enclave. In 2012, the Orthodox Church in Gaza accused an unnamed Islamic organization of kidnapping Christians and forcing them to convert to Islam. Hundreds of Christians have staged protests against forced conversions by Islamists to Islam. However, Hamas officials rejected the Orthodox Church's accusations, saying that Christians in the region freely converted to Islam.

Traditionally, Palestinian Christians have worked in the healthcare and education sectors. Established in 1988 at the height of the First Intifada, Al Ahli Arab Hospital, the Baptist Health Centre in Gaza city, provided healthcare to around 160,000 patients annually. It was completely destroyed after a missile hit it on 17 October, causing a massive blast in which at least 500 people died.

There are four Roman Catholic and one Orthodox private school in the Gaza Strip, which provide high-quality education for both Christian and Muslim pupils. Until now, there has been no available data about whether these schools have managed to escape being bombed during this present escalation.

Palestinian Christians gather to take photos while celebrate lighting of the Christmas tree at the yard of Christian youth center in Gaza City, Friday, Dec. 10, 2021

© AP Photo / Adel Hana

There are only three churches in Gaza: the Orthodox St Porphyrius of Gaza Church, the Gaza Baptist Church for Evangelical and Protestant Christians and the Roman Catholic Holy Family Church. While war is being waged in the region, they all house refugees from different Gaza Strip areas. Overnight, Israeli strikes hit a building next to the Church of St Porphyrius, killing dozens of refugees who were seeking shelter there.

Palestine is the cradle of Christianity, and the West Bank and Jerusalem form much of the heart of the Christian Holy Land. Christian communities have dwelt in Palestine since the emergence of Christianity. In the early Middle Ages Gaza was a hub for Christian rhetoric and philosophy.