THE war in Gaza is “no longer a defensive war, but a war of aggression”, and a “grave sin that violently assaults God-given human dignity”, the House of Bishops said in a statement on Thursday morning.
The Hamas terrorist attacks on 7 October 2023 were “heinous” and Israel has a “right to self-defence in line with international law. . . Yet, the Government of Israel has shown through its statements and actions that this is no longer a defensive war, but a war of aggression,” the Bishops say.
Any “forced displacement” of Palestinians from Gaza -— as suggested by members of the Israeli government — would “constitute an egregious breach of international humanitarian law”, the Bishops say.
“As Bishops we are compelled to state clearly and unequivocally that the death, suffering and destruction being inflicted on Gaza is a grave sin that violently assaults God-given human dignity and the very integrity of God’s creation.”
The statement was agreed at a residential House of Bishops meeting in York this week. It calls for an end to the war, the release of hostages still held by Hamas, access for aid agencies, and the cessation of settlement expansion in the West Bank.
The Bishops call on governments to recognise Palestine as a sovereign state, and welcome as a “necessary first step” the UK’s decision this week to suspend negotiations on a new trade agreement with Israel.
The statement also condemns a gun attack in Washington, DC, on Wednesday night, in which two members of Israeli embassy staff were killed, and “antisemitic rhetoric or action in all its forms”.
The Bishops’ statement came as international pressure on Israel mounted this week over the lack of food and other vital supplies entering Gaza.
AlamyA truck loaded with humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip makes its way to the Kerem Shalom crossing
On Wednesday morning, Pope Leo XIV called for humanitarian aid to be allowed into the territory, and for an end to hostilities. In an audience in St Peter’s Square, he said that the situation in Gaza was “increasingly worrying and painful”.
Israel has blocked aid deliveries to Gaza for weeks while escalating its air and ground offensive. As of Wednesday morning, it was reported that no food aid had been distributed.
A joint statement by the governments of UK, France, and Canada, on Monday, described the level of suffering in Gaza as “intolerable”. The actions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government were described “egregious”, and the announcement that Israel would allow a “basic amount of food” to enter the territory was described by the leaders as “wholly inadequate”.
It was the most strongly worded public criticism of Israel by the three countries since the offensive on Gaza began in response to the Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel in October 2023.
“We have always supported Israel’s right to defend Israelis against terrorism. But this escalation is wholly disproportionate,” the leaders said. “If Israel does not cease the renewed military offensive and lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid, we will take further concrete actions in response.”
The intervention came amid dire warnings of the effects of famine in Gaza. Fourteen thousand babies would die in the next 48 hours if aid did not get through, the UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, said on Tuesday morning.
“Let me describe what is on those trucks: this is baby food, baby nutrition. . . This is not food that Hamas is going to steal,” he said.
Last week, in a briefing to the UN Security Council, Mr Fletcher asked delegates to reflect on “what action we will tell future generations we each took to stop the 21st century atrocity to which we bear daily witness in Gaza. It is a question we will hear, sometimes incredulous, sometimes furious — but always there — for the rest of our lives.”
In a post on X, the Bishop of Chelmsford, Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, praised Mr Fletcher’s speech as “courageous”.
The Dean of St George’s College, Jerusalem, the Very Revd Canon Richard Sewell, told the Church Times on Wednesday morning that the UK’s toughened stance, which includes suspending trade talks with Israel, had “lifted the mood slightly”, but warned that the situation remained “utterly grim”.
Dean Sewell was speaking from Jerusalem, where he was fasting for 24 hours to draw attention to the “intolerable” situation in Gaza.
“I just felt I had to do something, small though it is, but nevertheless something that catches attention,” he said. “We mustn’t lose our sense of outrage at things that are totally and utterly inhumane. We are all impacted by that: it’s like the soul of the world is diseased.”
Christian Aid and Embrace the Middle East have promoted the Dean’s call for a fast. People have posted their support and participation on social media under the hashtag #FastforGaza.