'We didn't hear his voice': Gaza's churches fall silent after death of Pope Francis

Karimah Tarazi says that with the death of Pope Francis earlier this week, the churches of Gaza have fallen silent.

Tarazi's family, like hundreds of others, has been living for the past 18 months in two Gaza churches - the Holy Family Church and St Porphyrius Greek Orthodox - and is still coming to terms with the pope's absence.

The 63-year-old Palestinian spoke to Middle East Eye at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, New Jersey, where a mass for the pope was being held on Tuesday.

She said her family's homes were destroyed in October 2023 by Israeli bombardment, and her relatives have been holed up in the two churches since. Earlier that month, 17 members of her extended family were killed when the St Porphyrius church itself was struck by Israeli bombs.

The pope's daily phone calls to the parish didn't merely provide relief; they gave them the spiritual fuel to go on.

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