Latest news with #Palestinian enclave
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Cardinal brings aid to Gaza after Israeli strike on Catholic church
GAZA (Reuters) -Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the highest ranking Catholic official in Jerusalem, entered Gaza on Friday to bring humanitarian aid and comfort to victims of Israel's strike on the sole Catholic church of the Palestinian enclave. Three people died and several were injured in the strike on the Holy Family Church compound in Gaza City a day earlier. Photos released by the church showed its roof had been hit close to the main cross, scorching the stone facade, and that windows had been broken. The church has offered shelter to hundreds of Palestinians since the start of Israel's military campaign against Hamas in the enclave in October 2023, following the group's deadly attack on Israel. In an interview with Italy's Corriere della Sera daily, Pizzaballa said a Catholic presence would remain in Gaza "whatever happens," and expressed doubts about Israel's comments that the strike was a mistake. "We are not a target. They say it was an error. Even if everybody here believes it wasn't," the cardinal said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday blamed "stray ammunition" and said his country was "investigating the incident and remains committed to protecting civilians and holy sites." It is extremely rare for foreign officials to be allowed entry into Gaza, as Israel has essentially sealed its borders. Pizzaballa was accompanied by Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem. The two religious leaders brought "hundreds of tons of food supplies as well as first aid kits and urgently needed medical equipment," Pizzaballa's Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said in a statement. The aid is meant not only for Gaza's small Christian community but for "as many families as possible", the Patriarchate said, adding it also ensured the evacuation of those injured in the church strike. Pope Leo, who on Thursday said he was "deeply saddened" by the attack but declined to blame Israel for it, called the cardinal and Theophilos on Friday to convey his support for their mission, Pizzaballa told Vatican media. The Pope expressed his love and affection for the Gaza parish community "and reiterated his intention to do everything possible to stop the needless slaughter of innocents," the Vatican said. Solve the daily Crossword
Reuters
a day ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Cardinal brings aid to Gaza after Israeli strike on Catholic church
GAZA, July 18 (Reuters) - Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the highest ranking Catholic official in Jerusalem, entered Gaza on Friday to bring humanitarian aid and comfort to victims of Israel's strike on the sole Catholic church of the Palestinian enclave. Three people died and several were injured in the strike on the Holy Family Church compound in Gaza City a day earlier. Photos released by the church showed its roof had been hit close to the main cross, scorching the stone facade, and that windows had been broken. The church has offered shelter to hundreds of Palestinians since the start of Israel's military campaign against Hamas in the enclave in October 2023, following the group's deadly attack on Israel. In an interview with Italy's Corriere della Sera daily, Pizzaballa said a Catholic presence would remain in Gaza "whatever happens," and expressed doubts about Israel's comments that the strike was a mistake. "We are not a target. They say it was an error. Even if everybody here believes it wasn't," the cardinal said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday blamed "stray ammunition" and said his country was "investigating the incident and remains committed to protecting civilians and holy sites." It is extremely rare for foreign officials to be allowed entry into Gaza, as Israel has essentially sealed its borders. Pizzaballa was accompanied by Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem. The two religious leaders brought "hundreds of tons of food supplies as well as first aid kits and urgently needed medical equipment," Pizzaballa's Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said in a statement. The aid is meant not only for Gaza's small Christian community but for "as many families as possible", the Patriarchate said, adding it also ensured the evacuation of those injured in the church strike. Pope Leo, who on Thursday said he was "deeply saddened" by the attack but declined to blame Israel for it, called the cardinal and Theophilos on Friday to convey his support for their mission, Pizzaballa told Vatican media. The Pope expressed his love and affection for the Gaza parish community "and reiterated his intention to do everything possible to stop the needless slaughter of innocents," the Vatican said.
Al Jazeera
2 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
LIVE: Israel kills dozens more in Gaza after 3 slain in attack on church
The daily death toll in Gaza continues to mount, with Al Jazeera Arabic's correspondent reporting that at least 56 more people were killed in Israeli attacks on the Palestinian enclave since dawn on Thursday. Condemnation grows over Israel's deadly tank attack on Gaza's only Catholic church, which has killed three people and left at least 10 injured.
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
EU seems to suddenly discover it has leverage on Israel
The European Union 's foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas has spent a lot of time on the phone to Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar over the last few weeks. For most of Israel's 22-month war in Gaza the EU has been seen as a bystander, paralysed by its inability to come to a joint position. Then word came through late last week that Israel had committed to letting a lot more humanitarian aid into the devastated Palestinian enclave, in a deal brokered by the EU. This would mean a 'substantial' increase in the number of trucks bringing food and other vital aid allowed into Gaza. Food supplies to kitchens and bakeries would resume, power lines to a plant supplying clean drinking water would be repaired, and closed border crossings would be opened, as part of the deal. The promise from Israel to stop choking off the flow of food, medicine and fuel into Gaza was unlikely to have been the result of a sudden change of heart by prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu 's government. The concessions were more likely an attempt to head off what had been growing momentum inside the EU to – finally – sanction Israel, or threaten to do so, if the dire conditions in Gaza did not improve. It seems it took nearly two years of a war in which at least 58,000 Palestinians have been killed for the EU to discover it has some leverage over Israel. The 11-week total blockade stopping aid entering Gaza, which left a cohort of its civilian population at risk of starvation, pushed the EU to up the pressure on Israel. An effort started by Ireland and Spain, and more recently taken up by the Dutch, forced a review that found Israel had breached obligations to respect human rights made in an 'association agreement' with the EU. The EU's foreign ministers this week debated a set of options the union could take in response. They included suspending the agreement, which governs EU-Israel relations, or shelving a free trade deal. A paper put on the table by Kallas said the EU could ban imports from illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories, blacklist certain Israeli politicians or end visa-free travel for Israelis to the EU. There has been a huge amount of behind-the-scenes lobbying from Israel recently. That suggests a real concern about the reputational damage of being sanctioned by the EU. The deal on humanitarian aid was announced six days before EU foreign ministers were meeting in Brussels to debate options. The commitment to let more aid into Gaza has shifted the focus on to whether Israel follows through on that pledge, limiting the appetite to press ahead with any penalty for now. Most of the potential sanctions would require the unanimous support of all 27 capitals. That is a non-starter. Hungary, Germany, Italy, Austria and Czech Republic have blocked efforts to have the EU hold Israel accountable for its military campaign in Gaza. Suspending the free trade deal only requires a sizeable majority of support. That would be a major blow to Netanyahu, as the EU is Israel's biggest trading partner. However, for that to happen either Germany or Italy would need to switch positions, given their size, to secure enough support to suspend the trade deal. Both governments opposed the EU pursuing any of the proposed sanctions against Israel at the meeting of foreign ministers this week. They pointed to the tentative aid commitments as a win, thanks to backchannel dialogue with Israel. 'If the threat of the stick is not plausible then you have no leverage,' says Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff, a former EU ambassador to the Palestinian territories. The EU's response to Israel's war in Gaza had been defined by a 'complete absence of action', he says. There was a big question mark over whether Israel would stick to commitments it had made in its agreement with the EU, he says. One note of caution should be the fact Kallas has not said how many extra aid trucks Israel has agreed to let enter Gaza a day. Kühn von Burgsdorff served as head of the EU mission to the West Bank and Gaza from 2020 until mid-2023, where he says he 'saw the injustice before my eyes'. A German who spent 31 years as a diplomat for the EU, Kühn von Burgsdorff says the union's timid response to Israel's bombardment of Gaza is a 'disaster' for its standing in the world. It is a point the governments of Ireland and Spain have been making since the start of the conflict. 'It's about who we are, the Europeans, how we want our voice to be heard and influence the world,' Spain's foreign minister José Manuel Albares said this week. 'Europe is about human rights, about democracy, about international law and that's what we should uphold, whether it is in Ukraine or in Gaza,' he said.
Irish Times
10-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Israel promises to increase aid supplies to Gaza
Israel has promised it will allow a 'substantial' increase of humanitarian aid, food and other supplies into Gaza , following negotiations with the European Union. The move comes several days before EU foreign ministers were due to debate taking action to put pressure on Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu to end the humanitarian blockade that has choked off the supply of aid flowing into Gaza. In a deal agreed in recent hours, Israel committed to allow trucks full of aid waiting at the border to Gaza to enter the devastated Palestinian enclave , a spokesman for the European Commission said. The deal, aimed at addressing the humanitarian crisis and heading off the starvation of Palestinian civilians, was negotiated by the EU's foreign affairs chief, Kaja Kallas and Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar. READ MORE 'These measures are or will be implemented in the coming days with the common understanding that aid at scale must be delivered directly to the population and that measures will be continued to be taken to ensure there is no aid diversion to Hamas,' a spokesman for Ms Kallas said on Thursday. Under the agreement Israel has committed to allow a greater number of aid trucks into Gaza, open more crossing points in the north and the south of the territory, including routes for aid to get into the strip from Jordan and Egypt. The EU said the deal would also allow for the resumption of fuel deliveries to humanitarian facilities, and the repairing of vital infrastructure. EU officials said Israel agreed to stop blocking off the power supply of a water desalination facility which had provided clean drinking water to civilians in Gaza. The commission, which is the EU's executive arm, said the agreement would also enable 'the distribution of food supplies to bakeries and public kitchens throughout the Gaza Strip'. At least 57,500 Palestinian have been killed during Israel's 21-month military occupation and bombardment of Gaza, according to health authorities in the Palestinian territory. Political pressure increased on Israel after a total blockade of aid for 11 weeks earlier this year brought the population in Gaza to the point of starvation. Aid agencies have said deliveries of food, medicine and fuel into the war-torn enclave since then have been wholly insufficient. There have been multiple incidents of civilians being shot and killed by Israeli forces while trying to pick up aid from a small number of designated distribution centres set up under effective Israeli control in recent weeks. The concessions from Israel come several days before the EU's 27 foreign ministers were to discuss a range of options they could take to increase pressure on Israel to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
