(OSV News) ─ War always brings unimaginable human suffering. But the images coming out of the besieged Gaza Strip as the war between Israel and Hamas inches toward October's two-year mark urge us to exclaim in the loudest possible voice: Enough! Men, women and children in Gaza are starving to death, and this atrocity against humanity must end.
The Palestinian health ministry July 22 said 86 people, including 76 children, had died of malnutrition since October 2023. Only four days later, on July 26, the total stood at 127. And on July 28, the health ministry said an additional 14 people had starved to death in the past 24 hours.
Six-month-old Zainab Abu Haleeb took his last breath July 26 in the arms of his father, Ahmed, as his mother wept at his side. Parents and siblings trying to get food for the young children in their care are dying as they wait in lines in front of aid distribution points. Teenagers are crying over the bodies of their schoolmates. Living ghosts, packed in a crowd, hold bowls and pots in their thin, outstretched hands.
Pope Leo XIV said during his Angelus prayer July 27 that he is following with "great concern" the "dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where the civilian population is suffering from severe hunger and remains exposed to violence and death."
"I renew my heartfelt appeal for a ceasefire, the release of hostages, and the full respect of humanitarian law," the pope said.
Just a few days before the pope's most recent appeal, more than 100 international humanitarian organizations called on Israel July 23 to end its blockade of humanitarian aid and restore food deliveries amid the situation becoming "untenable."
"As the Israeli government's siege starves the people of Gaza, aid workers are now joining the same food lines, risking being shot just to feed their families," said the statement, whose signatories include Médecins Sans Frontières, Amnesty International, and the Norwegian Refugee Council.
What's more, two leading human rights organizations based in Israel, B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights, said July 28 that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Reports issued by both groups detail intentional targeting of Palestinians as a group, and systemic destruction of Palestinian society, actions that stand in accordance to Raphael Lemkin's 1946 genocide definition.
Finally, on July 27, Israel's government announced a "tactical pause" in fighting in areas of Gaza amid global outrage over starvation. Some aid was airdropped, and Israel said other deliveries will be permitted through newly established corridors on the ground. It is not enough.
At bilateral meetings in Scotland July 28, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with President Donald Trump to discuss what the British called "appalling scenes" in Gaza, and President Trump pledged to "get rid of those lines" that are blocking food from those who need it most. "We want to get the children fed," Trump said.
As the international community attempts to find a way forward, Catholics must also find and strengthen our voices. We must make it clear that providing humanitarian aid to the starving is a moral imperative. But more than that, we must denounce war, work for peace, and uphold the common good for all of God's people. We must be the voice for the voiceless.
And so may our words join the recent appeal of Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, when he said, “Today we raise our voices in an appeal to the leaders of this region and the world: there can be no future based on captivity, displacement of Palestinians or revenge. There must be a way that restores life, dignity and all lost humanity. It is time to end this nonsense, end the war and put the common good of people as the top priority. We pray -- and call -- for the release of all those deprived of freedom, for the return of the missing, the hostages and for the healing of long-suffering families on all sides.”
Amen.
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The members of the OSV Editorial Board include Father Patrick Briscoe, OP; Gretchen R. Crowe; Paulina Guzik; Matthew Kirby; Peter Jesserer Smith and Scott P. Richert.
