Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, believes the ceasefire agreement reached by Israel and Hamas was “absolutely necessary” and called for immediate attention to be given to food, health, and educational needs.
In an initial assessment offered to Vatican News, the cardinal said that in the Holy Land “people are happy because this war has worn us down, exhausted us, and wounded everyone’s lives,” even though “the situation remains very fragile.”
“This is only the first step,” the cardinal said, noting that the peace process is a long one, involving the resolution of conflict through negotiation.
“Peace will take much longer to achieve because the end of the war is not the end of the conflict,” he added.
Pizzaballa expressed the need to “do everything possible to ensure that the ceasefire lasts,” which has been possible now “because perhaps the human and international political conditions have matured,” despite the fact that the ceasefire was put forward in the same terms months ago.
“The important thing at this moment is to turn the page immediately and begin to deal above all with the very serious humanitarian situation in Gaza,” he said, since “from a humanitarian point of view, it should be easier to provide what is necessary for the life of the population, which depends 100% on foreign aid.”
Beyond the food crisis, the cardinal emphasized the need to “face the other two great urgent needs of the population,” which are education and health, including for the Christian community.
“I am sure that with the help of the many international organizations we will be able to create the necessary coordination to begin to resolve the humanitarian problem, which will take a long time,” he predicted.
Holy Family Parish in Gaza will also be involved in this task, with which Pizzaballa is in constant contact: “The people of our community in Gaza are very happy, of course; they still can’t believe it! But the idea that there is a ceasefire and that we are turning the page gives a feeling of liberation at the moment.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
