Gaza

The Latest

Pope Francis waves to pilgrims during his Angelus address on Dec. 17, 2023.

Pope Francis condemns reported Israeli sniper attack on Gaza Catholic church

Dec 17, 2023

By Matthew Santucci

The Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem reported that two women were shot by the IDF on Dec. 16. Read more

Smoke billows over the northern Gaza Strip during Israeli bombardment from southern Israel on December 14, 2023 amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Two women killed amid Israeli attack at Holy Family Parish in Gaza, Latin Patriarchate says

Dec 16, 2023

By Daniel Payne

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said two women were targeted by an Israeli sniper on Dec. 16. Read more

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem.

Latin patriarch of Jerusalem asks for donations in face of suffering, hatred in Holy Land

Nov 7, 2023

By Andrés Henríquez

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa explained that it is “charity and prayer” that have animated the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem “in times... Read more

Children sit together around a boy cooking instant noodles on a fire in a makeshift oven from a recycled barrel in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Oct. 31, 2023, amid ongoing battles between Israel and Hamas.

UNICEF director warns of looming ‘catastrophe’ in Gaza as water supplies dwindle

Oct 31, 2023

By Daniel Payne

The director warned this week of a looming humanitarian disaster in Gaza as clean drinking water supplies reportedly dwindle to... Read more

Workers prepare to distribute medical aid and medicines to Nasser Medical Hospital in the city of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, which recently arrived through the Rafah crossing on Oct. 29, 2023, in Khan Yunis, Gaza.

UN refugee director: Needs in Gaza ‘immense,’ aid ‘meager and inconsistent’

Oct 30, 2023

By Daniel Payne

The U.N. said Sunday that “thousands of desperate people” had “stormed U.N.-operated warehouses” and other aid distribution centers in the... Read more

Displaced Palestinians who fled their houses amid Israeli strikes wait at a food distribution point as they shelter in tents set up in a United Nations-run center following Israel's call for more than 1 million civilians in northern Gaza to move south, in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip on Oct. 26, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas.

EU leaders to call for humanitarian corridors in Gaza as war rages

Oct 26, 2023

By Jonah McKeown

Leaders will call for the establishment of “humanitarian corridors and pauses” to transport aid to civilians into the Gaza Strip. Read more

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Oct. 20, 2023.

Cardinal Pizzaballa: For Christians in Gaza Strip, temptation is to look for future elsewhere

Oct 25, 2023

By CNA Staff

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, speaks about the situation in the Holy Land in a recent interview... Read more

A general view of tents set up for Palestinians seeking refuge along the Gaza Strip on Oct. 20, 2023, in Khan Yunis, Gaza.

Catholic Relief president on aid to Gaza: Let’s ‘get it going,’ ‘take care of these people’

Oct 20, 2023

By Joe Bukuras

The leader said he was hoping for a quick reopening of border access in Gaza and deployment of aid to... Read more

Mass at the Church of the Holy Family for the Latins, Gaza.

‘We lack food and medicine’: Catholics in Gaza take refuge in only parish church

Oct 18, 2023

By Suhail Lawand

Holy Family Church is the only Roman Catholic parish in the Gaza Strip and is located in the northern part... Read more

Smoke increases after Israeli airstrikes on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Oct. 10, 2023.

What you need to know about the war between Israel and Hamas

Oct 17, 2023

By Diego López Marina

The ongoing tension in the Middle East has flared up again in a war between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian... Read more

Leaders of churches in Jerusalem issued a statement calling for an end to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Heads of churches in Jerusalem call on Israel to allow humanitarian aid to go to Gaza 

Oct 13, 2023

By Tyler Arnold

“We call upon all parties to de-escalate this war in order to save innocent lives while still serving the cause... Read more

Israel unleashed an attack in the northern Gaza Strip on Oct. 12, 2023, in Gaza City, Gaza.

Israel urges civilians in northern Gaza to evacuate

Oct 13, 2023

By Daniel Payne

In a message posted to its X account on Friday, the Israeli government “call[ed] on civilians in northern Gaza to... Read more

Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza at Christmas 2021.

Pastor of only Catholic church in Gaza: ‘Never have we seen things like this time’

Oct 10, 2023

By Julieta Villar

Father Gabriel Romanelli expressed his gratitude for the closeness, concern, and prayers, along with the “hundreds of messages” he receives... Read more

Pope Francis greets the crowd at his Regina Caeli address on May 14, 2023.

Pope Francis prays for cease-fire between Israelis and Palestinians

May 14, 2023

By Courtney Mares

The pope spoke hours after a truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) militants in Gaza went into... Read more

A Palestinian girl stands in front of a building destroyed during Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City. May 6, 2019.

CRS: Situation in Gaza still dire, despite ceasefire

May 8, 2019

Although a ceasefire has calmed a violent situation in Gaza, one Catholic aid agency warned that the people living there... Read more

Gaza-Israel border.

Pope prays for peace amid escalating violence in Gaza

Apr 9, 2018

At least eight Palestinians were killed and hundreds more injured by Israeli military forces last week, during the second week... Read more

The Interfaith Women's group in Lahore held a candlelight prayer service for victims of violence in Iraq and Gaza.

Interfaith women's group begs UN to act in Middle East

Sep 1, 2014

An inter-religious women’s group in Pakistan has appealed to the United Nations to offer support and protection for those suffering... Read more

Fr. David Neuhaus, Patriarchal vicar for Hebrew speaking Catholics, speaks with CNA August 28, 2014.

Jerusalem priest to Israel, Palestine: Humanize one another

Aug 29, 2014

By Elise Harris

Following the agreement of an indefinite ceasefire in Gaza earlier this week, a key priest in Jerusalem says the only... Read more

  Bishop William Shomali, Auxiliary Bishop of Jerusalem, speaks with CNA on May 26, 2014.

No one wins by destroying each other, Jerusalem bishop says

Aug 27, 2014

By Elise Harris

Bishop William Shomali of Jerusalem hopes the new indefinite ceasefire in Gaza will hold, cautioning that victory cannot come from... Read more

(L-R) Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, Pope Francis, Israeli president Shimon Peres, and Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I, June 8, 2014.

Interreligious leaders call for two-state solution in Holy Land

Aug 15, 2014

By Matt Hadro

More than 30 Christian, Jewish, and Muslim leaders in the United States called for a two-state solution to the Israel-Gaza... Read more