by Dario Salvi

Even before the start of the Israeli raids and the Iranian reaction, the internet had been down in Gaza City for several days. For the first time since the beginning of the conflict, even the Latin parish of the Holy Family is unable to get news out. There is concern about the humanitarian situation, which remains critical. Fr Ibrahim Faltas: ‘The international community must find a solution to this inhumane situation. Let us continue to pray.’ 

Milan (AsiaNews) - Now - with the global spotlight shifting to the front between Israel and Iran - what will become of Gaza where the situation  is ‘terrible, inhumane,’ decries Fr. Ibrahim Faltas, vicar general of the Custody of the Holy Land in Jerusalem just hours ago over the phone to AsiaNews.

The population ‘has nothing left: they are dying of hunger, thirst, heat and disease’ that in other countries could be treated with even basic medicines, but which are now a rarity in the Strip.

He adds another disturbing fact: ‘In the last two or three days, there has also been a communications blackout. The internet is down and it is impossible to talk’ to those living in a place that has already been dubbed an ‘open-air prison’.

The open war between Israel and Iran, with a series of air raids and missile launches, can only worsen this situation. The government has ordered the closure of schools and offices, Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport has suspended flights, road links have been cut and there are serious fears about what this could mean for the Strip.

Israel is in a state of emergency and yesterday, for the first time, the al-Aqsa mosque was closed on Friday, the day of prayer.

‘For days we have been struggling to communicate’ with Gaza, in particular with the Latin parish of the Holy Family and with Fr Gabriel Romanelli, whose phone calls and testimonies are a valuable source for tracing the extent of the tragedy that is unfolding.

Even the social media channels through which the Catholic community has continued to share its experience with the world, even in the darkest moments, are down.

‘Since 2 March,’ recalls Fr. Ibrahim Faltas, ‘nothing has been allowed into the Strip for weeks, starting with food and basic necessities. People are hungry, everyone is hungry. Unfortunately, people are in a very bad way and, in addition to hunger, which is increasingly becoming a weapon of war, there is also an emergency thirst because there is no drinking water.’

In reality, the Vicar General of the Custody continues, ‘Gaza lacks everything: food, water, electricity, internet,’ even though, at the moment, ‘we do not know what is causing the communications blackout. We cannot talk and we have no idea what the causes of this blackout might be’ or whether it is linked to a blockade from outside.

On the subject of aid and food supplies, another tragedy has unfolded in recent days: a massacre of dozens of Palestinians killed during one of the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distributions in Rafah, in the south of the Strip, which left at least 31 people dead and many others injured.

The event sparked international protests and harsh condemnation from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), one of the most authoritative NGOs operating in emergency and war situations.

Criticism has been directed not only at the Israeli army, but also at the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation itself, a controversial organisation supported by the United States that operates with the approval of the Israeli government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

According to MSF, the NGO's workers implemented a “dehumanising, dangerous and seriously ineffective” system that failed to provide assistance and actually contributed to the deaths of civilians.

Sources in the Strip add that the Israeli army - which denies all charges - opened fire on the crowd, failing to control it. Added to this are reports of a local Palestinian clan which - under pressure from former minister Avigdor Lieberman - Netanyahu admitted in recent days to having armed in Gaza, in an anti-Hamas operation.

‘We do not know the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and I do not have much to say’ about its operations, supporters or financiers, emphasises Fr. Ibrahim, who instead returns to the issue closest to the heart of the Church in the Holy Land and requires immediate action.

‘There is destruction everywhere,’ he says, "even hospitals are no longer operational. This is one of the reasons why so many people are dying from lack of care, in addition to those lying under the rubble, of whom nothing is known. In Gaza, even the most trivial illness, which elsewhere can be treated with antibiotics and medicines, can be fatal."

In a context of devastation and in conjunction with the Jubilee Year, it is natural to wonder where hope lies today for the people of a Middle East in perpetual conflict.

‘It is a difficult question,’ emphasises the Vicar General, "but we must continue to nurture hope and pray for peace. One day all this will end, hopefully as soon as possible, even though, since this cursed war began, the news has been getting worse and worse. There have been no improvements,‘ he admits, with the exception of the fragile truce in January, which for a few weeks eased the military pressure and the death toll.

’Pray for us, pray for us,‘ says Fr. Ibrahim 'and that the international community find a solution, a humane solution to an inhumane situation."

• Israel
• Palestine
• Gaza
• Hamas
• war
• peace
• truce
• aid
• humanitarian emergency
• Netanyahu
• Trump
• Christians