(LifeSiteNews) — Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a threat on Wednesday stating residents of famine-stricken Gaza City have one “last opportunity” to flee to the south or be classified as “terrorists” as the U.S.-backed Israeli army continues its ethnic cleansing operation aimed at razing every building in the city to the ground.
With a tweet on X, Katz announced that Israel’s occupation army (IDF) had almost surrounded Gaza City. “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.”
“Those who remain in Gaza will be considered terrorists and terror supporters,” he warned.
According to the IDF, around 780,000 Palestinian civilians have fled Gaza City since August, with other estimates reporting that figure to be around 400,000, from a total of approximately 1 million. This means several hundred thousand people are remaining in the city for various reasons including being too sick, weak from the famine, elderly or disabled to endure another crime against humanity of displacement being inflicted upon them.
Those who have decided to stay include Catholic and Orthodox religious and clergy who have concluded their responsibility is to remain with the disabled and malnourished of their displaced flocks, who have been taking shelter in their respective Gaza City parishes.
In an August 26 statement from the Latin and Greek Patriarchates of Jerusalem, led by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Theophilos III, respectively, it was explained that for those weakened and malnourished due to Israel’s man-made famine, along with the disabled, leaving Gaza City “and trying to flee to the south would be nothing less than a death sentence.”
And thus, for these reasons, St. Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity, along with clergy who have been attending to these vulnerable, “have decided to remain and continue to care for all those who will be in the compounds.”
A source well-known to LifeSiteNews has affirmed with his Catholic sources in Gaza City that the resolve of these religious and others to stay remains. These communities persevere in prayer and are putting their trust in God. This source in Gaza writes, “We will get what God has destined for us.”
These are the people Israel will construe to be “terrorists” and treat with the “full force” of their U.S.-backed army. Here they are praying the Holy Rosary as part of a novena to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of the Rosary in preparation of Her Feast day on Oct 7. #Catholic https://t.co/LVCMVrJTB1
— Patrick Delaney (@PatrickDDelaney) October 2, 2025
Early last month Tel Aviv ordered the complete evacuation of Gaza City, forcing displaced Palestinians south into the Mawasi region that the Israeli army has labeled a “safe zone” despite having bombed it many times.
“It’s called a safe zone, but we have been living here for months and we know for sure that it’s not safe,” a displaced journalist told Al Jazeera. “How can I call it safe when Israel killed and bombed my own sister within this ‘safe zone’?”
'Trump seems content to sit aside and watch as Israeli forces murder Gaza’s Christians, including Missionaries of Charity.' Jason Jones
Furthermore, the conditions in the “safe zone” are horrendous, with enormous overcrowding and a severe lack of humanitarian aid. “Not only are missiles pouring down on our heads, but famine is devouring us too,” one displaced Palestinian man said.
Due to such conditions, routine bombings, and occasions of starving displaced Palestinians often being shot by U.S.-backed Israeli snipers as they seek humanitarian aid, many others have remained in Gaza City.
Additionally, with Israel having made their intentions of a full ethnic cleansing very clear, others refuse to leave, knowing they would not be able to return.
‘There is no overstating the moral urgency of the situation’
Sounding an alarm at this situation, pro-life youth leader Kristan Hawkins protested Wednesday on X, “The Christians who have bravely remained in Gaza will be slaughtered. If they leave, they will lose their ancestral homes forever. There has got to be another way to end Hamas.”
“This is wrong,” concurred pro-life activist Abby Johnson. “Christians who choose to stay in their ancestral land to provide humanitarian aide to those in need are not terrorists. Israel knows this and says they must leave anyway. There is a way to sort this out without killing innocent people who are providing aide.”
Thanking her for speaking out, Catholic journalist Christine Niles said she is “[w]aiting on other pro-life leaders to do so” as well.
In a Wednesday article addressing these events, humanitarian activist Jason Jones said, “[t]here is no overstating the moral urgency of the situation. It is imperative that Christians of every stripe and all people of goodwill stand in solidarity with the community currently under threat in Gaza.”
The founder and president of the Vulnerable People Project warned that “President Trump seems content to sit aside and watch as Israeli forces murder Gaza’s Christians, including Missionaries of Charity, together with the others there whom the Christian community have taken under their care.”
Therefore, “[w]e must not wait a single moment for leadership from the Trump administration” to act on their behalf. As an option for doing this, Jones offers a quick petition which supports the U.S. joining the Holy See and 157 fellow nations of the world in recognizing the State of Palestine.
Readers may also click here to enter their zip code or address in order to identify their representatives in Washington, D.C. with the ability to contact them by email or telephone. One may contact the White House in the same way using this link.
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