Gaza

The photojournalist killed today in Gaza along with four other colleagues in a double Israeli raid on al-Nasser Hospital wrote about this in her accounts. Her photos and reels captured the everyday faces of suffering in Khan Yunis. Reporters Without Borders expressed their outrage over the 200 journalists killed in Gaza, asking how long the slaughter will continue? Caritas Internationalis slams “empty platitudes”, calls for an immediate ceasefire.

Fr Romanelli says that "the entire Gaza Strip is dangerous," but Gaza City is "even more so." There are “constant bombardments”, but the parish has not yet received an "evacuation order." The Custody of the Holy Land and the Latin Patriarchate are with Pope Leo fasting and praying for peace. According to Israeli military sources, 83 percent of the deaths in the Palestinian enclave are civilians.

Eighty representatives of the Modern Orthodox movement, led by Rabbi Yosef Blau, have launched an appeal calling for "moral clarity" and "responsibility" based on the values of Jewish tradition. While condemning Hamas, they call for a "response" to the tragedy in Gaza and criticise the "disturbing proposals" of Smotrich and Ben Gvir. For the rabbis, they must “speak out when our government’s actions contradict the Torah’s moral imperatives”. The Latin Patriarchate warns of evacuation orders in neighbourhoods near Gaza Catholic parish.

According to the Jordanian scholar, the Netanyahu government's ultimate goal ‘goes beyond’ defeating Hamas and redrawing borders. The West Bank becomes an ‘opportunity to be exploited’ with a view to annexation. The weakness of the Palestinian Authority and the international community, the new paradigm of the Abraham Accords. Among the nations of the region, ‘more tactics than alliances’.

Today's headlines: Indian authorities ban dozens of books in Kashmir for ‘fomenting’ 'secessionism'; Cambodia and Thailand authorize ASEAN observers to monitor border truce; Trump announces a ‘historic peace summit’ between Armenia and Azerbaijan for today; In China, thousands of cases of Chikungunya have triggered a maximum alert.

Sponsored by France and Saudi Arabia, along with 15 other countries (but not the United States), plus the Arab League, and the European Union, the Declaration was sent to governments around the world to gather support ahead of the UN General Assembly in September. It calls for a ceasefire and an international mission to the Gaza Strip, no longer governed by Hamas, Palestinian elections within a year, and the resumption of negotiations without Israeli annexations. China offered its immediate support.

In Jerusalem, a press conference was held upon their return from their visit to the Holy Family Parish, which was attacked by the Israeli army. For Cardinal Pizzaballa, “Men holding out in the sun for hours in the hope of a simple meal [. . .] is morally unacceptable and unjustifiable.” Despite this, “Christ is not absent from Gaza. He is there” with “every hand extended to the suffering”. Likewise, Theophilus III reminds “the international community” that “silence in the face of suffering is a betrayal of conscience.”

In a strong oecumenical gesture, the Latin and Greek Orthodox patriarchs of Jerusalem visited the Holy Family parish bringing some 500 tonnes of aid. Answering a phone call from Netanyahu, Leo XIV reiterated his call for an end to “this slaughter”. A BBC report documents the scale of the systematic destruction with bulldozers of entire areas in Gaza carried out by Israel since last March.

An attack this morning hit the Church of the Holy Family, leaving at least six people seriously injured and causing damage to the building. Among those hit was the parish priest, Fr Romanelli. The Patriarchal Vicar for Israel and Palestine: “They will say it was not intentional, they always find an excuse, but war causes damage and victims”. Telegram of condolence from Pope Leo XIV: “Immediate ceasefire”. Meanwhile, in Taybeh, in the West Bank, settlers are grazing cows at the Church of St George.

This morning, a delegation led by Cardinal Pizzaballa and Patriarch Theophilus III visited the community that has come to symbolise settler violence. They slammed Israel’s pro-occupation policy, which affects Christians and Muslims alike. Marie-Armelle Beaulieu, a Christian journalist who has been in Jerusalem for 30 years, stressed the "exceptional" nature of an "ecumenical" event outside the Holy City.

The founder of the Religious Freedom Data Center views settler attacks as a “disturbing development”. Israeli ministers and police legitimising it is worrying. A Judeo-centric ideology has “taken root”, but minority rights are not a “marginal issue”. On Monday, the patriarchs and heads of the Churches of Jerusalem will visit Taybeh in “solidarity”.

Taybeh’s parish priest raises the alarm about the increasing violence by pro-occupation groups, backed by Israeli authorities. For the clergyman, people live "without security or protection". Palestinians are being attacked, driven from their homes, their land seized. The last two extremists arrested in connection with the Kafr Malik raids and the attack on the IDF base have been released.