Caritas Deeply
Concerned About
Deteriorating
Situation in Gaza
Vatican City, 4
August
2006 "Though
overshadowed in the
media by Israel"s
attacks on Lebanon
three weeks ago,
Israeli raids and
attacks in the Gaza
Strip continue to
weigh on the
civilian population,
which is going
hungry and thirsty.
Worse, the
incursions threaten
to unleash age-old
hatreds and derail
the peace and
reconciliation work
that Caritas
Jerusalem and others
have been tirelessly
dedicated to.
"These attacks are
not a punishment for
a certain party, or
branch, or person or
sect. It is
punishment for an
entire nation, and
this is a war
crime," said Fr
Manuel Musallam,
parish priest of the
Latin Convent,
Gaza"s only Catholic
Church. "This
destruction, without
cause, is a crime."
Omar Shaban,
director of Caritas
member Catholic
Relief Service"s
office in Gaza, said
the constant attacks
by the Israeli
military into Gaza
have led to an
ever-worsening
situation for people
living in the Gaza
Strip.
"Even if we get 200
food packets for
families whose homes
have been destroyed,
the next day we need
200 more, because
every day more
people"s homes are
destroyed," Mr.
Shaban said. "Every
day it gets worse."
Fr Musallam
explained that the
constant flouting of
international laws,
and the lack of
respect for
Palestinian people,
has made it
difficult for him to
champion his message
of peace and
reconciliation.
"I will call for a
Day of Prayer for
Jerusalem on Sunday.
I will invite
Muslims, Christians,
and Jews to pray
together for peace.
We will continue to
pray, and to hope
for hope," he said,
"because people have
no hope, they see
nothing in their
future."
Caritas Jerusalem
has appealed to the
Confederation for
US$ 1.5 million to
help alleviate the
suffering of the 1.4
million
Palestinians, half
of them children,
who have been made
all the more
vulnerable by the
conflict. Caritas
Jerusalem reports
that shortages of
electricity, fuel,
food, water,
medicines, and
medical equipment
have reached
critical levels. The
infrastructure is
tattered; poorly
functioning
wastewater treatment
plants have led to
major public health
concerns.
Furthermore,
thousands of health
care workers and
government employees
have not received
salaries in months,
and are barely
scraping by.
Through its
programmes, Caritas
Jerusalem is
reaching out to
impoverished
Palestinian
families, helping to
cover basic needs
including food,
clothing, education
fees, and urgent
medical treatment.
Their job creation
programme aims to
provide
opportunities to
individuals with
limited financial
means who have been
unemployed for more
than six months.
Caritas Jerusalem is
also responding to
patients with urgent
health care needs
and those with
chronic illnesses
who have little or
no income. The
Caritas Jerusalem
Gaza Medical Center
team, in
coordination with
the Palestinian
Ministry of Health,
is treating the
injured and sick in
23 different areas,
including the Al
Maghazi Refugee
Camp, providing
medical care and
follow-up and
distributing
much-needed
medicines and
vitamins.
Caritas
Internationalis is a
confederation of 162
Catholic relief,
development, and
social service
organisations
present in 200
countries and
territories.
Media Officer,
Caritas
Internationalis
Palazzo San Calisto
00120 Vatican City
+39 06 69879752
mcnally@caritas.va