Pope renews call for immediate Gaza ceasefire
'I once again call for an immediate end to the barbarity of this war and for a peaceful resolution to the conflict,' the pontiff said at the end of his Sunday Angelus prayer from his summer retreat in Castel Gandolfo.
Leo also expressed his 'deep sorrow' for the Israeli attack on the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, which killed three people and wounded 10 others, including the parish priest.
A gust of wind blew the Pope's cloak up as he finished delivering the Angelus prayer (Gregorio Borgia/AP)
'I appeal to the international community to observe humanitarian law and respect the obligation to protect civilians as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force, and the forced displacement of populations,' the Pope added.
The shelling of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza also damaged the church compound, where hundreds of Palestinians have been sheltering from the Israel-Hamas war, now in its 21st month.
Israel expressed regret over what it described as an accident and said it is investigating.
'We need to dialogue and abandon weapons,' the Pope said earlier on Sunday, after presiding over Mass at the nearby Cathedral of Albano.
'The world no longer tolerates war.'
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RTÉ News
26 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
More than 100 NGOs warn 'mass starvation' spreading across Gaza
More than 100 aid organisations warned that "mass starvation" was spreading in Gaza ahead of the US top envoy's visit to Europe for talks on a possible ceasefire and an aid corridor. Israel is facing mounting international pressure over the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory, where more than two million people face severe shortages of food and other essentials after 21 months of conflict, triggered by Hamas's attack on Israel. The UN said that Israeli forces had killed more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food aid since the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation started operations in late May effectively sidelining the existing UN-led system. A statement with 111 signatories, including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Save the Children and Oxfam, warned that "our colleagues and those we serve are wasting away". The groups called for an immediate negotiated ceasefire, the opening of all land crossings and the free flow of aid through UN-led mechanisms. It came a day after the United States said its envoy Steve Witkoff will head to Europe this week for talks on Gaza and may then visit the Middle East. Mr Witkoff comes with "a strong hope that we will come forward with another ceasefire as well as a humanitarian corridor for aid to flow, that both sides have in fact agreed to," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters. Even after Israel began easing a more than two-month aid blockade in late May, Gaza's population is still suffering extreme scarcities. Israel says humanitarian aid is being allowed into Gaza and accuses Hamas of exploiting civilian suffering, including by stealing food handouts to sell at inflated prices or shooting at those awaiting aid. 'Hope and heartbreak' In their statement, the humanitarian organisations said that warehouses with tonnes of supplies were sitting untouched just outside the territory, and even inside, as they were blocked from accessing or delivering the goods. "Palestinians are trapped in a cycle of hope and heartbreak, waiting for assistance and ceasefires, only to wake up to worsening conditions," the signatories said. "It is not just physical torment, but psychological. Survival is dangled like a mirage," they added. "The humanitarian system cannot run on false promises. Humanitarians cannot operate on shifting timelines or wait for political commitments that fail to deliver access." UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the "horror" facing Palestinians in Gaza under Israeli military attack was unprecedented in recent years. The head of Gaza's largest hospital said 21 children had died due to malnutrition and starvation in the Palestinian territory in the past three days. Standstill Israel and Hamas have been engaging in drawn-out negotiations in Doha since 6 July as mediators scramble to end nearly two years of war. But after more than two weeks of back and forth, efforts by mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States are at a standstill. More than two dozen Western countries recently urged an immediate end to the war, saying suffering in Gaza had "reached new depths". Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed 59,106 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, which sparked the war, resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
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Irish Examiner view: Where will horror in Gaza all end?
Only the wilfully ignorant would disagree with UN secretary general Antonio Guterres when he describes Gaza as 'a horror show'. UNRWA commissioner general Philippe Lazzarini, meanwhile, says Gaza, still subject to a blockade by Israel, is 'hell on Earth' and that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid sites are 'a sadistic death trap'. Mr Guterres told the UN security council: 'Now we are seeing the last gasp of a humanitarian system built on humanitarian principles. That system is being denied the conditions to function. Denied the space to deliver. Denied the safety to save lives.' Local health officials report that at least 80 children have died of hunger during the war, along with another 20 or so adults. However, they say the pace of death through malnutrition is increasing, with a six-week-old baby among 15 such victims in just the past 48 hours. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has tried to shift the blame to the UN, saying it is refusing to deliver aid that 'could help end the desperation'. Beyond desperation is perhaps a better description. The number of Palestinians killed trying to access food and water is now more than 1,000 — compared with an official death toll of 59,000 overall in the 21-month war — with some families releasing footage from dead loved ones' phones showing their final moments. There are now widespread reports of looting, but given that the population is on the brink of famine and the entire infrastructure has been devastated, that's hardly surprising. The Norwegian Refugee Council says whatever it had available has been given away, and that its own staff are starving. Meanwhile, WHO housing and warehouses came under fire from Israeli forces yesterday, not once but three times, meaning the agency's work is compromised. It comes as one of the least damaged parts of Gaza, a key route for both people and aid, comes under attack. Of course, to say 'least damaged' is a bit tautologous, given that an estimated 90% of buildings in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged and most of its more than 2m people displaced. Such a level of wanton devastation must surely be deliberate policy. The amount is so catastrophically high that any claims of targeting Hamas militia or tunnels or hidden arms caches every time cannot be credible. The country's politicians and military keep saying they are protecting civilians, but such protests ring depressingly hollow given that civilians are the ones dying by the legion. Where does it end? With the complete clearing of the region, which we learned yesterday is so heavily piled with rubble that could take as long as four decades? And if that's the case, where do the people go? We have heard Donald Trump talk about turning Gaza into a sort of Riviera of the Middle East, and of Israeli demands to hold on to 40% of the territory in exchange for a ceasefire — talks on which are reportedly on the verge of collapsing. None of this is either legally or morally defensible. The mass starvation we were warned of some months ago now appears to have arrived, weaponised and exacerbated by military and political actions. We will all have to live with this stain on our humanity. Water shortages The phrase 'dying for a drink' is usually said in jest, but for how much longer? As it is, millions of people across the world are suffering either through polluted water or, increasingly, a complete lack of it. Some of this is down to climate, with soaring temperatures in summer now the norm, and some of it is down to either the weaponising of water access or its destruction due to military actions. And climate is a major factor, with runaway heat leading to evaporation as well as increased demand for increasingly pressured supplies. The lack of water access hinders everything from growing vegetables to planning permission for housing, and whole cities have to grind to a halt, rightly, if it gets too hot to be safe to work. Just this week, Iran's capital, Tehran, urged residents to conserve water as the heat reaches 50C and above. We should expect that sort of restriction to become regular in our part of the world, even if we may never reach those temperatures. Existing infrastructure was not designed to cope with it. Elsewhere, only recently we read of an Israeli strike killing children and adults as they queued for water in Gaza, which has long relied on desalination plants, many of which are now no longer functioning. Meanwhile, in eastern Ukraine, where between 3m and 3.5m people live under Russian occupation, some cities have had to cut water supplies to every two or three days. People aren't even able to flush their toilets, reduced instead using plastic bags for human waste which are later thrown away. This situation has been attributed to everything from damage and supply restrictions due to the ongoing war, chronic mismanagement, heat, and general neglect. Nonetheless, there have been warnings that it will lead to outbreaks of disease, which will only exacerbate things. Those are only three examples, but the truth is water shortages are now a global concern from the US to Asia. As it is, few regions emerge unscathed over the course of a year. Soon, none of them will. Modern mystery What's in a name? Well, if you're the writer Liadan Ní Chuinn, a defensive screen against prying eyes. Ní Chuinn, whose real name has not been made public but who is finding success with her short story collection Every One Still Here, is a refreshing enigma in an industry that demands almost saturation when it comes to self-promotion. Plenty of writers have pen names. Some have a different name for each genre they write in — JK Rowling, itself something of a pseudonym so boys would think the Harry Potter books were written by a man, is also Robert Galbraith while writing crime fiction. But typically, the person behind the pseudonym is still to the fore in some degree. That could be running their own social media with a photo of them included, or it could be attending in person events on book tours, if they're fortunate enough to be able to cover the cost of them. Ní Chuinn, reputedly from Northern Ireland and born in 1998, rebuffs all of that with the full support of her publisher, The Stinging Fly. In a world where most of us spend far more time than is good for us online, there is something to be said for removing oneself from the equation and allowing the art to speak for itself. Read More Irish Examiner view: A vision for sustainable growth
Irish Examiner
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Not all Jews are Zionists — Alan Shatter does not speak for me
As I watched Tuesday's committee hearing on the Occupied Territories Bill before the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee, I was once again dismayed by the representation of Jews in Ireland, and the speeches delivered in our name on Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza and the illegal occupation of East Jerusalem and the West Bank. As a non-Zionist Jew from Dublin, my Irish identity has always been just as important to me as my faith and ethnicity. The past 21 months have caused increasing tensions between those in my community who stand in solidarity with Palestine and those whose loyalties remain with Israel, no matter how many red lines they cross. The horrors of October 7 will never fade from the collective Israeli memory. The trauma induced by Hamas' massacre and taking of hostages has caused irreparable damage to each and every Israeli and Palestinian. In the wake of October 7, not only have we witnessed a live-streamed genocide in Gaza, but also a shocking acceleration of violence and displacement in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. While I have been vocal in my condemnation of Hamas, it is imperative that we acknowledge that the suffering of Palestinians did not begin in the aftermath of the Hamas attack, but 77 years earlier with the Nakba. As the granddaughter of a Holocaust escapee who fled to Ireland, I am horrified by former justice minister Alan Shatter's comparison of the Occupied Territories Bill with boycotts against Jews in 1930/40s Germany. It is beyond me that anyone would see fit to compare innocent Jews persecuted by the Nazis with Israeli settlers who we have seen systematically annex, violently attack and displace Palestinians across the occupied territories. 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I agree wholeheartedly in the value of diplomacy, however, it has become abundantly clear that Netanyahu and his government are unwilling to participate in meaningful discussion, prioritising the destruction of Gaza over the safe return of the hostages, time and again. Ireland Israel Alliance Barrister Natasha Hausdorff's reluctance to refer to the West Bank by its proper name speaks volumes. As does her reference to the "disputed territories" rather than the "occupied territories". Speaking in biblical terms of Judea and Samaria, Hausdorff attempts to undermine and erase Palestinian legitimacy and any possibility of true self-determination. Basing the status and boundaries of Israel on religious texts written thousands of years ago, highlights a level of ideological fundamentalism that would not be tolerated or indulged if argued in the context of any other political regime. It is essential during any discussion of the West Bank and East Jerusalem that we view the actions of the Israeli government, IDF and settlers within the context of international law. Those opposing the Occupied Territories Bill refused to acknowledge the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal, with Hausdorff claiming 'one cannot occupy what is one's own sovereign territory'. This also starkly contradicts numerous UN resolutions which clearly state that Israeli settlements across the occupied territories are a violation of international law. Critics also emphasised the "message" such a bill sent to Jews both in Israel and the diaspora, though there was no acknowledgement of the very dangerous message sent by Israel's continued military and political protection of such settlements and the brutal violence, destruction and displacement imposed by Israeli settlers upon Palestinians in the occupied territories. As she rounded off her initial address at the Oireachtas hearing, Hausdorff quite rightly highlighted the financial and reputational risks which may result from Ireland's continuing support of Palestine. While I personally believe that boycotts, divestment and sanctions are now imperative, I understand the potential economic consequences of such actions given Ireland's position as the second largest purchaser of Israeli goods in the world. Where I differ from the opinions shared, is the question of morality. I cannot abide by any worldview that prioritises profit over human rights, religious and political agendas over facts and respect for international law. Ria Czerniak-LeBov: 'While I personally believe that boycotts, divestment and sanctions are now imperative, I understand the potential economic consequences of such actions given Ireland's position as the second largest purchaser of Israeli goods in the world.' Ireland is very much at risk of gaining a reputation as an empathetic and ethically critical nation, however financially entangled we appear to be in Israeli and US pharma and tech corporations. As an Irish woman, such a reputation is something I would be proud of. No country is above the law and claiming that criticism of Israel or its illegal settlements is anti-Semitic is a blatantly manipulative strategy which aims to silence dissent. For those who feel deeply uncomfortable, isolated or personally wounded by criticism of Israel and Zionism, I would simply urge introspection and perspective. Having watched 21 months of collective punishment, human rights abuses, displacement and what has now been termed genocide by leading scholars in the field, none of us should feel comfortable. That such atrocities are being committed "in our name" should outrage Jews globally.
