Johannesburg, 17 October, 2023 / 9:50 pm (ACI Africa).
Members of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) are appealing for a ceasefire to the Israel-Palestine war and advocate for a “humane” solution to the violent conflict.
According to media reports, at least 2,808 Palestinians and 1,400 Israelis have been killed in the war that started on the morning of October 7 when Hamas, an Islamist militant group governing Palestine’s Gaza strip, attacked Israeli citizens in Southern Israel.
"The Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference appeals for a ceasefire and that a humane way of dealing with the present situation be found to eliminate further suffering and deaths," the Bishops say in a Monday, October 16 statement.
In the statement that SACBC President, Bishop Sithembele Sipuka, signed, the Catholic Church leaders in Botswana, Eswatini, and South Africa further say that while the Israeli government has a right and obligation to protect its citizens, the bombardment of Gaza “is causing the suffering and death of a huge number of civilian Palestinians with no connection to Hamas activities.”
They lament and explain, “Hamas's killing of ordinary Israeli citizens cannot be justified even by the cause Hamas claims to be fighting for. Equally, the hurt, anger, and sense of obligation by the Israeli government to avenge Hamas's acts and prevent it from causing further harm does not justify the means they apply towards this end as it results in the suffering and death of innocent Palestinians.”
