Catholic authorities call for an end to the perceived harshness in Gaza

In the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine, over 62,000 Palestinians have reportedly been killed, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. Meanwhile, 1,200 Israelis have been slain, and more than 5,400 have been injured during the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israeli communities.

As the situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate, various international organisations and religious leaders have issued strong condemnations and calls for action. Caritas Internationalis, the official humanitarian network of the universal Catholic Church, has demanded an "immediate and permanent" ceasefire, unrestricted humanitarian access, the release of "all hostages and arbitrarily detained civilians," a U.N. peacekeeping force to protect civilians, national and international adjudication of "all perpetrators and enablers," and the full implementation of a July 19, 2024 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice.

The compounds of the Greek Orthodox St. Porphyrius Church and the Roman Catholic Holy Family Parish have become a refuge for hundreds of civilians, including elderly people, women, children, and persons with disabilities. However, many of those sheltering at the two compounds are weakened and malnourished due to the hardships of the last months.

The leaders of the Latin and Greek Orthodox patriarchates have expressed grave concerns about the ongoing civilian casualties, famine, and threats of forced population transfers in Gaza. They have called for the international community to act for an end of the war and for the return of the missing people and the Israeli hostages.

Catholic leaders from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem have condemned the situation in Gaza, stating that civilians, mostly children and women, are being starved, bombed, and erased. They have accused influential governments, corporations, and multinationals of providing military support, financial aid, and diplomatic cover that enable these atrocities.

The siege of Gaza has been described as a machinery of annihilation, sustained by impunity and the silence, or complicity, of powerful nations. The International Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) formally declared a famine in Gaza on Aug. 22, stating the situation was "entirely man-made" and could be "halted and reversed."

The attacks in Gaza violate international humanitarian law, which applies to armed conflict, and international human rights law, which enshrines certain rights from which there can be no derogation, such as the right to life and the prohibition against torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

As the crisis deepens, more than 278 journalists have been killed throughout the war, which was sparked by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 invasion of Israel. The patriarchates have stated that attempting to flee to southern Gaza would be nothing less than a death sentence for these individuals.

Israel's military has disclosed plans to call up 60,000 reservists ahead of a new offensive in Gaza City on Aug 20. Joseph Hazboun, regional director for the Catholic Near East Welfare Association-Pontifical Mission's Jerusalem office, stated that "no one is safe in Gaza" due to attacks on churches, hospitals, schools, and journalists.

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem who issued the joint call on August 26 is Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem is Patriarch Theophilos III. Their urgent plea for a ceasefire and an end to attacks on Gaza echoes the calls of countless organisations and individuals around the world, as the people of Gaza face a crisis of unimaginable proportions.