“How much pain does war cause, even more strident and absurd in places where the Gospel of peace has been promulgated! To those who fuel the spiral of conflicts and derive profits and advantages from them, I repeat: stop! Stop, because violence will never bring peace. It is urgent to cease fire”. This is the Pope’s new appeal on the occasion of the audience with participants in the 97th Assembly of the Reunion of Aid Agencies for the Eastern Churches (Roaco). “Many communities in the East are wounded and bleeding because of the conflicts and violence they suffer,” Francis recalled. “Let us think of some of the places where they live: the Holy Land and Ukraine; Syria, Lebanon, the entire Middle East; the Caucasus and Tigrai: precisely there, where a good part of Eastern Catholics live, the barbarities of war rage in a brutal way. And we cannot remain indifferent”.
On the situation in the Holy Land, «where it all began», the Pope observed that «today the faithful from all over the world are called to make their closeness felt; and to encourage Christians, there and throughout the Middle East, to be stronger than the temptation to abandon their torn lands. I think of a bad situation: that land is being depopulated of Christians.”
In recent weeks, the strip of Lebanese territory that borders Israel has been depopulated of human beings. Satellite photographs and expert analysis have revealed al Financial Times that the strikes would have created a “security strip” 5 kilometers deep. A “dead zone” to keep Hezbollah away. According to a senior Israeli army official quoted by the Financial Times«it is not a buffer zone: we just want to push back Hezbollah».
From Washington, Foreign Minister Yoav Gallant said the army would be able to “bring Lebanon back to the Stone Age”, although he preferred a diplomatic solution. A raid on Nabatieh reportedly left 19 dead and dozens injured, destroying a two-story building. In eight and a half months, at least 400 people have been killed in Lebanon, including dozens of civilians, and 40 in Israel, including 11 civilians. An emissary from Qatar is expected in Beirut to attempt mediation.
Gallant also addressed the issue of the post-war situation in the Gaza Strip: a “long and complex” process, in which local Palestinians, regional partners and the US should participate. Informed sources revealed to the Times of Israel that Egypt and the United Arab Emirates would be ready to participate in a security force working alongside local officials. The bombings continue on the Strip. In the north, in Gaza City, seven people were killed and dozens injured in the Shejaiya neighborhood. The army would also invite the population to leave the neighborhoods of al-Turkuman and Tuffah and move towards the “humanitarian zone” on the southern coast. The toll would have risen to 37,765 victims.
In the West Bank, one soldier was killed and 16 others were injured when two bombs exploded in Jenin. Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.
