Our Partnership with Al Ahli Hospital

Authored by The Rev. Clelia Pinza-Garrity, LCSW

Since October 7, 2023, I have witnessed with profound dismay and deep sadness the progressive destruction of the Gaza Strip and the shocking death of a staggering 64,000 children, including at least 1,000 babies. Overall, out of the approximately 2.2 million people living in the Gaza Strip in July 2023, an estimated 67,075 people have been killed and169,430 injured.

Early in the war, I registered for as many Zoom interviews with Archbishop Hosam Naoum and his clergy as possible. Their stories were heartbreaking. Their faith and their hope during this chaotic war were stunning. To say that they were and continue to be brave in the midst of imminent destruction and death is understating by far their commitment to continue their work throughout their communities. Work done to glorify God and to bring hope to those who walk in deepest darkness, paralyzing fear, and grief. Work done to ensure that God’s kingdom knows no end.

Pictured left: Al Ahli Hospital before bombing. Pictured right: Al Ahli Hospital after bombing.

The destruction of Gaza’s hospitals occurred in the early days of the war and soon became the center of my attention and efforts to support Al Ahli hospital, a hospital managed by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem. Al Ahli Hospital is the sole medical resource for its community and a beacon of hope for people of any faith who need specialized medical care. Al Ahli Hospital provides services at no cost to all who enter its doors.

Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital in the Gaza Strip has been in operation since 1882. It was established in what was then the Ottoman Empire as a medical mission of the Anglican Church's Church Missionary Society (CMS) following the Anglo-Egyptian War. In 1954, the hospital was purchased by the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, which renamed it the Gaza Baptist Hospital. In the early 1980s, it was returned to the CMS, and was turned over to the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem. The diocese changed the hospital's name to Al Ahli Hospital.

Al Ahli Hospital is the only Christian hospital in the Gaza Strip and the only cancer hospital in Gaza. Prior to the war, it performed approximately 300 surgeries, administered 600 radiation treatments, and handled a total of 3,000 outpatient visits per month. It is supported by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and international charities such as The American Friends of the Diocese of Jerusalem and Embrace the Middle East, an organization that provides children’s services through its satellite clinic, The Jerusalem Princess Basma Centre.

Currently, because of the war, the hospital has been unable to provide a full array of services despite being overwhelmed by the vast numbers of people seeking not only medical care but also shelter from violence that persists despite a peace treaty. The hospital’s buildings have been destroyed by two violent bombings, but care continues in makeshift spaces. Blockades prevent attempts to supply the hospital with much-needed resources, but the remaining staff members persist in their commitment to provide whatever care they can to the surrounding community and to those throughout the area who are fleeing from the ongoing destruction of their makeshift living spaces.

In late December 2025, our diocesan Commission on World Mission Engagement, without hesitation, agreed to identify Al Ahli Hospital as one of its mission programs. As a member of the commission, I have been tasked with developing a presentation to raise awareness of the hospital and its pressing need for financial support among the churches in our diocese. If the hospital is to regain its ability to adequately serve those who seek care, including its critically important prenatal care clinic, and its surgical and rehabilitative program for children who have lost limbs, support is needed from as many as can be gathered.

The commission’s goal is to raise awareness of our mission, to generate financial support for the hospital, and to provide an opportunity for a pilgrimage of support to the Holy Land in late 2026.  Specifically, a pilgrimage to journey with those working at the hospital and with those who have been most affected by the war.

I have plans to travel to Jerusalem in mid-June 2026. I will be meeting with Fr. Fadi Diab, rector of St. Andrew’s in Ramallah, and others on the West Bank, as well as via Zoom with hospital staff. God willing, I will be able to go. Three of my previous attempts to travel to the Holy Land in recent months have been canceled due to escalating violence and bombings. Trip or no trip, we will be diligent in our efforts to garner support for the hospital.

The commission is always seeking supporters of and participants in its various missions. This mission is no different. We hope you will contact us with any questions or suggestions. I can always be reached via email: garritycpg@gmail.com. Do not hesitate to contact me.

Let us pray for our siblings in Christ throughout the Middle East, but specifically for those in the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem who bring hope and healing to so many. Who strive to ensure that God’s kingdom knows no end.

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Just after this article was published, Fr. Fadi (mentioned above) shared this heartfelt note with Deacon Clelia:

Dear Rev. Clelia,

Greetings, and thank you for your kind message and for holding us so faithfully in your prayers.  In these days, when the suffering in Gaza and the escalating violence in the West Bank weigh so heavily on our hearts, knowing that sisters and brothers around the world are thinking of us and standing with us is a real source of strength.

The scale of injustice and the disregard for human life grieve us deeply. Yet even in this darkness, we try to remain rooted in the way of Christ—seeking peace, loving our neighbors, and refusing to surrender our hope. Your solidarity helps us to continue that witness.

We look forward to welcoming you to Ramallah in June and I hope nothing happens that would hinder your visit. Your presence here would be a great encouragement to us. 

With gratitude and every blessing,

Fadi