Palestinians are living in ‘hell’, says Gaza priest

PALESTINIAN citizens are living in “hell” in Gaza, a priest from the territory has said as he called for a “necessary” ceasefire during a trip to Glasgow.

Father Gabriel Romanelli, Gaza’s only Catholic parish priest, is in Scotland to share the plight of his congregation in the Middle East. He has been unable to attend Holy Family Parish in Gaza since October 7, when Hamas launched its attacks in Israel.

He was in Bethlehem, in the Israel-occupied West Bank, at the time trying to source medicine for a nun and has been denied re-entry so far. However, he has been in regular contact with the more than 700 displaced people taking refuge in his church. The church was damaged slightly by shrapnel from strikes in the vicinity in December, and since Israel began its retaliation for the Hamas attacks, Father Gabriel said 32 Palestinian Christians have been killed, while others have fled the country, meaning the congregation has shrunk by 25%.

Speaking yesterday, he said: “I come to Glasgow with only a simple message. I am the parish priest of the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip of Palestine [and I] ask everyone to [do] anything to stop this war.”

He said a ceasefire is “necessary”, adding: “The ceasefire is not the solution but it is one necessary step to restart dialogue between the parties. The situation is terrible. From the terrible October 7 attacks, and also before, but especially from October 7, the situation is horrible.

“Gaza is a hell – almost hell – almost 34,000 killed there in spite of the 1200 people in Israel. The number of wounded in Israel is more than 4500. In the Gaza Strip, from the beginning of the war, 77,000 people there [are injured] and the majority of the victims are children and women.

“After more than six months, the consequences of this war are horrible, very, very bad, and not only for the Palestinian society, but also for Israel.”

The Argentinian-born priest began his Gaza mission in 2005 and said that Pope Francis sent his personal well-wishes to those taking refuge.