The Catholic Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, has denounced the Israeli government’s policy in Gaza as an “unacceptable and morally unjustifiable” approach after a visit to the region. This visit, his first to Gaza this year, came in the wake of an Israeli attack on a church and involved meetings with survivors of the attack.
During his brief stay, Pizzaballa reported witnessing extreme hunger, a situation exacerbated by Israeli restrictions on food and medical supplies, which he described as a “sentence” forcing Palestinians to starve. Emphasizing the critical need for humanitarian aid, he stated that it is not just necessary, but a matter of life and death, warning that every hour without basic necessities causes severe harm.
Pizzaballa and the Greek Orthodox patriarch Theophilos III visited Gaza in a display of unity across Christian denominations, prompted by the attack on the Holy Family church that resulted in fatalities and injuries, including the priest Gabriel Romanelli. The cardinal accused the Israeli government of conducting an unjustified war and criticized plans to displace Palestinians from the territory, plans that have the support of the Israeli cabinet.
Urging a halt to the ongoing conflict, Pizzaballa stressed that this policy must be strongly denounced for being immoral and called for reconciliation and an end to the suffering as a moral obligation of the Christian community. Despite facing the threat of evacuation orders, the Christian minority in Gaza, numbering around 560, have chosen to stay amidst the devastation that has left much of the region unrecognizable, with critical food shortages and malnutrition deeply affecting the population.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/22/cardinal-pizzaballa-gaza-visit-israel-criticism
