Israel

For the Palestinian activist, the struggle is bound to continue, because it has "deeper roots" than the leaders who fight. Netanyahu claims a victory to offer to the Israeli people, but killing a man “does not eliminate an idea". Sinwar’s death will likely have repercussions for the talks on a truce and the fate of the hostages still held by Hamas.

A former Israeli prime minister and a former Palestinian ambassador to the UN recently issued a joint appeal to resume negotiations for the two states and a political solution for Gaza. The pope received them in audience at the Vatican together with Gershon Baskin (Israeli negotiator with Hamas) and Samer Sinijlawi (a Palestinian very close to Mohammad Dahlan) just as the Israeli government claims to have killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

In the headquarters of the Maronite Patriarchate, the main leaders of the 18 recognised religious communities in the country gathered. For Card. Raï it is ‘a sign of hope’. The urgency of a ceasefire, the election of a new president of the Republic who enjoys ‘consensus’, national unity and the Palestinian cause among the points of the final communiqué.

The Chaldean Patriarch speaks to AsiaNews of a “worrying” situation especially for the civilian population, which pays “the highest price.” Mediations stagnate and the “economics of war” continue to prevail, triggering on other elements of crisis, such as demographics and climate. The role of Shiite militias in the Iraqi scenario and the “scandal” that hit the Chaldean Church recently.

Without a ceasefire and full implementation of UN Resolution 1701, Lebanon remains in a political stalemate. Iranian pressure prevents House Speaker Nabih Berry from freeing himself from Hezbollah's grip. Invited to the Vatican for the Synod on Lebanon in 1995 and the one on the Middle East in 2010, the senior Sunni leader tells AsiaNews that he hopes Lebanon will learn from past tragedies, and return to the Arab fold through the Saudi "gateway".

The vicar of Anatolia describes a "widespread feeling" that unites the government and the population, which is experiencing "great concern" like the whole region. The Jewish state continues to strike, from Gaza to Lebanon: at least 22 dead in Beirut, while the UNIFIL mission was targeted in the south. A synagogue was vandalised in Izmir. As the pope said, even in this conflict the "economy of arms" prevails.

While they may be divided over the conflict between the Party of God and the Jewish State, Lebanese movements and parties are united in defending the country’s territorial integrity. The humanitarian emergency is getting worse as more and more people are displaced, but expressions of solidarity are also multiplying. Political analyst says the Israeli prime minister is trying to cause a religious war within Lebanon, splitting Lebanese society.

The family of the 32-year-old migrant worker held a vigil in a church in Udon Thani province, demanding his release. Together with five of his compatriots and at least one Nepali, he is the forgotten face of this tragedy. His tearful mother Wiwwaro calls for an end to this "brutal war" in which "Everyone has suffered enough". Last week, Thai Prime Minister Shinawatra met with the Iranian president asking him to mediate his release.

In a letter to the region’s Catholics on the anniversary of 7 October, the pontiff expresses his closeness to all those who suffer because of the war. “Blood is still being shed, as are tears. Anger is growing, along with the desire for revenge, while it seems that few people care about what is most needed and what is most desired”. And directly to Catholics, he writes, “thank you for being able to pray and love despite everything.”

On the first anniversary of the massacre in his kibbutz in Neti HaAsara, the testimony of an Israeli businessman among the protagonists of the movement calling for the relaunch of dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians. ‘We can forgive each other for what we did in the past and even for what is happening today, but we will not be able to forgive each other if we do not work to build a future together’.

The attack, which hit a café in a refugee camp, was aimed at a senior Hamas official. According to the Palestinian WAFA news agency, children and the elderly were also killed. Israel is using again its fighter jets in the Territories for the first time since the Second Intifada.

For the parish priest of the small Latin rite community, “the war will not end soon,” now that it involves Lebanon. More than 16,000 children have died in Gaza since the beginning of the conflict out of a total death toll of 41,000. For the small Catholic community, the priority is schooling, even if it has to take place in improvised classrooms in the church itself so as not to lose the year. A day of prayer and fasting for peace will be held on 7 October. Many “only want an end to the violence.”