“DEPRAVED and unconscionable” actions inflicted by the Israeli government on the people of Gaza must stop, the Archbishop of York said on Wednesday, in a statement about the situation in Gaza.
“In the name of God, I cry out against this barbaric assault on human life and dignity. It is a stain on the conscience of the international community, and a flagrant breach of international humanitarian law,” he said in a statement.
Each day, the “violence, starvation and dehumanisation being inflicted on the civilian population by the Government of Israel becomes more depraved and unconscionable.”
Archbishop Cottrell referred to a statement issued this week by 30 countries, including the UK, which called for an immediate end to the war.
“The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths,” the statement says. It condemns the Israeli government’s aid-delivery model as dangerous, saying that it “fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity”.
On Wednesday, more than 100 aid agencies, including Christian Aid, issued a joint warning of mass starvation across Gaza. The letter accused the Israeli government of imposing an aid “siege”.
The statement said that “aid workers are now joining the same food lines, risking being shot just to feed their families. With supplies now totally depleted, humanitarian organisations are witnessing their own colleagues and partners waste away before their eyes.”
The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation took over aid distribution at the end of May at the behest of the Israeli government (News, 4 July).
Christian Aid’s programme manager for the region, Katie Roxburgh, said on Wednesday: “This situation is beyond desperate; it is like a living hell. In the face of unimaginable horror our partners in Gaza heroically continue to help people as best they can, but we are at a critical point where staff are exhausted, and resources are stretched beyond imagination.”
Journalists in Gaza are also facing starvation, reports a joint statement by BBC News and the news agencies AP, AFP and Reuters, issued on Thursday. Israel does not allow journalists to enter Gaza. Since the start of the war, therefore, news organisations have relied on Palestinian journalists for on-the-ground reporting.
Deaths caused by malnutrition are increasing, according to the Gazan health ministry: 33 people, of whom 12 were children, died as a result of inadequate food supplies over Sunday and Monday, and more deaths were reported on Wednesday.
On Sunday, the Public Square Group issued a statement calling on the Church of England and the Church in Wales “to be more vociferous in calling for an immediate end to the genocidal campaign against Palestinians and the continuing holding of hostages by Hamas”.
It said: “It really is time for a strong public witness from our Church and nation. In spite of any political pressure to refrain, silence is not an option.”
In his statement on Wednesday, Archbishop Cottrell encouraged dioceses and parishes to “continue praying for our Palestinian Anglican sisters and brothers and all other Christian communities — and for security, freedom and dignity for Palestinians, Israelis and all the peoples of the region”.
Bishops in the Church of England had, he said, “condemned many times the horrific Hamas attacks on 7 October, and I continue to call for the release of those still cruelly held hostage. We deplore every assault on the innocent. But as we said in May this year, this war is now one of aggression — it is a grave sin and it must stop” (News, 23 May).
Archbishop Cottrell also condemned an attack last week on the Holy Family RC Church in Gaza, which killed three people. “There are no excuses for the bombing of places of worship where desperate people are taking shelter, or hospitals where the sick and injured are being cared for. I echo the words of Pope Leo XIV and say clearly that this barbarism must stop.”
The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III, and the Latin Patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, held a press conference at the Notre Dame of Jerusalem Centre on Tuesday, after making a pastoral and humanitarian visit to Gaza last Friday (News, 21 July).
Patriarch Theophilos said that, during the visit, they encountered “people crushed by the weight of the war, yet carrying within them the image of God.
“Among the broken walls of the Church of the Holy Family and the wounded hearts of its faithful, we witnessed both profound grief and unyielding hope. We knelt in prayer beside the afflicted, and laid our hands upon those yearning for comfort, guided by the words of St Paul: ‘Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ’ (Galatians 6.2).”
Cardinal Pizzaballa said: “We have not come as politicians or diplomats, but as pastors.” Describing how he witnessed the extreme hunger of the Palestinian people, he condemned the withholding of humanitarian aid: “Refusing it is not a delay, but a sentence. Every hour without food, water, medicine, and shelter causes deep harm.”
Prince El Hassan bin Talal, a member of the Jordanian royal family, spoke at the conference in Jerusalem, offering his “heartfelt condolences and sincere sympathy” for the deaths and injuries that resulted from the “aggressive bombing” of the Holy Family Church.
“This is the same church that has offered significant humanitarian and relief support to members of the community — both Muslims and Christians — including the provision of aid, sheltering hundreds of displaced individuals who lost their homes, and supplying as much food and emergency medical care as possible in cooperation with medical teams from associations and hospitals such as Caritas and others,” he said.
“Despite everything, the Christians of Gaza — like their Muslim brothers and sisters — remain steadfast in the face of injustice, destruction, violence, and intimidation since the beginning of this war.”
