For the parish priest of the small Latin rite community, the expansion towards the north “suggests that unfortunately the war will not end soon.” The “massacre” in the Strip, with more than 16,000 children killed out of nearly 41,000 in total since the conflict began. One of the priorities is to continue classes in improvised classrooms in the same church “so that they do not lose the year.” October 7 is the day of prayer and fasting for peace: “Many people here just want the violence to end.”
Milan () – The Christian community in the Gaza Strip “lives with sadness and concern the expansion of the conflict” with the opening of the northern front, the ground invasion of Lebanon by the Israeli army and the launch of Iranian missiles. All these elements portend a new escalation, says Father Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest of the Latin church of the Holy Family, contacted by telephone at the end of the mass he celebrated early in the morning. “Unfortunately – continues the priest – all this suggests that the war will not end soon, that the situation is worsening throughout the region and also here [en la Franja] “Every day there are still dozens of deaths, injuries, shootings and bombings.”
At this time, the attention of international diplomacy has been focused on the border between Lebanon and Israel, with the intensification of the confrontation between Hezbollah and the armed forces (IDF) of the Jewish State after the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah. The death of the head of the Party of God has triggered retaliation from Tehran, which launched more than 180 missiles against Israel, which in turn keeps secret the extent of the damage and threatens a harsh response to the Islamic Republic through the mouth of the first Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
These tensions and violence increasingly distance the possibility of diplomatic channels and the hope of a truce, for which Pope Francis (and before that the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem) has called for a day of prayer and fasting for October 7. It is a symbolic date, because it marks one year since the terrorist attack by Hamas from the Strip against the Jewish State, which caused almost 1,200 deaths and opened the wound, still raw, of the hostages in the hands of the extremist movement. The operation took advantage of Israel’s security flaws, which responded by launching a bloody military campaign that, in one year, has left more than 41,000 dead. “Among which – points out Fr. Romanelli – there are about 16 thousand children.”
“On October 7 – continues the priest of the Incarnate Word – we will begin early in the morning with adoration, then we will leave the church free for children’s classes [el templo se utiliza como aula porque no hay otros espacios disponibles, nde.]. When the lessons end, around 2 in the afternoon, we will begin adoration again for another five hours, then we will pray the rosary for peace and the evening mass dedicated to the Virgin, practicing penance and fasting.”
“In these last weeks – says Fr. Romanelli – what we hear the least are the army drones and it is a relief to the ears. For months, day and night without stopping, we heard that incessant noise. But the explosions and bombings by fighter jets continue; The war continues and a state of anguish reigns among the people because they do not know what will happen next. On the day of Iran’s attack, the Israeli army killed a group of 35 people who, from the south, wanted to return to Gaza City [está prohibido cruzar el corredor que separa el norte y el sur de la Franja]. They were killed only because they were trying to return home.” The death count, he observes, has become “something cold, but every violent death is a tragedy, behind it there is always a family that suffers, and war only makes that situation worse.” .
Since returning to the parish, after having lived through the first months of the conflict in Jerusalem and Bethlehem because he was not allowed to return, Father Romanelli has tried to “resume apostolic activities in collaboration with the vice parish priest, Father Youssef. Adoration , mass for the entire community, lauds in Arabic, preaching, community rosary with lay people and religious, proposals in the oratory for children and adolescents and even some recreational moments such as bingo for families. With a Catholic association – he continues – they are carried out. carry out psychosocial activities and then distribute food thanks to the help of the Latin Patriarchate and the Order of Malta”.
Despite the daily difficulties caused by the lack of electricity, destroyed buildings and a situation of deep hardship and need, the priority remains to continue the education of young people so that they do not miss the 2023/24 school year: “We have resumed the classes for the children of Christian refugee families in the parish – he says – and the first exams will begin in about ten days, while the end-of-course exams will be in a month and a half. There are five main subjects: Arabic, Arabic. English, mathematics, science and religion.” “Classes – he adds – are in the morning; We have even set up improvised classrooms in the small convent of the nuns of the Incarnate Word, and even the kitchen is sometimes used for classes, as is the church itself. In the garden we have installed three cabins with an improvised plastic roof… in total there are about 185 children who today can attend and continue their studies.”
Faced with the prospect of an expansion of the conflict, some people in the Christian community follow the events with attention and participation, while in others a feeling of distancing prevails, in a general climate of mistrust “in which people do not know who to believe in.” “explains the priest. “I know many peaceful people – he observes – who are tired of war, who do not even feel resentment, because they say they have no strength, that they just want the violence to end. And just like Christians, who support the ideals of peace, thousands of our Muslim neighbors also want peace, for everything to end so they can rebuild Gaza, which is a devastated city.”
Finally, the priest wants to thank Pope Francis, who has never forgotten the Strip “and almost every day sends us his blessing and greets the children.” But at the level of the international community, indifference or helplessness seems to prevail in the face of the suffering of 2.3 million people who “live in indescribable humanitarian conditions.”
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