Top Catholic cleric Pizzaballa: Gaza situation ‘morally unacceptable'
JERUSALEM, Undefined — The Roman Catholic church's most senior cleric in the Holy Land said Tuesday the humanitarian situation in Gaza was "morally unacceptable," after visiting the war-battered Palestinian territory.
"We have seen men holding out in the sun for hours in the hope of a simple meal," Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa told a news conference in Jerusalem.
"It's morally unacceptable and unjustified," he added.
Pizzaballa said the Church and "the entire Christian community, will never abandon" Gazans, repeating what he had told Christians in Gaza during his visit.
He specified that his mission applied not only to a specific group but to all.
Pizzaballa and his Greek Orthodox counterpart, Theophilos III, made a rare visit to Gaza on Friday after Israeli fire hit the Holy Family Church, Gaza's only Catholic church, killing three people.
"Three people died of our community, but thousands of people already died in Gaza," Pizzaballa said, adding that the entire Palestinian people was affected in Gaza by the ongoing war, as well as in the West Bank which he recently visited to denounce Israeli settler violence.
Though the Italian foreign ministry announced Pizzaballa had entered Gaza with 500 tonnes of aid, Pizzaballa said the aid had not yet entered Gaza due to logistical issues.
Pizzaballa and Theophilos III reported meeting people in Gaza whose faces were emaciated from hunger, at a time when finding food in the Palestinian territory has become nearly impossible.
Pizzaballa, who has previously advocated for an end to the war in Gaza, said that he had witnessed unprecedented levels of destruction in comparison to his last visit in December.
Pizzaballa said he acknowledged the efforts of "many parts of the Israeli society" that helped with deliveries, but said that "this [war] policy of the Israeli government in Gaza is unacceptable."
Known as a supporter of interfaith dialogue, Pizzaballa said he as praying for the liberation of people taken hostage during Hamas' unprecedented attack on Israel in October 2023.
He also said he hoped for a free press access to Gaza, with foreign journalists barred from entry since the start of the war save for a few visits embedded with Israel's military. — Agence France-Presse
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