Gaza ceasefire an ‘encouraging sign of peace’ for the Middle East, U.S. bishop says

WASHINGTON (OSV News) — The negotiations on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the first release of hostages to begin Jan. 19 are seen as an “encouraging sign of peace,” said Bishop A. Elias Zaidan of the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace.

“At the beginning of this Jubilee Year, it is with great hope that I receive the news of a negotiated ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the ongoing release of hostages and prisoners,” he said in a Jan. 16 statement.

“This is an encouraging sign of peace for a region that has seen far too much bloodshed and destruction. I pray that this peace can take firm and lasting root in the Middle East, and I renew my gratitude for the crucial, peacebuilding role that the United States has played in this ceasefire and hostage release,” the bishop said.

Catholic leaders in the Middle East reacted similarly to the U.S. bishop about these developments, saying it was long past time for an end to a war that has worn people down but emphasizing the agreement reached is just a first step.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, told Vatican News that the ceasefire, announced Jan. 15, is “the necessary turning point we needed.”

“In every context, people are happy because this war has worn us down, exhausted us and wounded everyone’s lives,” the patriarch said, but this is “only the first step,” he added, explaining that the process of lasting peace is a long one.

“Peace will take much longer to achieve because the end of the war is not the end of the conflict,” he told Vatican Media.

Father Ibrahim Faltas, vicar of the Custody of the Holy Land, echoed the patriarch’s worries about lasting peace being achieved, telling Vatican News that in the 15-month war “no one has won,” but “everyone has lost.”

“There are forces within both sides, and perhaps especially in the Israeli front, that have ill-digested this first step toward appeasement, and are gearing up to sabotage the agreement in various forms,” Father Faltas said.

He also told Vatican News about the first enthusiastic messages he got from wounded Gaza children he helped bring to Italy in the course of the war. They wrote to him in Italian on Jan. 15: “Abuna, abuna!” — “Father, Father! It’s over! The war is over!” Father Faltas said. “They moved me to tears.”

Bishop Zaidan, for his part, echoed Pope Francis’ calls for a “‘diplomacy of hope’ based on truth, forgiveness, freedom, and justice,” adding that he wishes “the dense clouds of war may be swept away by renewed winds of peace. This signal of peace can be a beacon of real hope for the Middle East and all regions of the world suffering from war.”

In a statement released Jan. 16 by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land said they hoped the ceasefire “will mark an important end to the violence that has caused immeasurable suffering.”

“It is a necessary step to halt the destruction and meet the urgent humanitarian needs of countless families affected by the conflict,” the statement read.

The bishops’ statement echoed remarks made by Father Francesco Patton, the custos of the Holy Land, to SIR, the news service of the Italian bishops’ conference, not long after the deal was announced.

The custos of the Holy Land was critical of the international community, saying it had “been glaringly absent during these long months of war” and said it “must now make it clear to everyone that it still exists and maintains a constructive capacity” in guiding both Israel and Hamas.

The church, as much as it was possible, tried to provide aid to suffering people in Gaza.

“Since the start of the crisis, the Church, through Catholic Relief Services and its local partners, has played a key role in providing food, cash assistance, shelter, sanitation, and emotional and social support to displaced communities,” Bishop Zaidan said.

“We pray that the ceasefire will allow the Church to reach even more vulnerable people. Let us continue to pray for a sustainable and lasting peace in the region and the world,” he said.

Father Patton added in his remarks: “I hope that starting Sunday, hostages and prisoners will actually begin to be freed, and that from here a path will begin, surely a long one, toward stabilization to make Gaza livable again and, at the same time, governable.”

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that a deal to return hostages held in the Gaza Strip was approved Jan. 17, The Associated Press reported, after his office said earlier there were last minute snags in finalizing a ceasefire. Israel’s Security Cabinet approved the deal and the full Cabinet planned to ratify it later the same day.

Families of hostages were informed that their family members are within the first group scheduled to be released, and a special task force was preparing to receive the hostages returning from Gaza, AP said.

According to the agreement document, Israel will release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners who were arrested on Oct. 8, 2023, but were not involved in Hamas’ attack on Israel the day before. Of the 33 hostages Hamas is expected to release, nine who are ill and injured will be exchanged for 110 Palestinian prisoners with life sentences, according to the document.

The Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israeli communities killed 1,200 people and in the subsequent Israel-Hamas war 46.600 Palestinians, according to Gaza Health Ministry, with the military campaign leveling vast swaths of Gaza, and pushing about 90 percent of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million from their homes.

A day after the ceasefire deal was reached — but not yet approved by Israel — Gaza’s Health Ministry said 72 people were killed Jan. 16 in Israeli strikes and that the number only included bodies brought to two hospitals in Gaza City and that the number killed was likely higher, AP reported.

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