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The World Council of Churches (WCC) expressed both outrage and shock at the news of an airstrike on the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza. "Thousands of Palestinians who had lost their homes already were taking refuge at the hospital, run by the Anglican Church,” said WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay. “The attack amounts to collective punishment, which is a war crime under International Law.”

More than 1.1 million Palestinians are struggling to flee from areas of north Gaza targeted by the Israeli military ahead of an expected land offensive a week after Hamas’s bloody attack into Israel. 

The World Council of Churches will join a Day of Prayer and Fasting on 17 October, which will be hosted by the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem. 

The World Council of Churches (WCC), in the aftermath of brutal violence where thousands of innocent civilians lost their lives, is calling for a new approach to resolve the conflict in the Holy Land. 

More than 500 people from across the world followed a Service of Lament for Palestine and Israel, hosted by the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center on 12 October.

Church leaders in the Holy Land are raising their voices in unity to call for the cessation of all violent and military activities that bring harm to both Palestinian and Israeli civilians.

Following the outbreak of hostilities on 7 October – with a reported launch of thousands of rockets from Gaza into Israel and the infiltration of southern Israel by Hamas gunmen, and an ensuing Israeli military response – the World Council of Churches (WCC) is adapting its work in the Holy Land to continue to support efforts for just peace.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is following closely the developments in Israel and Palestine since the outbreak of hostilities on 7 October, following the reported launch of thousands of rockets from Gaza into Israel, and the infiltration of southern Israel by Hamas gunmen. Israel’s prime minister has declared that the country is at war.

During a film screening at the World Council of Churches on 4 October, viewers got a deeper understanding of why Palestinians are about to lose one of the last green spaces left for them in the Bethlehem Governorate.

A global ecumenical prayer hosted by the World Council of Churches (WCC) on 18 September focused on the World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel, and the meaning of finding a spiritual home in the Holy Land.

A global ecumenical prayer on 18 September will commemorate the World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel, being observed this year from 16-23 September. The World Council of Churches (WCC) is inviting online or in-person participation for people to pray, advocate, and stand in solidarity with people in the Holy Land.

Bethlehem and its basilica are signs of hope, not just to one community or church, but to the whole human family, His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilus III of Jerusalem and All Palestine told a gathering at the World Council of Churches in Geneva.

As the “Bethlehem Reborn – Palestine – The Wonders of the Nativity” exhibit was carefully installed at the Ecumenical Centre over the weekend, the World Council of Churches (WCC) is anticipating the official opening ceremony on 12 September.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) will welcome a “Bethlehem Reborn – Palestine – The Wonders of the Nativity” exhibit that will open in a live-streamed ceremony on 12 September, then be available to the public from 13 September-5 October daily. The multimedia touring exhibit highlights the rehabilitation of the Church of the Nativity in all its artistic beauty, historical significance, and spiritual messages. 

Human rights violations in Israel and Palestine have nearly tripled during the past year, according to reports from the most recent set of ecumenical accompaniers from the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel.

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay met with South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, discussing peace initiatives across the globe—and the role of the WCC and South African leaders.