A seven-member Greek family is trapped in Gaza and is pleading for help from the Greek Foreign Ministry to intervene to secure their safety, according to Greek TV channel MEGA.
The family is taking refuge in the Greek Orthodox monastery of Saint Porphyrius and reports note that they have been waiting for humanitarian channels to open as it was too difficult for them to evacuate previously.
The group is comprised of a mother and father, their three children, and two elderly persons (the grandmother and grandfather).
The news comes as the Israeli military enters the city of Gaza and the monastery has come under fire by Israeli artillery, although the majority of the fighting is further away, according to reports.
Just a few days ago Greek authorities stated that they had aided sixteen Greek citizens in evacuating Gaza through Egypt and that eleven had been repatriated to the Attica region.
The family in Gaza has explained to Greek authorities that the breaks in the fighting were too short to move the children and elderly out of the city, and they were also too afraid to take the dangerous journey to Egypt previously on account of the fact that Hamas was not allowing unarmed citizens to leave.
The Foreign Ministry stated a few days ago that the previous evacuation mission was extremely challenging as telecommunications were down, Gaza has not had electricity, food or fuel for days, and the evacuees had to purchase essential items for their journey from the black market.
The Consul of Greece in Jerusalem Dimitrios Angelospoulos is in contact with the family, who all hold Greek passports but do not speak Greek, and is working with authorities to find a solution. He notes that the family currently has enough food and money, but once the food runs out the money is ‘useless’ as there is nothing to be purchased on the market.
