Charles Esther
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster and president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, has strongly condemned Israel’s recently approved plan to take control of Gaza City.
The statement, issued on August 8, 2025, came shortly after Israel’s security cabinet endorsed a five-step strategy that includes disarming Hamas, releasing all hostages, demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, placing Gaza under temporary Israeli control, and eventually replacing Hamas with a friendly Arab administration.
Concern Over Escalating Suffering in Gaza
Nichols expressed deep sorrow for the people of Gaza, warning that the proposed plan would not only continue their suffering but escalate their hardship and desperation.
“To increase the destruction of Gaza City and then the rest of its territory, in order to defeat a terrorist organization and movement, is a development that is rightly being condemned around the world,” he said, adding that there “must be a better way” to address the crisis without causing further harm to civilians.
Call for an Alternative Peace Strategy
The cardinal urged leaders to seek solutions that do not inflict additional misery on noncombatants, stressing that too much innocent blood has already been shed.
“This war must be ended, not increased,” he said, calling for a strategy rooted in compassion and justice rather than destruction.
Solidarity with Gaza’s Faithful and Church Leaders
Nichols voiced support for the Catholic community in Gaza and for Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, noting his consistent calls for peace, humanitarian aid, and support for Holy Family Parish.
He invoked prayers to Our Lady of Gaza and St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, whose feast day fell on August 9, as a source of spiritual strength for those suffering.
Recent Attack on Gaza’s Catholic Church
The condemnation follows an Israeli strike nearly a month earlier that “mistakenly” hit Gaza’s only Catholic church, Holy Family, killing three people and injuring 15 others.
Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), joined other church leaders in urging an immediate ceasefire after the incident.
Bishop Abdallah Elias Zaidan, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on International Justice and Peace, also called for expanding humanitarian aid through all available channels in Gaza.
Journalists Killed in Gaza Airstrike
On Monday, five Al Jazeera journalists and a freelance reporter were killed by an Israeli airstrike on a press tent outside Al Shifa Hospital in eastern Gaza City, according to Reuters.
Israel claimed one of the victims, Anas al-Sharif, was a Hamas operative, but Al Jazeera denied the accusation.
The attack drew condemnation from journalists, human rights organizations, and the United Nations.
David Awoyode