«It is an important first start, even if fragile. This night was seamless. We slept without being woken up by the bombs, by the fear of splinters, by the noise of the drones.” Father Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest of the Holy Family, in Gaza, he comments on the first night spent in the Strip after the start of the truce. «A first step», he repeats, «which will lead to the release of 33 Israeli hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. However, we must also say that there is still no talk of borders and the possibility for people to be able to rebuild.”
Are people returning to their homes?
«Many houses have been reduced to rubble, others do not have essential services. And in any case very few have managed to get close to their homes because it is still considered a military zone. International help is needed to rebuild, to redo the sewerage, water and electricity systems. Even if we don’t talk about this yet, the truce is a breath of fresh air, of hope.”
What is your greatest wish?
«See where their house was, but also go to the port to fish, to see the sea. Israeli authorities have said they can’t get close yet. After more than a year, everyone would like to go and see. Gaza is beautiful, it is on the Mediterranean, with the same panorama as Tel Aviv, with its beaches, the sea air… This is also a sign that, although an important step, the truce is not synonymous with peace, not yet.”
Did you hear the Pope the night before?
«We talk every day, the evening before the ceasefire he wanted to talk to us via video call. All the refugees were here to greet him, to say thank you and he said that it was an important step, that peace is coming.”
How was it in the parish last night?
“Well. After a strangely silent day, in which we were surprised not to even hear the control drones except a little in the evening, we thanked the Lord. It was a clear night, we didn’t wake up because of the bombing, we didn’t tremble because the shrapnel fell… And then we received help from the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem: fruit and vegetables. All our young people immediately got to work last night and this morning to make bags to distribute to the thousands of families in the oldest part of the city, the poorest.”
What will you do now?
«First of all we continue to pray, to thank the Lord. Already yesterday we had three thanksgiving masses. Then we continue to help the refugees, with the routine of these months. Material and spiritual help. Every day we have holy hour, mass with the homily, and pastoral groups for reading the Bible, that of Saint Joseph for men and that of Saint Anna for women, we have the oratory for the children and then let’s have a lesson. The schools were bombed and until they are rebuilt we cannot reopen as before. Before the war we had three Catholic schools with 2,250 students. Now we have lessons for the refugees in the tents. And then we do everyday things, laundry, cooking, cleaning. All things that help us move forward.”
But is there something that Christians above all can do to strengthen the truce and achieve peace?
«Yes, first of all pray and have people pray, offer sacrifices because peace is a gift from the Lord. Peace includes the conversion of hearts, therefore it is a supremely divine act for which we must invoke the Lord. Secondly, we must ask those who have more power and influence that this truce be respected, or rather that the days of truce be shortened to make room for true peace and reconstruction. Many international analyzes say that it will take 14 years to remove the rubble and rebuild Gaza, so it is better to start earlier without wasting any more months. We must talk about peace, for the good of Palestine and Israel. Most people are civilians and want an end to the war, they need to go back to living, but not as it was before that terrible October 7th. Gaza was an open-air prison, we must not go back to the way it was before. We need freedom, open borders. Thirdly continue with material help. In our case, the safest channel is through the diocese of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Therefore, I also say this to your readers, respond to the patriarch’s appeal to send, through the Catholic Church, food, water, medicine, closeness”.
