The Secretary General of Cáritas Jerusalem, Anton Asfar, has denounced on Tuesday in Madrid the situation in Gaza and the West Bank after more than a year of conflict and the actions that the charitable organization of the Catholic Church is developing to alleviate the humanitarian disaster. «We have asked for a fire for fifteen months and now we have a truce, but it is fragile. In Gaza and the West Bank they continue to lose lives», He explained at a breakfast with the press at the national headquarters of Cáritas.
A truce that has allowed the entry of humanitarian aid, “that was very necessary, but not enough,” said Asfar, which has also specified that “when talking about caravans, they refer to a couple of convoys.” Nor is “heavy machinery” arriving, so reconstruction is still far. «What is coming is very compared to the needs of the peoplewhich is living in totally destroyed buildings, ”he added. “A day like today – in reference to the rains and the wind in Madrid this week – it is terrible, the canvases that cover them fly and people have no roof,” he denounced.
“There is food for a week, medicines for a month, but is not entering gasoline,” said the head of Caritas in the area. The lack of fuel further aggravates the situation, because “the most basic things need electricity, such as hospitals and primary care centers, which had generators to produce it,” which they can barely use. “Also Solar panels are destroyed»He explained. The lack of fuel, together with the power of electricity, also affects the water supply: «The desalination plant does not work and there is no running water. People are bathing in the sea, there is little hygiene and the danger that diseases will spread ».
Faced with this, Cáritas Jerusalem has been one of the few organizations that have been able keep aid from the first moment. Throughout the conflict, the teams were installed in the Catholic parish of the city of Gaza, dedicated to the Holy Family, and in the Orthodox, that of San Porfirio. Of its 150 workers, the organization has allocated 100 of them to the area of the Gaza Strip, who are accompanied by 80 volunteers.
The parishes have also become the main refuge of Christians in the area. At the beginning of the conflict «there were about 1,500 Catholic families and now there are only about 600; Many have left, ”he said. In October 2023, a bombing caused 18 fatalities in the Orthodox parish, among which was one of the workers of Cáritas, viola. Her husband also died and only her three -year -old daughter survived. «Viola was a very helpful person who embodied the Cáritas Jerusalem, ‘we put love in action’. The rest of the team was traumatized, ”he said.
He also explained that the help that the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, about ten million dollars, has been dedicated to emergency needs, such as medical materials, food packages and childhood care. Complementary initiatives to Cáritas projects, more focused on medical care and accompaniment to families. For his part, Pablo Reyero, responsible for the work of Spanish Caritas with Holy Land, also present at the event, has confirmed that Cáritas Española has allocated 300,000 euros to support different humanitarian assistance projects in Gaza, in addition to recently approved aid for Cáritas Jerusalem by Value of 1.5 million euros.
Asked about the future of the Palestinians in the strip, Anton Asfar explained that they intend to “stay” and that, although he is not a politician or activist, he considers that “the Trump plan cannot be applied in Gaza if the will of the inhabitants is taken into account.” In addition, the governments of Muslim countries in the area «They have no intention of welcoming Palestinian refugees in their territoriesas they did in 1948 «. »The Palestinian issue has been forgotten for decades, perhaps the international community has not pressed enough, but what we do as Caritas is to work for peace and promote justice. We try to work from a community perspective. We are trying to channel the anger and frustration of the population, ”he added.
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