Visiting Gaza, region’s top Catholic official says there’s no hunger anymore, urges pressure on Hamas

There is no hunger currently in Gaza, says the top Catholic official in the region, adding that pressure should be applied on Hamas to agree to US President Donald Trump’s 20-point vision for the future of the Strip.

“The food is there, at least,” says Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa after visiting the only Catholic church in Gaza over the weekend. “We have to say that there’s not anymore famine or hunger. Things are entering. Not everything, but it’s a totally different situation compared to six months ago.”

Bishop William Shomali, patriarchal vicar for Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, concurs with Pizzaballa’s assessment in their press conference at the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem: “There is in the market something to eat, even fruits, even vegetables, but it is to be paid by money or by PayPal. Not everyone has cash. So the problem remains. There’s fruit, but many people, like in the West Bank, they can find everything, but they need money to buy it finally.”

“There’s poverty, extreme poverty, especially that many people, most of them, don’t work, so they don’t have revenue,” Shomali continues. “They don’t receive anything. And they live from the help given by the UN agencies. Also, I am proud to say that Catholic associations are very active.”

There is a lack of antibiotics in the Strip as well, says Shomali. “Antibiotics became like a hard currency,” he laments.

Gazans he met with want “to return to life,” says Pizzaballa. “We want to talk about the future. Our community, they wanted to celebrate Christmas joyfully.”

Pizzaballa says that he hopes that Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza “will be completed.”

“We know that it’s not that simple as people think, but it is the only roadmap we have, so we have to continue this,” the patriarch continues.

“I think the other countries and those who are in relations with Hamas should work a lot in order to convince them about this,” says Pizzaballa. “We are convinced that Gaza needs to turn the page and to have a completely different future.”

He also decries the use of violence in Gaza: “It’s not up to us to enter in the political questions, direct political questions, but the use of violence, we saw the result. It broke, and we are against all of this.”