Gaza: First step towards peace after 733 days of war
While indirect talks are taking place in Egypt between Israeli envoys and Hamas, the hope for a beginning of peace is cautiously laying roots in the diocese of the Holy Land. The parish priest of the Catholic parish in Gaza spoke to Aid to Church in Need (ACN) about the heavy toll from two years of war.
“Two years of war: it seems unbelievable,” Fr Gabriel Romanelli, pastor of Holy Family parish, the only Catholic parish in Gaza City, told Aid to Church in Need (ACN) on the evening of October 7, 2025. As Gaza enters its third year of war and indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas continue in Egypt, following the peace plan presented by US President Donald Trump, a frail hope is emerging.
For the time being, the fighting has not stopped, and in recent days bombing has occurred only 300 metres from the walls of the Catholic compound in Gaza, which is home to nearly 450 refugees. However, Fr Romanelli told ACN that the community hopes “for the end of the war”. In the meantime, he confides, “we must continue to do good, to try to be builders of peace”. The Argentinian priest specifies that he wants more than just the silencing of weapons: “We hope that the end of the conflict will come in justice and reconciliation. We pray for this and work towards it. We love everyone.”
In this, the parish priest of Gaza can count on the renewed support of the Holy Father. “Pope Leo sent me a message in which he assures us of his prayers for peace. He tells us that his prayers are with us and sends his blessing to all of us,” Fr Gabriel Romanelli wrote on his X account on the eve of October 7. In addition, Leo XIV proclaimed October 11, a day of fasting and prayer for peace. An invitation that will be joined by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, at the head of the diocese of the Holy Land, which the parish in Gaza is part of. The Patriarch has invited parish and religious communities in his diocese – deeply wounded by these two years of war – to join him.
The heavy toll of the war can be felt in the figures provided to ACN by the priest in Gaza: “After the terrible attacks of October 7, 2023, that killed more than 1,200 people in Israel, the war has also killed more than 1,000 people in the West Bank, the other part of Palestine, along with East Jerusalem.” As for the Gaza Strip, the war caused “more than 67,000 dead in the Palestinian enclave, including more than 18,000 children, hundreds of families (parents and children) completely erased and more than 166,000 wounded, many of whom need treatment.” All this without counting the unspeakable psychological trauma. At the same time, Fr Romanelli raises other realities: “Thousands of people, including children, have been amputated and more than 400 people have died of malnutrition.” Finally, in terms of infrastructure, the missionary from the Institute of the Incarnate Word claims that “90% of buildings are now damaged or completely destroyed. Most schools have also been badly affected or destroyed.”
Despite everything, there is hope, as made clear by the words of Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa. “For the first time, (…) the media are reporting a possible new positive development: the release of Israeli hostages, some Palestinian prisoners, and the cessation of bombing and military offensives,” the Patriarch of Jerusalem wrote in a statement dated October 4, and addressed to all his faithful. The prelate added that “this is an important and long-awaited first step. Nothing is yet completely clear and defined, many questions remain unanswered, much remains to be defined, and we must not delude ourselves. But we are happy that there is still something new and positive on the horizon.”
