Gaza prays with Pope Leo XIV for world peace
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.
Jerusalem (AsiaNews) – “The entire Gaza Strip is dangerous,” and Gaza City is “even more so,” writes Fr Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest of the Latin Church of the Holy Family in Gaza, in a post on social media yesterday commenting on the evolving war between Israel and Hamas on the eve of the day of prayer for peace called for today by Pope Leo XIV.
“We hear constant bombardments. Some are far away, others closer. Shrapnel falls frequently," explains the Argentine priest of the Incarnate Word, with explosions in the southern area of the El Zeytoun and Shujaiah neighbourhoods, about 500 metres from the parish church.
“For civilians," he warns, "there are urgent needs of all kinds."
Meanwhile, the Jewish state's military is pursuing Operation "Gideon's Chariots 2" for complete control of Gaza and the military defeat of Hamas, amid growing uncertainty and protests from civil society groups in Israel over the fate of the hostages.
Gaza’s Christian community, like Christians around the world, has also responded to the invitation issued by Pope Leo XIV on 20 August during the Wednesday general audience to celebrate a day of fasting and prayer for peace.
This initiative falls on the day the Church remembers Mary, Queen of Peace, invoking a prayer to the Lord to "grant us peace and justice" and “dry the tears of those who suffer as a result of the ongoing armed conflicts.”
“[W]hile our earth continues to be wounded by wars in the Holy Land, in Ukraine, and in many other regions of the world,” said the pontiff, “I invite all the faithful to devote the day of 22 August to fasting and prayer”. May “Mary, Queen of Peace, intercede so that peoples may find the path to peace.”
In his post, Fr Romanelli notes that the war, “not only continues, but has entered a new and terrible phase," while the needs "of every kind are urgent” for the civilian population.
At present, “there has not yet been an evacuation order" for the area where the parish is located, which still hosts hundreds of Christian refugees.
People “are doing well. We are trying to help the entire community, especially the 450 refugees living with us. We continue to pray for peace," especially today, coinciding with the Pope's appeal, in a situation that remains "critical”.
Residents are "leaving with the little they have left" from Gaza City, and they are doing so in an "orderly" manner, while "the hospital has little and is working with the little it has," while the parish continues its activities "with small music and singing groups. We do what we can," he explains, "for the sick and for the Sisters of Mother Teresa who help us.”
On the day of fasting and prayer, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, stressed the Christian community's "gratitude" for the Pope's "constant attention," combined with "hope" that "men's hearts can change."
Speaking to Vatican media, the cardinal said that “the only thing that at this moment we can do” is “to pray and to fast” so that God may change “that the hearts of men”.
“Knowing the community,” he explained, “I can say that their strength comes precisely from prayer, from the strength to resist in the midst of that terrible situation. We are on the eve of we do not know what—we do not know what will happen with this occupation that has begun,” he explained.
“But their strength to resist, to try to help everyone despite everything, to bring food, to distribute medicine – this strength comes precisely from prayer and from their being together, which only prayer can give.”
Peace as a long awaited and deeply desired gift is also in the mind of the Custos of the Holy Land, Brother Francesco Ielpo.
In a letter, he writes that “In our sanctuaries — which remind us of all that Jesus said and did for our reconciliation — let us pray, both personally and in fraternity, for all the victims of every war, whether near or far.”
Meanwhile, activists and experts are raising the alarm about a further expanding famine in Gaza next month, while aid is struggling to reach the war-torn enclave.
The Integrated Food Security Classification System (IFSPC) reported that 514,000 people, nearly a quarter of Palestinians in Gaza, are experiencing famine, a figure expected to rise to 641,000 by the end of September.
These numbers have not induced the Israeli government to change its goal of “defeat[ing] Hamas in Gaza,” as Defence Minister Israel Katz stated today, confirming his approval of IDF plans for the offensive in Gaza.
“The gates of hell will soon open over Hamas,” the minister said, if Hamas doesn’t capitulate, and Gaza City “will become Rafah and Beit Hanoun” — two cities that have been largely reduced to rubble by Israeli bombardment.
Recent research based on the Israeli military’s own data indicates that five out of six Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip are civilians. Fighters named in the Israeli military intelligence database accounted for just 17 per cent of the total, which means that 83 per cent of the dead were civilians.
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