Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem united in a call for peace and justice amidst unfolding violence, following a surprise attack on 7th October by Hamas in southern Israel, which has left 600 Israelis dead, among them civilians and dozens of soldiers and police who were killed battling the Hamas fighters.
Over 2,000 people were injured. Fears of a ground invasion of Gaza are growing after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to turn the besieged Palestinian enclave into a “deserted island,” while the latest reported death toll of Palestinians is 313.
Thousands of people in Palestinian territories are injured in Israeli airstrikes, which began hours following the Hamas attack and leveled buildings. As custodians of the Christian faith, the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches said that they “stand in solidarity with the people of this region, who are enduring the devastating consequences of continued strife.”
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, expressed “condemnation” and great concern in an interview with the Italian Catholic daily newspaper Avvenire.
“We need to stop the violence and then apply diplomatic pressure to prevent the game of retaliation from becoming a vicious cycle from which it is difficult to escape. So (we must) try to bring back a minimum of reasonableness between the parties. Even if it seems difficult right now,” he said.
Picture: An Israeli soldier patrols near a police station in Sderot, Israel, 8th October 2023, which was destroyed following a mass infiltration by Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip. The attacks have left at least 600 Israelis dead, among them civilians and dozens of soldiers and police who were killed battling the Hamas fighters, and more than 2,000 people are injured. (OSV News photo/Ronen Zvulun, Reuters)