The Sisters of Mercy of the Americas call for an end to the blockade of Gaza to enable food and humanitarian aid to be delivered to the suffering people. The scale of misery in Gaza is catastrophic; the territory and its people are being obliterated in the conflict, now in its 19th month.
We echo the forceful cry from Pope Leo XIV for “ceasefire now!” and to “completely respect humanitarian law.”
“From the Gaza Strip,” the Pope said, we hear “rising ever more insistently to the heavens, the cries of mothers and fathers who clutch the lifeless bodies of their children, and who are continually forced to move about in search of a little food and water and safer shelter from bombardments.”
Israel’s massive and indiscriminate military attacks have killed over 50,000 people, and untold numbers have died from disease or starvation. Around 80% of the infrastructure has been destroyed, rendering the 140 square-mile strip unfit for human habitation. Adding to the cruelty, it also is preventing food, medical supplies and fuel from entering the area.
Thousands of trucks with aid remain lined up waiting to enter Gaza, and the UN’s top humanitarian official said on May 20 that 14,000 babies could die over the next days if supplies do not reach them.
The United States is playing a major role in perpetuating this conflict, providing massive amounts of military aid, despite consistent violations of U.S. and international laws, and the United States has a moral obligation to try to end it.
Time is running out. Hear the cries of the children in Gaza. Stop the bloodshed. Open the doors to peace and aid.