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Christians in Gaza Labeled ‘Terrorists’ if They Don’t Flee City, Israeli Minister of Defense Warned

Articles | October 2, 2025 | by Catholics for Catholics

Christian nuns, clergy, elderly could be considered ‘terrorists’ if they don’t leave Gaza City

By Catholics for Catholics

The message is simple: leave or die.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz sent a threat on Wednesday stating residents of war-torn Gaza City have one “last opportunity” to escape to the south or be classified as “terrorists.” As Israeli forces pummel Hamas in Gaza in a relentless ground attack, devout Catholics like the Missionaries of Charity have decided to make a stand: stay behind and take care of the war’s most affected victims— the elderly, disabled, and sick who are too frail and cannot leave.

Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, pastor of Holy Family, the only Catholic Church in Gaza, Mother Theresa’s nuns and other missionaries, are determined to stay in the compounds of their parishes and nurture those who have been left behind.

Katz stated via a post on X that Israel’s army (IDF) had almost surrounded Gaza City. He had a stark message: “This is the last opportunity for Gaza residents who wish to do so to move south and leave Hamas terrorists isolated in Gaza City itself, facing the IDF’s ongoing operations at full force.” He added: “Those who remain in Gaza will be considered terrorists and terror supporters.”

The IDF said that about 780,000 Palestinian civilians have left Gaza City since August, with others calculating that number to be around 400,000, from a total of approximately 1 million. This means several hundred thousand people are staying in the city for several reasons including being too sick, weak from the famine, elderly or disabled to endure the displacement being inflicted upon them, reported Lifesitenews.

Those who have decided to stay include Catholic and Orthodox religious and clergy who have concluded it is their responsibility to remain with the disabled and malnourished of their displaced flocks, who have been taking shelter in their respective Gaza City parishes.

“The Christians who have bravely remained in Gaza will be slaughtered,” Students for Life President Kristan Hawkins said in an X post. “If they leave, they will lose their ancestral homes forever. There has got to be another way to end Hamas.”

Kelsey Reinhardt, president of CatholicVote, supported Hawkins’ comment and said that the IDF should already be aware of the Christian civilians’ plan to stay in the region.

“The heroic Missionaries of Charity are among those who have stayed behind to care for those too elderly or sick to travel,” Reinhardt stated. “In today’s day and age, it is possible to identify this community of Christians and guarantee their safety even in an area of war. @CatholicVote and @TimesofIsrael have already reported on their decisions to stay behind. This should not be news to the IDF.”

CatholicVote reported that Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, the chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace, has begged “Catholics and all men and women of good will” to pray for the war to end.

Bishop Zaidan asked for the intercession of Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom.

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