Catholic student wounded in Israeli strike:
The Holy Family Catholic parish in Gaza (AFP or licensors)
By Roberto Cetera - Ashdod
Suhail greets us with a broad smile and much surprise, although Fr Romanelli in Gaza had already warned his mother Randa that we were coming.
"We had said many times in these months that we would soon meet in Rome or in Gaza, when peace comes. But I never thought we would finally meet in this hospital in Ashdot, Israel."
The young student from Gaza, who was seriously wounded in the Israeli attack on the Holy Family parish on Thursday morning, had been transported to the Israeli hospital that night, as it was impossible to give him proper care inside the Strip.
His face is in pain but full of hope. His condition has improved after all the shrapnel that had wounded him, including damaging his internal organs, was removed.
"Peace will return to Gaza. Because, as I wrote in my last article you published: Love is stronger than war", he says. With some difficulty, we manage to weave a conversation in which he also speaks about his future hopes, his desires, the articles he has in mind for the future, and above all the journey of faith he has undertaken and the discernment he is making - and which we will publish in Monday's edition of L'Osservatore Romano .--Vatican News
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
15 minutes ago
- The Star
First malaria drug for infants receives Swiss approval
A mother and her child sitting on a bed covered with a mosquito net to protect against malaria-carrying mosquitoes near the town of Bagamoyo in Tanzania. The African nation is one of eight that is expediting approval of the first malaria drug for infants weighing less than 4.5kg. — AFP filepic The first malaria treatment for newborns and young infants has received approval from Swiss health regulators, with eight African countries poised to roll the drug out rapidly, Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis announced on July 8 (2025). Malaria is a major killer in Africa, with the continent accounting for 95% of the 597,000 deaths from the disease worldwide in 2023, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Of those deaths, about 76% – more than 432,000 – were children under five years old, according to the WHO. The infant version of the combined drugs artemether and lumefantrine was developed by Novartis in collaboration with the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), a Geneva-based organisation specialising in research and development of medicines against the disease. 'Until now, there has been no approved malaria treatment for infants weighing less than 4.5kg,' Novartis said in a statement. The approval from Switzerland's health authority is for a dose designed for babies weighing two to five kilogrammes. Eight of the countries hit hardest by malaria – Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda – participated in the Swiss approval process. The countries are now expected to approve the treatment quickly themselves, under a programme to facilitate access to medicines for low- and middle-income countries, Novartis said. The pharmaceutical company said it would introduce the treatment 'on a largely not-for-profit basis' to increase access in places where the mosquito-borne disease is endemic. An estimated 263 million people worldwide had malaria in 2023, according to the WHO. Funding to fight the disease is under threat after US President Donald Trump's moves to cut foreign aid. The US government previously provided around 40% of annual funding globally for control and research into malaria. – AFP
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Gaza civil defence reports 17 killed in Israeli strikes
GAZA CITY: Gaza's civil defence agency reported that Israeli strikes killed 17 people in the Palestinian territory on Wednesday. Israel's military confirmed ongoing operations against Hamas militants. Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal stated that eight people, including a pregnant woman, died in a single strike in Gaza City's Tel Al-Hawa neighbourhood. Two others were killed in separate strikes in the city, three in Bani Suheila, and four near a food distribution centre in central Gaza. Israel's military said troops were expanding operations in Gaza City and northern areas, dismantling militant infrastructure and locating weapons. 'Over the past day, the troops dismantled dozens of terrorist infrastructure sites and located weapons in the southern Gaza Strip,' a military statement read. Media restrictions and access difficulties prevent independent verification of casualty figures. Hundreds have died near aid centres in central Gaza, where the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distributes food. Over 100 humanitarian groups warn of severe hunger, with Al-Shifa hospital reporting 21 child deaths from malnutrition in three days. GHF and Israel claim aid is entering Gaza but blame distribution challenges on the UN and NGOs. - AFP
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
South Korea sees record birth rate growth for Jan-May
The birthrate surge follows South Korea's first annual increase in the number of births in more than a decade, driven by a rise in marriages. - AFP SEOUL: South Korea registered record birth rate growth during the first five months of the year, a statistics agency official told AFP on Wednesday (July 23). The country has one of the world's longest life expectancies and lowest birth rates -- a combination that presents a looming demographic challenge. Seoul has poured billions of dollars into efforts to encourage women to have more children and maintain population stability. "The number of newborns for the January-May period stood at 106,048, a 6.9 per cent increase, the highest growth rate since such data collection began in 1981," said Kang hyun-young from Statistics Korea. The surge follows South Korea's first annual increase in the number of births in more than a decade, driven by a rise in marriages. In 2024, the number of newborns rose by 8,300, or 3.6 per cent, to 238,300 from the previous year. April in particular saw a spike, with year-on-year growth reaching 8.7 per cent and the number of births totalling 20,717 that month. The latest figure marks a sharp turnaround from early 2024, when the number of births for the January-May period dropped by 2.7 per cent from the previous year. The fertility rate, or the average number of babies a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, for May stood at 0.75. The country needs a fertility rate of 2.1 children in order to maintain the country's population of 51 million. At current rates, the population will nearly halve to 26.8 million by 2100, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in Seattle. The increase is attributable "to a rise in the number of women in their early 30s, leading to an overall increase in marriages", Kang told AFP. "In South Korea, there is a strong correlation between marriage and childbirth, which has driven the increase in births during the first five months," she added. In 2024, the country saw a 14.8 per cent on-year increase in the number of marriages, with more than 220,000 couples tying the knot. Many government benefits designed to support child-rearing do not cover parents who are not legally married. Analysts say there are multiple reasons for the low birth rate, from high child-rearing costs and property prices to a notoriously competitive society that makes well-paid jobs difficult to secure. The double burden for working mothers of managing the brunt of household chores and childcare while also maintaining their careers is another key factor, they say. In a bid to reverse the trend, the South Korean government offers cash subsidies, babysitting services, and support for infertility treatment. Neighbouring Japan is grappling with the same issue -- it has the world's second-oldest population after Monaco, and the country's relatively strict immigration rules mean it faces growing labour shortages. - AFP
