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Join us this Holy Week for a poignant and inspiring event, “Philip Farah: Gaza Remembered, a Call for Solidarity and Peace.” In the spirit...

With pressure for a cease-fire increasing, 11 days of Israeli airstrikes in Gaza are taking a toll both mentally and physically on the Gaza population, said Bassam Nasser, head of the Gaza office for Catholic Relief Services.

Since early May 11, Israeli bombs have been falling around the Rosary Sisters school in Gaza, which sustained light to moderate damage inside and outside the compound -- including to the front door and solar panels used for electricity.

The 50-day war cost the lives of more than 2,250 Palestinians a year ago, 65 percent of whom were civilians, with the blockade of Gaza by Israel growing more intense, a priest in Gaza City said.

With close to a quarter of a million Palestinians rendered homeless by the continuing and intensifying fighting between Hamas and Israel in Gaza, the Coordinating Catholic Aid Organizations met three times in as many days to organize action to confront the humanitarian crisis.

The situation in hospitals in the Gaza Strip is dire, and Palestinians are saying that medical supplies will soon run out, said a cardiologist who serves with the Near East Council of Churches in Gaza. By July 14, more than 170 people — about half civilians — had been killed in Gaza, and hundreds more were injured.

JERUSALEM (CNS) -- As diplomatic efforts were underway to reach a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel Nov. 20, Catholics on both sides of the Gaza border prayed for peace.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis plans to launch a humanitarian project in Gaza or the West Bank with the possible help of the traditional Good Friday collection for the Holy Land, said the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches. "The outbreak of the war in Gaza, after the events of October 7, paralyzed the Holy Land. The lack of pilgrims and tourists has put thousands of families in difficulty," the dicastery said in its annual appeal to bishops around the world asking them to urge their people to generously support this year's collection.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis appealed for perseverance in praying for peace, especially in the Holy Land where the conflict is no longer "warfare," but has become "terrorism." "Please, let's move toward peace. Pray for peace," the pope said. "May the Lord help us to not keep going to the point of killing everyone. "At the end of his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square Nov. 22, the pope reminded everyone "not to forget to persevere in prayer for those who are suffering because of wars in so many parts of the world, especially for the dear people of Ukraine, martyred Ukraine, and Israel and Palestine."

The Very Reverend Fr. Peter Boutros, pastor of St. John of the Desert Melkite Catholic Church, has a word of caution for those who might be glued to the news emanating from Israel as the crisis in the Middle East deepens. “We need to start looking at things a little bit more, look at the depth of things, not just lump everybody together,” Fr. Boutros said.