Fr Gabriel Romanelli says that living with 500 people in a closed compound is not easy, but that the Christians in Gaza consider themselves fortunate to have survived thus far and to be able to help thousands of other families in the region.
The parish priest of Holy Family in Gaza, Fr Gabriel Romanelli, has made another desperate plea for peace in the war-torn region, stating that the rekindling of fighting between Israel and Hamas is just making the situation more miserable for the civilian population and increasing tension across the Holy Land.
The Argentinian priest, member of the Verbo Encarnado, has been in Gaza for several years and he expressed his deep sorrow over the children who have already died in this war. “Recently the number of children killed in this war surpassed 17,000 . More than 17,000 ! It’s terrible, terrible. We have had over 50.000 people killed in this war, and over 110,000 wounded, many of them amputees.”
“One more day of war won’t solve the situation, it will only make it worse”, the priest said, in a video message sent to ACN for its Jubilee of Persecuted Christians, held by the charity in the Diocese of Porto, Portugal, on the last weekend of March.
The priest asked all those present in the event to “pray, pray to Our Lady, to Our Lady of Fatima, to whom we have a great devotion, and at whose request we pray the rosary every day with the children and the adults, before the Blessed Sacrament” in the Holy Family parish compound, in Gaza, where around 500 people, mostly Catholics, with some Orthodox and Muslim families as well, have been residing since the war began in October 2023.
“God grant that we have true peace soon, that this war should end”, the priest said, adding his hope that all the Jewish hostages and the Palestinian prisoners should be freed according to the ceasefire plan, as soon as possible.
“The situation in Gaza at the moment is of extreme poverty”
Life in Gaza, Fr Romanelli explained, is miserable. “We need humanitarian aid for over two million people who live here and who, for the most part, have lost everything. Their homes, their workplaces, their children’s schools, their belongings; many are desperate. For most of the population, it is a miserable life, and that tension is obviously felt all over the Holy Land”.
Although Christians are a very small minority in Gaza – and Catholics an even smaller minority within that community, which is mostly Orthodox – the Catholic Church has played a leading role in providing aid to the Gazan population. “Thanks to the Church we have been able to help thousands of families, ensuring that aid reaches everyone in real need, because the situation in Gaza at the moment is of extreme poverty.”
After more than a year of war, Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire agreement which allowed for the release of hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners. However, that ceasefire recently broke down, and negotiations are currently underway to establish a new one. Fr Romanelli explained in his message to ACN that the Christian population, divided between the Holy Family Parish and the neighbouring Orthodox compound, is well, though constantly at risk. “Some, who had the opportunity to leave, have already done so”, he said. “Some want to leave, others don’t. Many want to remain because they were born here, this is their land, and they see themselves as the descendants of the first Christians, which is indeed the case, as are all the Christians in the Holy Land”.
The Christian compounds have not been left untouched by the war. Two women were shot by military snipers in the Holy Family compound, and 18 died when the Orthodox compound was hit during what Israel claimed to have been an airstrike on a nearby Hamas command centre. A further 11 Christians, at least, have died due to lack of adequate medical care for chronic illness. Some schools have been destroyed.
With this atmosphere of fear, life in the Catholic compound can be unsettling, said Fr Romanelli. “As you can imagine, living in close quarters with 500 people isn’t easy, but even so, we consider ourselves lucky. As we say, we live with Jesus, in His house, and despite everything, we manage not only to survive, but also to help thousands of other families with food, water and medication, though all of this is limited, as for the past few weeks the borders have been closed to humanitarian aid.”
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, ACN’s main project partner in the Holy Land, continues to provide all the support it possibly can, not only to the Christian population in Gaza, but also to the wider civilian population.
By Paulo Aido.
