Jewish, Christian and Muslim Leaders Call for Aid to Gaza as WHO Reports Starvation

As hunger spreads across Gaza, faith leaders are expanding their appeals for the suffering to end. The appeals have grown in the wake of a World Health Organisation (WHO) report that large sections of Gaza’s population are now experiencing starvation.

More than 400 rabbis signed a letter urging the Israeli government to allow aid into Gaza, halt settler violence, and pursue peace. The letter, from Jewish leaders around the world, calls on Israel to respect all innocent life and urges the entry of “extensive humanitarian aid into Gaza under international supervision, while guarding against control or theft by Hamas.” The source notes that Israel stopped aid deliveries to Gaza in early March, following a two-month ceasefire, citing factors including Hamas stealing the aid supply.

The letter cites “the sanctity of life” and core Torah values, including the belief that “every person is created in God’s image” and the commandment to “treat every human being justly.” It describes “the severe limitation placed on humanitarian relief in Gaza” and “the policy of withholding of food, water, and medical supplies from a needy civilian population” as being in conflict with Jewish values. “Repeated statements of intention and actions by ministers in the Israeli government, by some officers in the Israeli army, and the behaviour of criminally violent settler groups in the West Bank, often with police and military support, have been major factors in bringing us to this crisis,” the letter reads.

The letter also addresses violence in the West Bank. The rabbis called on Israeli authorities to “use the forces of law and order to end settler violence on the West Bank and vigorously investigate and prosecute settlers who harass and assault Palestinians,” a call for protecting the vulnerable (Proverbs 31:8-9). The letter also urges political dialogue, calling for “open channels of dialogue together with international partners to lead toward a just settlement, ensuring security for Israel, dignity and hope for Palestinians, and a viable peaceful future for all the region.”

On 19 July, the Muslim Council of Elders, led by His Eminence Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, condemned Israeli attacks, which it said violate international laws, and warned of the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

In a joint press conference held on 22 July in Jerusalem, His Beatitude Theophilos III, Patriarch of Jerusalem, and His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem, delivered a pastoral and humanitarian testimony after their visit to Gaza, where they had witnessed firsthand the immense suffering of its people under bombardment, siege, and deprivation. Patriarch Theophilos III described Gaza as “a land pierced by the wounds of war, where the innocent bleed beneath the weight of a merciless assault.” The two patriarchs underscored that the ongoing destruction in Gaza is a humanitarian and moral catastrophe that cannot be ignored.

Speaking after the Angelus prayer on Sunday, 27 July, Pope Leo XIV said he is following with deep concern the extremely grave humanitarian situation in Gaza, where the civilian population is being crushed by hunger and continues to be exposed to violence and death. “Every human being has an intrinsic dignity bestowed by God Himself. I urge all parties in every conflict to recognise this dignity and to cease all actions that violate it.”

Rev. Prof. Michel Abs, secretary general of the Middle East Council of Churches, expressed his feelings through a poem, which read in part: “From beneath the rubble, we call to you. From the heart of tragedy, we cry out. We are the children of Palestine, the people of Gaza, abandoned by all the nations of the world, betrayed by governments that defied their own people who stood in solidarity with us.”

ACT Alliance general secretary Rudelmar Bueno de Faria said that the starvation in Gaza is a deep wound on the conscience of humanity. “Turning humanitarian aid into a weapon of war is a grave violation of international law and human dignity,” he said. “People of faith cannot remain silent in the face of such suffering. We call for an immediate ceasefire, full and sustained humanitarian access, and an end to the siege that is suffocating millions of innocent lives.”

Source: Read the original report