Gaza Rubbles Shock Westminster Archbishop
“I was deeply shocked at the effects of war and endemic poverty,” Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the leader of the Roman Catholic church in England and Wales told the Guardian.
“Pope Francis has said there must be an end to war, and when you see the effect in a place like Gaza it reinforces that.”
During his visit to the besieged enclave, Archbishop of Westminster toured neighborhoods of Gaza that were virtually flattened during the 50-day Israeli war on the strip.
Israel launched relentless airstrikes against Gaza from July 8 to August 26 where more than 2,100 were killed and thousands injured.
According to UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), about 80% of deaths in Gaza are civilians, including dozens of children and women.
Out of 2,131 Palestinians who died in the latest fighting, 501 were children, said the United Nations.
About 70% of the children killed were under 12, according to the UN children’s agency, UNICEF.
Cardinal Nichols visited a hospital and an industrial zone that were badly damaged by air strikes and shelling.
He has also visited an orphanage caring for dozens of traumatized and orphan children.
Months after the war, there was little sign of rubble being cleared, let alone reconstruction.
“It’s astonishing the number of people with the appearance of nothing to do – people just sitting on the streets. There is only the barest sense of order,” he said.
“This is not an economy that is going to be able to support its population.”
Source: On Islam
