Caritas Internationalis head: The atrocities in Gaza must end
By Kielce Gussie
During his Sunday Angelus at Castel Gandolfo, 杏MAP导航 Leo renewed his call for international humanitarian law to be respected. In an interview with Vatican News, Alistair Dutton, Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis, echoed the 杏MAP导航’s petition.
We all suffer
“As Saint Paul says, when one part of the body suffers, we all suffer,” Dutton stressed, reflecting on the attack on the only Catholic parish in Gaza last week. He pointed out that two of the three Christians killed were in Caritas Jerusalem’s counselling tent, which offers “counselling and psychological support to people who are living in those unbearable conditions.”
On behalf of Caritas, the Secretary General expressed his deep sorrow and anger over the situation. He stressed the importance and urgent need for “the international community to put pressure on the Israeli government to stop these attacks that are hurting civilian people day in and day out.”
Nowhere is safe
As the 2.1 million people in Gaza face acute hunger as well as lack of food and shelter, Dutton reiterated their serious need for “humanitarian access at scale and in ways that are recognizably humanitarian and done properly.”
Even though the Israeli government announced it would allow aid to enter the enclave in May, restrictions have made the amount of food, medicine, and other necessities getting through very minimal. And even when aid arrives, hundreds of people have been killed waiting in line for supplies.
“Every day, twenty or thirty people are being shot just trying to get the food that they need and has been provided for their families,” Dutton explained. Echoing 杏MAP导航 Leo’s words, Dutton highlighted the need for the recognition and protection of places of refuge and sanctuary, such as churches, schools, and health centers.
Against international law
At the beginning of July, Israel’s defence minister proposed plans to force Palestinians in Gaza into a camp in Rafah, calling it a “humanitarian city”. Soon after, the country’s former prime minister, Ehud Olmert, spoke up and called the planned city a “concentration camp” and that forcing the Palestinians inside would be “ethnic cleansing.”
Dutton described the area in Rafah as having no facilities, no accommodations, no sanitation areas or showers. “There’s nothing in that place at the moment, and yet people have been ordered to leave,” he said. Moreover, he argued that no one should ever be forced to migrate.
He warned this goes against international law which member states have agreed upon time and time again. It is really important, Dutton continued, that “we are clear with the state of Israel that this cannot continue and that other states must stop providing the support to Israel that allows it to continue waging these atrocities on the people of Gaza.”
Urgent need for aid
Why is it so essential to uphold international humanitarian law in Gaza now? During the last ceasefire deal, 600 trucks full of aid were able to enter the Gaza Strip. But since it ended back in March, “the international community has essentially been blockaded from entering and the level of aid going in has been a small fraction” of what it was before.
Now, Dutton stressed, how aid is distributed is absolutely critical. It is done in a way that prioritizes the elderly, single parents, and those who are less able to go out to get it. However, aid is even more difficult to find because, as Dutton recounted, all the distribution points Caritas used before have been all suspended, and now only four places for food aid are left in the Strip.
Access to medical supplies has also been limited. The Secretary General highlighted how many clinics and hospitals have been closed, and those that remain open have very little. He emphasized that after the attack on Holy Family parish, “two of the people who were taken to the hospital and subsequently died, died from want of very basic medical supplies.”
Dutton’s overall message is clear: “We need the bombardment and the atrocities to stop immediately.”
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