Pope Tawadros II to Gazans: Our hearts go out to you

CAIRO – 4 January 2024: Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the holy See of Saint Mark, sent a solidarity message to the people of Gaza, ahead of the Coptic Orthodox celebration of Christmas.

“Our hearts go out to you... It pains us to watch what is happening in Gaza... and as much as possible we participate in the aid that the state provides... even if it represents nothing,” he said in comments to Youm7.

His Holiness added: “We hope that this crisis will end; the wounds will be healed; Gaza will be reconstructed, and health and beautiful life will return."

On the terrifying scenes of the wounded and martyred men, women, and children of Gaza, he said: “Undoubtedly, humanity has disappeared. Some people have sold their conscience and simply failed to learn from the Coronavirus [pandemic], which was only a tiny virus but could stop the whole world.”

“I wonder why are the countries that claim to be progressive and civilized unable to condemn what is happening to the Gazans as if they were not human beings?” the pope said.

Christmas in Egypt is observed on January 7, following the Julian calendar, in line with Orthodox churches worldwide.

Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed El-Tayyeb and Pope Tawadros II have agreed to establishing a joint committee that acts against the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.

El-Tayyeb visited the pope on Wednesday to extend his greetings to the Christian people on Christmas, wishing Egyptians a happy new year and confirming the cohesion between the Muslim and Christian people of Egypt.

During the meeting, Egypt’s top religious leaders welcomed the planned establishment of the committee, which will bring together representatives from Al-Azhar and the Egyptian churches.

The committee will be in charge of generating a unified Egyptian voice rejecting the Israeli crimes in Gaza and defending the rights of the Palestinian people.

The Israeli attacks in Gaza over the past 88 days have killed 22,313 people and injured 57,296 individuals, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza. Most of the victims are women and children.