Latest news with #Angelus
Canada News.Net
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Canada News.Net
Pope Leo urges end to 'indiscriminate' use of force in Gaza
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy: Pope Leo has issued a heartfelt appeal for an end to the violence in Gaza, condemning what he described as the "barbarity of war." His urging followed last week's Israeli strike on the only Catholic church in the territory. The attack on the Holy Family Church compound in Gaza City killed three people and injured several others, including the parish priest. Photos from the site showed damage to the church's roof near its main cross, with its stone facade scorched and windows shattered. Addressing the faithful from Castel Gandolfo after his Angelus prayer, Pope Leo expressed his deep sorrow and named the victims of the strike. "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, of indiscriminate use of force and forced displacement of the population," he said. The pope appealed for "an immediate halt to the barbarity of the war" and for "a peaceful resolution of the conflict." The pope later told journalists, ""We must encourage everyone to leave weapons behind, and to leave behind the money-making that is behind every war.' The pope's remarks come amid mounting concern over civilian casualties in the region and growing calls for restraint from global leaders and humanitarian organizations. Aside from the unprecedented death and destruction that has gripped Gaza for the past year and 9 months, people are now dying of hunger. 101 Palestinians, including eighty children, have died of starvation in recent days Nebal Farsakh, a spokesperson for the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), a branch of the International Red Cross, said people in the enclave are facing an "unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe" and warned the "situation is only getting worse." "Since the closure of all crossings for more than four months, there has been no food, no clean water, medicine… getting into the Gaza Strip," Farsakh said in a video. "This has resulted to a catastrophe where people are literally starving to death," she said. "More people are being admitted to hospitals with malnutrition, especially among children, pregnant women and elderly," she added.
Kuwait Times
21-07-2025
- Health
- Kuwait Times
Zionists butcher 130 in Gaza amid ethnic cleansing, starvation
GAZA: Gaza's civil defense agency said Zionist forces opened fire on crowds of Palestinians trying to collect humanitarian aid in the war-torn Palestinian territory on Sunday, killing 73 people and wounding dozens more. Health authorities in Gaza Strip announced on Sunday that 130 Palestinians were martyred and 495 others injured over the past 24 hours as the Zionist occupation continues its genocidal war on Gaza. At least 67 were killed as truckloads of aid arrived in the north, while six others were reported shot near an aid point close to Rafah in the south, where dozens of people lost their lives just 24 hours earlier. The UN World Food Program said its 25-truck convoy carrying food aid 'encountered massive crowds of hungry civilians which came under gunfire' near Gaza City, soon after it crossed from the Zionist entity and cleared checkpoints. The Zionist military said soldiers had fired warning shots 'to remove an immediate threat posed to them' as thousands gathered near Gaza City. Deaths of civilians seeking aid have become a regular occurrence in Gaza, with the authorities blaming Zionist fire as crowds facing chronic shortages of food and other essentials flock in huge numbers to aid centers. The UN said earlier this month that nearly 800 aid-seekers had been killed since late May, including on the routes of aid convoys. In Gaza City, Qasem Abu Khater, 36, told AFP he had rushed to try to get a bag of flour but instead found a desperate crowd of thousands and 'deadly overcrowding and pushing'. 'The tanks were firing shells randomly at us and (Zionist) sniper soldiers were shooting as if they were hunting animals in a forest,' he added. 'Dozens of people were martyred right before my eyes and no one could save anyone.' Civil defense agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP the death toll was 67 and expected to rise while the WFP condemned violence against civilians seeking aid as 'completely unacceptable'. '(Zionist) forces' gunfire' was responsible for the deaths in the south, he added. The Zionist military campaign has killed 58,895 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly civilians. GAZA: An injured boy reacts as he sits on the ground by other men who were all wounded while queueing for aid, at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on July 20, 2025. - AFP Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday expressed his regret to Pope Leo XIV after what he described as a 'stray' munition killed three people sheltering at the Holy Family Church in Gaza City. At the end of the Angelus prayer on Sunday, the pope slammed the 'barbarity' of the Gaza war and called for peace, days after the Zionist strike on the territory's only Catholic church. The strike was part of the 'ongoing military attacks against the civilian population and places of worship in Gaza', he added. '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 Catholic Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, held mass at the Gaza church on Sunday after travelling to the devastated territory in a rare visit on Friday. Most of Gaza's population of more than two million people have been displaced at least once during the war and there have been repeated evacuation calls across large parts of the coastal enclave. On Sunday morning, the Zionist military ordered residents and displaced Palestinians sheltering in the Deir el-Balah area to move south immediately. The Zionist entity was 'expanding its activities' against Hamas around Deir el-Balah, 'where it has not operated before', the military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X. Dozens of families began leaving their homes, carrying some of their belongings. Hundreds of thousands of displaced Gazans have been sheltering in the Deir al-Balah area. The announcement prompted concern from families of Zionist captives that the Zionist offensive could harm their loved ones. Much of Gaza has been reduced to a wasteland during more than 21 months of war and there are fears of accelerating starvation. Palestinian health officials said hundreds of people could soon die as hospitals were inundated with patients suffering from dizziness and exhaustion due to the scarcity of food and a collapse in aid deliveries. 'We warn that hundreds of people whose bodies have wasted away are at risk of imminent death due to hunger,' said the health ministry, which is controlled by Hamas. Gaza residents said it was becoming impossible to find essential food such as flour. The health ministry said at least 71 children had died of malnutrition during the war, and 60,000 others were suffering from symptoms of malnutrition. Later on Sunday, it said 18 people have died of hunger in the past 24 hours. Food prices have increased well beyond what most of the population of more than two million can afford. Several people who spoke to Reuters via chat apps said they either had one meal or no meal in the past 24 hours. 'As a father, I wake up in the early morning to look for food, for even a loaf of bread for my five children, but all in vain,' said Ziad, a nurse. 'People who didn't die of bombs will die of hunger. We want an end to this war now, a truce, even for two months,' he told Reuters. Others said they felt dizzy walking in the streets and that many fainted as they walked. Fathers leave tents to avoid questions by their children about what to eat. UNRWA, the UN refugee agency dedicated to Palestinians, demanded the Zionist entity allow more aid trucks into Gaza, saying it had enough food for the entire population for over three months which was not allowed in. Some Palestinians suggested the move on Deir al-Balah might be an attempt to put pressure on Hamas to make more concessions in long-running ceasefire negotiations. – Agencies
UPI
21-07-2025
- Science
- UPI
Pope Leo XIV speaks with astronaut Buzz Aldrin about Apollo 11
Fifty-six years after the Apollo 11 mission, Pope Leo XIV spoke with astronaut Buzz Aldrin on Sunday evening. File Photo by Stefano Spaziani/UPI | License Photo July 21 (UPI) -- Pope Leo XIV spoke with astronaut Buzz Aldrin to discuss the 56th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. During the call, the two reminisced on the 1969 landing, "reflecting on the mystery of creation, its greatness and fragility." "Anca and I were grateful and touched to receive the highest blessing from His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV on the 56th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. What an honor! We prayed for good health, long life, and prosperity for all humankind," wrote on social media after the conversation. The pope also recited the midday Angelus and visited the Vatican Observatory at Castel Gandolfo for the Anniversary, where he was able to look through the astronomical center's historic telescopes. In June, Leo, who graduated from Villanova University with a degree in mathematics, hosted participants in the Vatican Observatory Summer school, asking them to never forget "that what they do is meant to benefit everyone."
Saudi Gazette
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Pope repeats call for Gaza ceasefire as Israel widens evacuation orders
ROME — Pope Leo XIV has renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Sunday, asking the international community to respect international laws and the obligation to protect civilians. '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. Pope 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. '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 was investigating. 'We need to dialogue and abandon weapons,' the pope said earlier Sunday, after presiding over Mass at the nearby Cathedral of Albano. 'The world no longer tolerates war,' Pope Leo XIV told reporters waiting for him outside the cathedral. In the Gaza strip, at least 73 people were killed while attempting to access aid at several locations across on Sunday, the Hamas-run health ministry in the Palestinian territory said. The Israeli military said that soldiers had shot at a gathering of thousands of Palestinians in northern Gaza who posed a threat, and that it was aware of some casualties. But it said that the numbers being reported by teams in Gaza were far higher than the military's initial investigation found. The military added that it is attempting to facilitate the entry of aid, and blamed Hamas militants for fomenting chaos and endangering civilians. The largest toll, according to the ministry and local hospitals, was in the northern part of the territory, where at least 67 Palestinians were killed while trying to reach aid entering northern Gaza through the Zikim crossing with Israel. It wasn't immediately clear whether they were killed by the Israeli army or armed gangs or both. But some witnesses said that the Israeli military shot at the crowd. Meanwhile, the Israeli military published new evacuation warnings for areas of central Gaza on Sunday, in one of the few areas where the military has rarely operated with ground troops. The evacuation cuts access between the city of Deir al-Balah and the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis in the narrow enclave. The United Nations contacted Israeli authorities to clarify whether UN facilities in southwestern Deir al-Balah are included in Sunday's evacuation order, according to a UN official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The official said that in previous instances, UN facilities were spared from evacuation orders. The evacuation announcement covers an area stretching from a previously evacuated area all the way to the coast and will severely hamper movement for aid groups and civilians in Gaza. Military spokesman Avichay Adraee warned that the military will attack 'with intensity' against militants. He called for residents, including those sheltering in tents, to head to the Muwasi area, a makeshift tent camp on Gaza's southern shore that the Israeli military has designated a humanitarian zone. The announcement came as Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks in Qatar, but international mediators say there have been no breakthroughs. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stressed that expanding Israel's military operations in Gaza will pressure Hamas to negotiate, but negotiations have been stalled for months. Earlier this month, the Israeli military said that it controlled more than 65% of the Gaza Strip. — Euronews
Herald Malaysia
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Herald Malaysia
Pope appeals for end to Gaza ‘barbarity'
Speaking after the Sunday Angelus, Pope Leo mourns the three Gazans killed in an attack on the Holy Family Catholic parish in Gaza city, which he says is 'just one' of the 'continuous' attacks on Gaza's people and holy sites. Jul 21, 2025 Smoke billows following an Israeli strike on the Gaza Strip (AFP or licensors) By Joseph TullochPope Leo XIV has expressed his 'deep sorrow' over the recent Israeli attack on the Catholic parish in Gaza, and called for 'an immediate halt to the barbarity' in the Strip. After the Holy Family church was struck on Thursday morning, three of the approximately 600 Gazans sheltering there were killed, and several others, including the parish priest Fr Gabriel Romanelli, were injured. Speaking on Sunday after reciting the Angelus prayer at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, the Pope named the three victims – Saad Issa Kostandi Salameh, Foumia Issa Latif Ayyad, and Najwa Ibrahim Latif Abu Daoud – and said he was 'close' to them and their families. Pope Leo then stressed that the attack 'is just one of the continuous military attacks against the civilian population and places of worship in Gaza'. The Pope appealed for 'an immediate halt to the barbarity of the war' and for 'a peaceful resolution of the conflict'. He urged the international community to observe humanitarian law and respect the obligation to protect civilians, 'as well as the prohibition against collective punishment, indiscriminate use of force and forced displacement of the population'. Pope Leo brought his appeal to a close with a message to 'our beloved' Christian communities in the Middle East, saying he understood they felt they could 'do little, in the face of this tragic situation'. 'You are in the heart of the Pope and of the whole Church,' he said. 'Thank you for your witness of faith.' Phone call with Netanyahu Earlier in the day, speaking to journalists as he returned from celebrating Mass in the nearby town of Albano, Pope Leo stressed the need to 'pray for peace, and try to convince all parties to come to the table, to dialogue and to lay down their weapons'. 'The world can't take it any more', the Pope said. 'There is so much conflict, so many wars'. Pope Leo was then asked about his phone conversation on Friday with Benjamin Netanyahu, during which he urged a "renewed push" for an end to the conflict, and lamented the "agonizing price" being paid by Gaza's civilians. 'We insisted on the need to protect the sacred places of all religions,' Pope Leo said, 'and to respect people and sacred places and try to leave behind all the violence and the hatred'.--Vatican News
