Pastor clarifies: Gaza Catholic parish is not under evacuation order

The priest of the only Catholic parish in Gaza has clarified in a statement to Vatican News that the parish and its neighborhood area are not under an evacuation order, clarifying earlier reports indicating the opposite. 

“There has been NO order of evacuation in this area of our neighborhood. Our area is in the Old City of Gaza, within the larger neighborhood of Zeytoun,” Father Gabriel Romanelli, IVE, of Holy Family Parish, told Vatican News Aug. 19. 

He added that the local area remains dangerous and bombings nearby and far away continue regularly. 

“Unfortunately, the war continues. And, with the war, every day more dead, wounded, and destruction are added… and the needs of every kind for the entire civilian population of Gaza grow,” he told the publication. “We are well, thanks be to God. We continue to pray for peace.”

According to an Aug. 18 CatholicVote article, Hamas has reportedly agreed to a hostage exchange and 60-day ceasefire with Israel. According to Reuters, Hamas issued a statement of its approval of the proposal brokered by Qatari and Egyptian mediators. Axios reported that Israeli officials have yet to confirm they will accept the agreement and said they have not received a written response from Hamas yet regarding the deal. 

This week, Pope Leo XIV asked the faithful to observe Aug. 22 as a day of prayer and fasting for peace and justice as armed conflicts continue.

Aug. 22 marks the memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is also invoked as the Queen of Peace, the Pope said in his Aug. 20 General Audience. 

Pope Leo also asked the faithful to pray Aug. 22 that the Lord will “dry the tears of those who suffer as a result of the ongoing armed conflicts,” having noted that the “earth continues to be wounded by wars in the Holy Land, in Ukraine, and in many other regions of the world.”

He concluded, “Mary, Queen of Peace, intercede so that peoples may find the path to peace.”