Catholic leaders demand end to 'barbarism in plain sight' in Gaza

(OSV News) -- Catholic leaders from multiple organizations are calling for an immediate ceasefire and an end to attacks on Gaza, amid ongoing civilian casualties, famine and threats of forced population transfers.

"We do not know exactly what will happen on the ground, not only for our community, but for the entire population," said the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem in an Aug. 26 joint statement. "We can only repeat what we have already said: There can be no future based on captivity, displacement of Palestinians or revenge."

The two patriarchates protested Israel's plans to take control of Gaza City, noting that "in recent days, the media have repeatedly reported a massive military mobilization and preparations for an imminent offensive."

On Aug. 20, Israel's military disclosed plans to call up 60,000 reservists ahead of a new offensive in Gaza City.

The Latin and Greek Orthodox patriarchates said that "evacuation orders were already in place for several neighborhoods in Gaza City" -- which they noted is home to their shared Christian community -- with media reports indicating the population would be moved to southern Gaza.

However, said the patriarchates, the compounds of both the Greek Orthodox St. Porphyrius Church and the Roman Catholic Holy Family Parish "have been a refuge for hundreds of civilians," including "elderly people, women, and children."

Holy Family has also long been home to persons with disabilities, under the care of the Missionary Sisters of Charity, said the statement.

Both church compounds have previously been struck by Israeli forces -- St. Porphyrius in October 2023, and Holy Family in December 2023 and in July of this year. Israel's military said the strikes were unintentional.

Many of those sheltering at the two compounds "are weakened and malnourished due to the hardships of the last months," and attempting to flee to southern Gaza "would be nothing less than a death sentence," said the patriarchates. "For this reason, the clergy and nuns have decided to remain and continue to care for all those who will be in the compounds.?"

Referencing a threat against Hamas invoked by both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defense minister Israel Katz, the patriarchates said, "It seems that the Israeli government’s announcement that 'the gates of hell will open' is indeed taking on tragic forms."

The patriarchates' statement followed an Aug. 25 condemnation issued by Caritas Internationalis, the official humanitarian network of the universal Catholic Church, which said that Gazans are being deliberately starved and "left to perish in full view of the world."

The organization decried "the man-made famine and assault on Gaza City," noting that 273 people, including 112 children, have already died of starvation.

On Aug. 22, the International Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC -- a global food security metric used by a consortium of hunger relief agencies -- formally declared a famine in Gaza, stating the situation was "entirely man-made" and could be "halted and reversed."

The IPC called for "an immediate, at-scale response," noting that "any further delay -- even by days -- will result in a totally unacceptable escalation of famine-related mortality."

In its statement, Caritas pointed to the United Nations' endorsement of the IPC findings, saying that "the declaration was not a warning, but a grim confirmation of what humanitarian organisations have been saying for months: Gazans have long endured a deliberate descent into starvation."

Israel enacted an 11-week blockade of aid starting in March, in an effort to pressure Hamas to release the remaining Israeli hostages taken in Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which sparked the current war. In late May, aid distribution was resumed under the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a joint initiative of the U.S. and Israel. GHF has drawn international criticism for security concerns surrounding its distribution points, which have been reported to result in numerous fatalities.

Israel has also initiated aid drops into Gaza, but experienced humanitarian groups have described them as dangerous and inefficient.

Caritas said "This is not war. It is the systematic destruction of civilian life.

"The siege of Gaza has become a machinery of annihilation, sustained by impunity and the silence, or complicity, of powerful nations. Famine here is not a natural disaster, but the outcome of a deliberate strategy: blocking aid, bombing food convoys, destroying infrastructure, and denying basic needs."

Caritas issued a list of several demands, including an "immediate and permanent" ceasefire, unrestricted humanitarian access and the release of "all hostages and arbitrarily detained civilians."

The organization also called for a U.N. peacekeeping force to protect civilians, "especially children, women and the elderly."

Caritas called for national and international adjudication of "all perpetrators and enablers," and for the "full implementation" of a July 19, 2024 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice.

The opinion mandated among other things an end to Israel's presence in occupied Palestinian territory -- including settlement activity -- along with reparations and international rejection of such occupation.

Caritas said that "civilians, mostly children and women, are being starved, bombed and erased," enabled by "influential governments, corporations, and multinationals" that have provided "military support, financial aid, and diplomatic cover."

"Their silence is not neutrality, it is endorsement," said Caritas, which noted that the civilian attacks "represent a blatant disregard for the values and fundamental principles of humanity."

In particular, said Caritas, the attacks violate international humanitarian law, which applies to armed conflict; and international human rights law, which applies in both peacetime and conflict, and which enshrines certain rights from which there can be no derogation, such as the right to life and the prohibition against torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,

"Unfortunately, these attacks delivered a clear message that no one is safe in Gaza," Joseph Hazboun, regional director for the Catholic Near East Welfare Association-Pontifical Mission’s Jerusalem office, told OSV News.

Along with attacks on the churches and other civilian sites, Hazboun also highlighted the targeting of "almost all hospitals in Gaza," leaving "many completely destroyed or made dysfunctional."

He also pointed to strikes on schools and the killing of some numerous journalists -- the total of which has been well over 200, and with an Aug. 25 strike may now be as high as 278 -- throughout the war, which was sparked by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 invasion of Israel.

"These war crimes must end, the famine must end, the targeting of innocent people in an attempt to drive them to migrate must end," Hazboun said in an Aug. 26 message to OSV News. "I can’t imagine how the future generations will judge this horrendous war. This is barbarism in plain sight."

To date, more than 62,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. Some 1,200 Israelis have been slain and more than 5,400 injured during the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israeli communities. Of the 251 Israeli hostages taken by Hamas that Oct. 7, 50 remain in captivity, with only 20 of them believed to still be alive, with 83 of the hostages confirmed killed to date. More than 100 were released later in 2023; eight were rescued by Israeli forces.

"It is time to end this spiral of violence, to put an end to war and to prioritize the common good of the people," said the Latin and Greek Orthodox patriarchates in their statement. "There has been enough devastation, in the territories and in people’s lives. … ?It is now time for the healing of the long-suffering families on all sides.

"With equal urgency, we appeal to the international community to act for an end of this senseless and destructive war, and for the return of the missing people and the Israeli hostages," said the patriarchates.