President Nikos Christodoulides on Sunday held a telephone call with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and said after the call that he had “stressed the importance to deescalate tensions”.
He said that he and Herzog had “exchanged views on recent regional developments and the challenges they present”, and that as well as the importance of deescalating tensions, he had also called for “stability” and for the advancement of “the prospects for lasting peace in our wider region”.
The call came as news agency Reuters reported that Israeli forces had destroyed “at least 30” residential buildings in Gaza City and forced “thousands of people” to flee their homes on Sunday.
Those bombings come after Israel’s security cabinet, a body which acts as an “inner cabinet” inside the country’s government, had approved a plan to take control of the city last month.
Meanwhile, Israel launched airstrikes on Qatar on Tuesday, saying it was attempting to kill the political leaders of Palestinian paramilitary group Hamas, with Hamas saying after the attack that five of its members had been killed as a result.
They included the son of the group’s exiled Gaza chief and top negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, though Hamas said it had failed to assassinate any of its ceasefire negotiation team.
During a telephone call with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani earlier on Sunday, Christodoulides had said of that strike that “we condemn the violation of Qatar’s sovereignty, a grave threat to regional stability”.
Sunday’s developments also come with United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio set to visit Israel, saying that he wished to discuss ways of freeing the remaining 48 hostages Hamas had taken during an attack on Israel in October 2023 which triggered the ensuing two-year Israeli offensive.
“What’s happened has happened. We’re gonna meet with [the Israeli leadership]. We’re gonna talk about what the future holds,” Rubio said before leaving the US for Israel.
Meanwhile, the Greek Orthodox Saint Porphyrius church in Gaza City continues to operate despite being ordered to evacuate by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) last month.
The church’s location is listed as a “red zone” on the IDF’s Arabic-language website, meaning that civilians located there have been ordered to evacuate immediately.
After the evacuation order was given, the Greek Orthodox and Latin Patriarchates of Jerusalem made a joint statement declaring their intention to remain in Gaza.
“Since the outbreak of the war, the Greek Orthodox compound of Saint Porphyrius and the Holy Family compound have been a refuge for hundreds of civilians. Among them are elderly people, women and children,” the joint statement declared.
“It seems that the Israeli government’s announcement that ‘the gates of hell will open’ is indeed taking on tragic forms.”
However, they declared that leaving Gaza City behind is not an option, as it would be even less safe than staying in place.
“Among those who have sought shelter within the walls of the compounds, many are weakened and malnourished due to the hardships of the last months. Leaving Gaza City and trying to flee to the south would be nothing less than a death sentence,” they said.
“For this reason, the clergy and nuns have decided to remain and continue to care for all those who will be in the compounds.”
They said that they “do not know exactly what will happen on the ground”, but stressed that “there can be no future based on captivity, displacement of Palestinians, or revenge”.
Photographs of a church service going ahead at the Saint Porphyrius church in Gaza City were published on Saturday evening.
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