Gaza's parish priest appeals in video: 'For mercy's sake stop this war, stop killing people'

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Fr Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest at the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza, which is sheltering more than 400 people, posted a video this week, in which he described the desperate conditions people are living in.

Speaking in Spanish he says: "Everyone here is pleading for mercy: to take pity, for mercy, for compassion, for them to stop this war, for them to stop shooting… for them to stop killing people, for them to stop bombing,"

The video begins in the church where a few people are praying and there is a sudden loud explosion which frightens a young child.

With the continuous sound of drones and explosions in the background, Fr Gabriel says, in Gaza "the bombings continue, continue very loudly, are heard very loudly, they come in search of sounds, despite the fact that some are only 200, 300 metres away, they are 500 metres, 700 metres, it sounds very strong, I can't imagine the people who are there or in those places. Every day there are dead and more dead."

He says sometimes he doesn't know what to say to those who have lost loved ones: "I'm dying without words, we're falling apart without words, tiredness is also felt. There's no real progress."

Fr Gabriel says he advises people to ask Our Lady of Sorrows to comfort people. He says: "There are people under the rubble, there are people who are injured under the rubble, there are people who are not injured but cannot get out, others who are in areas where anyone who goes out on the street is a dead person. According to Civil Defense data, there are many dead … It's all very sad."

Parishioners sheltering in the church are unable to go back to their destroyed homes. They are not allowed to "reconstruct the houses of the people where they were born, their ancestors, where they have a right to be".

The film gives glimpse of liturgies taking place in the church and shows the Missionaries of Charity Sisters organising activities with the children.

Fr Gabriel expresses his gratitude to Pope Leo and the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who have appealed for peace so many times. He says: "so much evil, so little compassion, we must cling more to God to try to be better, even in the little things, praying for everyone, for the living and the dead: Jews, Muslims, Russians, those without religion, because all have been created by God" and all "are called to participate in the fullness of the life of the Most Holy Trinity."

He concludes his message promising to continue helping those in his care and praying "that God in his mercy takes care of everyone and grants us the end of this war."

The Holy Family Church is the only Catholic church in Gaza. The parish includes a school which provides a Christian education to children, It works closely with the nearby religious congregations including the Missionaries of Charity (founded by Mother Teresa) who care for the elderly and disabled, and the Rosary Sisters who operate a school. The community is served by priests from the Institute of the Incarnate Word. Argentinian Fr Gabriel, has served in Gaza since 2005.

According to tradition, Gaza was the place where the Holy Family rested on their flight to Egypt.

Watch the video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0dmPzWEtsg