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France 24
18 hours ago
- France 24
Vatican hardens tone on Israel after Gaza parish strike
The strike killed three people in the Holy Family Church in the centre of Gaza City -- prompting condemnation by politicians and by religious leaders of various denominations. Pope Leo XIV on Sunday slammed the "barbarity" of the war and the blind "use of force", denouncing "the attack by the Israeli army". It was a change of language after two years of tireless, repetitive calls for peace by the Vatican under former Pope Francis, who died in April. Francois Mabille, an analyst at France's Geopolitical Observatory of Religion, said the statements represent an increasingly critical view of Israel in the Catholic world. Beyond growing anger worldwide at the human cost of the Gaza war, he cited "the fact that it's happening on holy ground." It is leading to "at least a temporary shift in Catholic opinion in general," he told AFP. On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Pope Leo -- who became pontiff in May -- and said his country "deeply regrets" the strike, blaming a "stray missile" and vowing an investigation. Netanyahu's spokesman said the conversation was "friendly" and that the two men agreed to meet soon. But on the same day, in an interview with Italian broadcaster Rai 2, the Vatican's second-in-command -- Cardinal Pietro Parolin -- implied the strike may have been intentional. He called on Israel to publicise the findings of its investigation to find out "if it really was an error, which we can legitimately doubt, or if there was a will to directly attack a Christian church." The Vatican also sent the cardinal of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, on a rare visit to Gaza Friday, where he visited the wounded and conducted a mass at the Holy Family Church. The visit was meant to show that Catholic authorities were determined to stay in Gaza. "We are not a target. They say it was a mistake, even if everyone here does not believe that is the case," the cardinal told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. 'Tyrant' Mabille, the analyst, said the Holy See is now also using "more precise vocabulary based on legal categories." On Sunday, the American-born pope called for 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." Mabille said that constituted four fundamental rights under humanitarian law that are being violated by Netanyahu's government. Some Catholic officials are going much further. In an interview to Italy's La Stampa newspaper, Cardinal Augusto Paolo Lojudice -- who also serves as a judge at a Vatican tribunal -- said Netanyahu is "not stopping because he is a tyrant pursuing a dark and bloodthirsty plan for power". Lojudice -- who worked with Leo for several years before was made pope -- accused Israel of "evil without logic" in Gaza. The Vatican, which since 2015 has recognised the state of Palestine, supports a two-state solution in Israel. It has also called for a special international status for Jerusalem, with free and safe access to religious sites there. Already strained ties with Israel degraded further after Israel launched its assault following Hamas's deadly October 7, 2023 attack. Diverging from the Vatican's official line, Pope Francis questioned whether Israel's heavy handed military response amounted to "genocide" in Gaza. The current tense diplomatic exchanges also come after a small Christian village in the central occupied West Bank was burnt down in early July and during heightened criticism of Israeli settler attacks.
Euronews
21 hours ago
- Euronews
Foreign ministers of 25 countries call for immediate ceasefire in Gaza
Twenty-five countries, including France, Belgium and the United Kingdom, issued a joint statement on Monday saying the war in Gaza "must end now" and Israel must comply with international law. The foreign ministers representing the cosignatories said "the suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths' and condemned 'the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food." "The Israeli government's aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity," the statement said. "The Israeli government's denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable. Israel must comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law," it added. In January, Israel banned the main UN organisation delivering aid to Palestinians in Gaza, UNRWA, from operating, claiming the agency turned a blind eye to Hamas members in its ranks. Responsibility for aid distribution was handed over to the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which had no previous experience of delivering aid to combat zones. Its delivery method has been criticised by established aid groups, and deliveries at its four distribution sites across Gaza have often seen people killed, either in crowd crushes or after Israeli forces or security contractors opened fire near aid-seekers. The signatories included the foreign ministers of around 20 European countries as well as Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and the EU Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management. The signatories called for an immediate ceasefire, adding they are prepared to take action to support a political pathway to peace in the region. Gaza's population of more than 2 million Palestinians is in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, according to international organisations, now relying mainly on the limited aid allowed into the territory. Many people have been displaced multiple times. The Israel-Hamas war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people, most of them civilians. Hamas took 251 people as hostages, and is currently holding 50, of whom 20 are believed to be alive. A subsequent Israeli offensive has resulted in the deaths of at least 59,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, whose figures do not distinguish between fighters and civilians. The Israeli military says 850 of its soldiers have died since the start of the war. Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks in Qatar, which have so far produced no concrete results. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly asserted that expanding Israel's military operations in Gaza will pressure Hamas in negotiations. On Monday, the IDF launched its first ground operation into the central city of Deir al-Balah but gave no information about its aims and objectives.
Euronews
a day ago
- Euronews
Syria evacuates Bedouins out of Suwayda as shaky ceasefire holds
The Syrian government started evacuating Bedouin families from the city of Suwayda on Monday, where a fragile ceasefire between the Druze minority and Bedouin fighters appears to be holding after a week of clashes. Violence between the Druze militia and Sunni Muslim clans has resulted in the deaths of hundreds and threatened to unravel Syria's already fragile postwar transition. The clashes also led to a series of targeted attacks against the Druze community, followed by revenge attacks against the Bedouins. The UN International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said some 128,571 people were displaced in the hostilities that started with a series of attacks a week ago. Israel also launched dozens of air strikes on the Druze-majority Suwayda province, targeting government forces who had effectively sided with the Bedouins. Syrian state media said on Sunday that the government had coordinated with some officials in Suwayda to bring in buses to evacuate some 1,500 Bedouins from the city. Syrian interim Interior Minister Ahmad al-Dalati told the state-run SANA news agency that the initiative will also enable displaced civilians from Suwayda to return, as the fighting has largely ceased and efforts for a comprehensive ceasefire are ongoing. 'We have imposed a security cordon in the vicinity of Suwayda to keep it secure and to stop the fighting there,' al-Dalati told the Syrian state-run news agency. 'This will preserve the path that will lead to reconciliation and stability in the province." Bedouin families accompanied out of Suwayda Buses filled with Bedouin families were accompanied by Syrian Arab Red Crescent vehicles and ambulances. Some families left on trucks with their belongings. Syrian authorities did not provide further details about the evacuation and how it relates to the broader agreement, following failed talks for a hostage swap deal on Saturday. However, the UK-based war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said that as part of the agreement, Bedouin fighters would have to release Druze women they were holding captive and leave the province. US Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack who has been involved in negotiations between multiple countries, said that the perpetrators of hostilities on both sides need to be held to account and that an agreement should be reached to allow Syria's seven-month-old interim government to exert its authority and function fully after over a decade of conflict. 'What's happened is horrible. It's unthinkable,' Barrack said in Beirut after meeting officials Monday. 'They (Syrian authorities) need to be held accountable, but they also need to be given responsibility' to restore order. Bedouin fighters wait on the edge of the city Bedouin fighters had withdrawn from Suwayda city on Sunday and, alongside others from different parts of the country, stood on the outskirts while security forces cordoned off the area. An aid convoy of some 32 Red Crescent vehicles entered the city, though a government delegation with another aid convoy was turned away. After talks for a hostage swap fell through late on Sunday, the Observatory and activist groups in Suwayda reported hearing what they said were Israeli air strikes and helicopters over villages where some skirmishes took place between the Bedouins and the Druze. The Israeli military said it was 'not aware' of any overnight strikes in Syria. Druze increasingly unsure about new government Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa has tried to appeal to the Druze community while slamming the factions loyal to spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, who have been involved in the clashes. He promised to hold accountable perpetrators of targeted attacks and other violations. The country's Druze community largely celebrated the downfall of the al-Assad family that ended decades of tyrannical rule in Syria. While they had concerns about al-Sharaa's possible Islamist rule, a large number wanted to approach matters diplomatically. However, Al-Hijri and his supporters have taken a more confrontational approach with al-Sharaa, unlike most other influential Druze figures. The numerous cases of attacks, which included killing Druze civilians and desecrating photos of religious notables, have made the Druze more sceptical of Al-Sharaa and less optimistic of peaceful coexistence. More than half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the occupied Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981.
