Spanish musicologist David Catalunya performed the 11th-century liturgical chant "Benedicamus Domino Flos filius" using the original pipes of the Bethlehem Organ. Photo: Custody of the Holy Land.

Despite the Israeli army’s full incursion into Gaza, priests and nuns will remain in the city as witnesses of charity

Cardinal Pizzaballa and Greek Orthodox Theophilus III reject the prospect of «evacuation» in the face of the Israeli military operation already underway. “There can be no future based on imprisonment, the displacement of Palestinians, or revenge,” they say. The Sisters of Mother Teresa, who arrived in 1973 after the killing of the local parish priest, serve a community devastated by hunger and war. In Tel Aviv, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum is marking a “National Day of Struggle”.

Joint Statement by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem in response to Israel’s full invasion of Gaza

It seems that the Israeli government’s announcement that “the gates of hell will open” is indeed taking on tragic forms. The experience of past campaigns in Gaza, the declared intentions of the Israeli government with regard to the current operation, and the reports now reaching us from the ground, show that the operation is not just a threat, but a reality that is already in the process of being implemented. 

Israeli government approves settlement of more Palestinian territory; bishops of the Holy Land oppose

On August 20, Israel’s Higher Planning Council granted final approval for 3,753 housing units, including more than 3,400 in the long-disputed E1 corridor east of Jerusalem. The decision revives a project frozen for decades under U.S. pressure, yet now pushed forward by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who openly declared that the plan would “bury the idea of a Palestinian state.”

Dozens of Orthodox rabbis speak out against settler violence and Gaza’s humanitarian crisis

Eighty representatives of the Modern Orthodox movement, led by Rabbi Yosef Blau, have launched an appeal calling for «moral clarity» and «responsibility» based on the values of Jewish tradition. While condemning Hamas, they call for a «response» to the tragedy in Gaza and criticise the «disturbing proposals» of Smotrich and Ben Gvir. For the rabbis, they must “speak out when our government’s actions contradict the Torah’s moral imperatives”. The Latin Patriarchate warns of evacuation orders in neighbourhoods near Gaza Catholic parish.