Brussels, July 17, 2025

Pax Christi International supports the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem and strongly condemns today’s Israeli military strike on Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza, a place of sanctuary for displaced civilians.

We stand in solidarity and prayer with all those Christians and Muslims sheltering in the parish compound.

We mourn those who have died,  Mr Saad Salameh, Mrs Fumayya Ayaad and Najwa Abu Daoud. We pray that they will rest in peace and send our deepest condolences to their families and friends. We hope for a good recovery for Fr Gabriel and all those injured in the attack.

We echo Pope Leo XIV and the Latin Patriarchate in calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

As the Patriarch has said, ‘The time has come for leaders to raise their voices and to do all that is necessary in order to stop this tragedy, which is humanly and morally unjustified.’

Pax Christi calls on the international community, political and religious, to raise their voices and take urgent action to protect all civilians and  humanitarian spaces to enable:

🔹 An immediate and permanent ceasefire and immediate access to humanitarian aid for everyone in Gaza, to be distributed through UNWRA and other experienced NGOs;
🔹 The release of all hostages, Israeli and Palestinian;
🔹 A complete arms embargo on Israel;
🔹 An end to all trade with illegal Israeli settlements;
🔹 An end to the Israeli siege on Gaza and the occupation of the West Bank.

Read the Statement from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem

We also encourage you to read the following statements. This list will be updated regularly.