The Christian population in the Gaza Strip was around 5,000 in 2005 when Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Strip and declined to 1,000 before the war in Gaza began.
St. Porphyrius is one of the oldest churches in the world, located in Gaza. It suffered a direct hit by an Israeli missile on October 19, killing 18 people and injuring many others.
A Greek Orthodox church compound in the Gaza Strip sheltering hundreds of Palestinians of multiple faiths was reportedly damaged by a fatal Israeli airstrike on Thursday.