Development and Peace – Caritas Canada media release

On Monday, July 8, 2024, a missile struck the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv, Ukraine, reportedly killing two adults, including a doctor, and injuring 50 people, including eight children. Since February 2022, there have been an estimated 1,400 attacks on health care facilities across Ukraine.

On July 7, 2024, Israeli occupation forces bombed the Holy Family School in Gaza, killing at least four people. The attack was decried by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which runs the school where hundreds of civilians were sheltering. Four schools were targeted just since the last weekend, and already a month ago, over 500 schools had been damaged or destroyed. This is not to mention the 1,300+ attacks on health care facilities in Gaza, and the frequent closures of hospitals―including Al-Ahli Arab Hospital July 8.

These developments validate Pope Francis’s January 2024 observation that “In a context where it appears that the distinction between military and civil targets is no longer respected, there is no conflict that does not end up in some way indiscriminately striking the civilian population. The events in Ukraine and Gaza are clear proof of this.”

According to a UN report, over 11,200 civilians have been killed and more than 22,500 have been injured since Russia invaded Ukraine. The situation is even worse in Gaza, where the estimated toll of Israel’s attacks over the last nine months stands at 38,193 Palestinians killed and 87,903 injured.

“Schools, universities, churches, mosque, hospitals, refugee camps… these are all sacrosanct,” said Carl Hétu, executive director of Development and Peace ― Caritas Canada.

Hétu added “The brutal war crime of attacking such civilian spaces must stop right now. That is why we are calling for immediate ceasefires in both Ukraine and Gaza. Canada must work with the international community to bring about just and lasting peace for the Ukrainian and Palestinian people.”

Donations from Canadians have allowed Development and Peace – Caritas Canada to support local partners in Ukraine and its neighbouring countries and in the Holy Land in delivering vital aid and services to thousands of conflict-affected people.

Development and Peace – Caritas Canada is accepting donations online for Ukraine (LINK)  and for Gaza (LINK)  or donate by phone at 1-888-234-8533 or by mailing a cheque to: Development and Peace-Caritas Canada, 555 René-Lévesque Blvd. West, 8th Floor, Montreal (Quebec), Canada, H2Z 1B1.

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