Vatican says situation in Gaza 'unbearable,' decries 'war without limits'
Cardinal Parolin, Vatican’s secretary of state, urges clarity on strike on church in Gaza, stresses need for real action after Netanyahu's phone call with Pope Francis
Beyza Binnur Donmez |19.07.2025 - TRT/AA
GENEVA
A top Vatican official on Saturday called the situation in Gaza "unbearable," decrying it as "a war without limits," Vatican News reported on Saturday.
Citing Thursday’s Israeli military strike on the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza, which killed three people and injured 10, including the parish priest, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, demanded full transparency.
"It’s essential that this investigation be carried out seriously and that its findings be shared publicly," he told Italian state broadcaster RAI, adding that initial explanations calling the strike a "mistake" need further scrutiny.
Commenting on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's phone call to Pope Francis, Parolin said the gesture was "positive" and "absolutely necessary."
But he emphasized that "after so many words, we finally need to see actions," stressing the urgent need to relieve suffering in Gaza, where he said the population is "being destroyed and starved."
He also questioned whether the church was deliberately targeted, suggesting that such a move would be an attempt to eliminate a "moderating force" in the region, referring to the Christian presence.
On broader Vatican diplomacy, Parolin reaffirmed that the Holy See remains open to mediation in conflicts but added: "Mediation only works when both sides accept it." Without genuine political will, he said, peace efforts are unlikely to succeed.
"The cost of war is terrible for everyone in every way," he said.
Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, to date killing nearly 59,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages and spread of disease.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
US ambassador calls for accountability after church attacked by illegal settlers in West Bank
US diplomat’s visit comes amid rising settler violence targeting Christian and Bedouin communities in occupied territory
Tarek Chouiref |19.07.2025 - TRT/AA
ISTANBUL
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee visited the Palestinian town of Taybeh on Saturday, days after a historic church there was attacked and vandalized by illegal Israeli settlers.
During his visit, Huckabee toured the site of Al-Khadr Church in the town, northeast of Ramallah in the central West Bank.
“Desecrating a church, mosque or synagogue is a crime against humanity and God,” the diplomat said on his X account.
He also emphasized that “when American citizens – Jewish, Muslim or Christian – are terrorized or victims of crime, I will demand those responsible be held accountable with real consequences.”
According to local reports, illegal settlers stormed the area around the centuries-old church last week, set fires in its surroundings, and brought livestock into the church compound.
The town, home to many American citizens, has faced a surge in settler violence in recent weeks.
Attacks by illegal settlers have also targeted nearby Bedouin communities, as part of a broader escalation across the West Bank.
Palestinian authorities documented at least 2,153 illegal settler attacks in the occupied territory in the first half of this year alone, resulting in the killing of four Palestinians.
Since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, nearly 1,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in the West Bank by Israeli forces and illegal settlers, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Pizzaballa, Patriarch Theophilos III Visit Holy Family Church In Gaza After Israeli Attack
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III, leave the church after a visit to Holy Family Parish in Gaza on July 18, 2025. | Credit: Caritas Jerusalem
By CNA
By Kristina Millare
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III visited Gaza on Friday, offering spiritual support and humanitarian aid to the Holy Family Church community.
Both religious leaders led an ecclesiastical delegation into Gaza to “offer condolences and solidarity” with both Christian and non-Christian families living at the Holy Family Church compound, one day after shrapnel from an Israeli military attack fatally wounded three people and injured several others on the premises.
Approximately 600 people are living in the compound of Gaza’s only Catholic church. Most are Orthodox Christians, Protestants, and Catholics, but there are also more than 50 Muslim children with disabilities living there with their families.
The church has sheltered hundreds of refugees since the Israel-Hamas war broke out in October 2023. The compound includes the church, a school, a convent, a multipurpose center, and a building for the Missionaries of Charity.
In a statement Friday, the Latin Patriarchate said it “remains steadfast” in its commitment to the Holy Family Church community and the entire population of Gaza.
In coordination with humanitarian partners, the delegation was able to deliver “hundreds of tons of food supplies as well as first-aid kits and urgently needed medical equipment” to refugees and ensure the evacuation and transportation of injured individuals to medical facilities outside Gaza.
According to the Latin Patriarchate, Pizzaballa will continue to “personally assess the humanitarian and pastoral needs of the community to help guide the Church’s continued presence and response.”
Upon their entrance into Gaza, Pope Leo XIV called Pizzaballa to “offer his support, closeness, and prayers” for the ecclesiastical delegation and the people left shaken by the Israeli attack.
Meanwhile, the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem, the ecumenical body that brings together the principal Christian churches in the Holy Land, on Friday condemned the latest “atrocious attack perpetrated by the Israeli army.”
“We, the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem, call upon world leaders and United Nations agencies to work towards an immediate ceasefire in Gaza that leads to an end of this war,” the statement read.
“We also implore them to guarantee the protection of all religious and humanitarian sites, and to provide for the relief of the starving masses throughout the Gaza Strip.”
Pizzaballa and Theophilos III’s visit to Gaza comes days after the two leaders visited the Palestinian village of Taybeh, where they spoke out against “systemic and targeted” attacks against Christians by illegal Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
CNA
The Catholic News Agency (CNA) has been, since 2004, one of the fastest growing Catholic news providers to the English speaking world. The Catholic News Agency takes much of its mission from its sister agency, ACI Prensa, which was founded in Lima, Peru, in 1980 by Fr. Adalbert Marie Mohm (†1986).
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