Catholic Relief Services(CRS) of the United States Catholic Bishops urgently called on the international community to ensure immediate access to humanitarian aid in Gaza.
In a statement sent to ACI Prensa, CRS calls for “immediate humanitarian access to be allowed before an extreme humanitarian situation turns into a catastrophe.”
“Civilians in Gaza have the right to safety and protection, whether in the north or the south,” says CRS.
On 7 October, the Hamas terrorist group launched an attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip. The attack caused more than 1,400 deaths, including some 260 people who were massacred while participating in a music festival in Israeli territory.
An unknown number of civilians, including women and children, have been kidnapped by Hamas and its sympathizers.
The Catholic humanitarian agency at the same time asks “the international parties concerned to work towards a ceasefire and an end to the violence, which has killed more than 3,000 people.”
“We join Pope Francis’ call for people around the world to ‘pray for peace in Israel and Palestine,’” the note concludes.