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WASHINGTON — Amid growing concern from humanitarian organizations and Catholic leaders, including Pope Leo XIV, about a hunger crisis in Gaza, President Donald Trump acknowledged the crisis and said the U.S. would be “going to be even more involved” in the response.
Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace, issued a statement July 31 commending Trump “for acknowledging that starvation is happening in Gaza, especially affecting children, and I urge him to demand the immediate expansion of humanitarian assistance through all channels in Gaza.”
Trump’s longtime ally Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied that starvation is occurring in Gaza, an account contradicted by international humanitarian organizations.
Catholic Relief Services and its on-the-ground partners are among those trying to deliver aid to those in need.
Israel launched a blockade on aid to Gaza in March in an effort to pressure Hamas to release the remaining Israeli hostages taken in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which sparked the current war. CNN reported that on July 26, Israel’s military announced that it would open corridors for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza and pause combat operations in certain areas.
Bishop Zaidan, who heads the St. Louis-based Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles, said in his statement, “As the world watches in horror the heart-rending images of starvation in Gaza, I call on Catholics and all men and women of good will to ardently pray for the alleviation of the suffering of the Gazan people — a crisis already ranked as one of the worst humanitarian disasters of the 21st century.”
Pope Leo, Bishop Zaidan added, “has often reiterated his ‘heartfelt appeal for a ceasefire, for the release of hostages, and for the full respect for humanitarian law’ in Gaza, and I add my voice and prayers to that of our Holy Father.”
“Reflecting Christ’s mandate in the Gospel to love one another, Pope Leo XIV’s challenge to us is clear: ‘We cannot pray to God as ‘Father’ and then be harsh and insensitive towards others. Instead, it is important to let ourselves be transformed by His goodness, His patience, His mercy, so that His face may be reflected in ours as in a mirror,’” he said.
CRS has delivered aid to 1.7 million in Gaza since 2023
Despite daunting odds, Catholic Relief Services and its on-the-ground partners have managed to deliver aid to 1.7 million people in Gaza since 2023, according to new data.
On July 29, CRS — the official relief and development agency of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops — updated its diocesan coordinators regarding efforts to provide essential assistance to the population of Gaza, where CRS has maintained a continuous presence since 1984.
Amid “severe access limitations and aid blockades,” Baltimore-based CRS and its partners have still managed to supply basic needs as well as psychosocial support, wrote CRS diocesan engagement adviser Jesús J. Huerta in his email, with the agency “mobilizing supplies from Egypt and Jordan” following “the recent humanitarian pause.”
Huerta said in his email that “decades of work with communities, the local Catholic Church and partners in Gaza and the region have enabled our (CRS’) rapid, flexible and impactful response.”
At the same, he noted that “our staff and partners continue to operate under grave risk.”
In a fact sheet attached to Huerta’s email, CRS said that its current program priorities are safe, dignified shelter and housing; water, sanitation and hygiene; psychosocial support; and assisting church partners in Gaza, “who enjoy community trust and have strong grassroots connections.”
Among the aid CRS has so far provided since 2023:
• Shelter assistance (including bedding, living supplies, tarps, tents and shelter repair kits) to 341,790 people.
• Clean water, latrines, hygiene and sanitation kits and supplies to 500,268 people.
• Psychosocial support to 10,399 children and teens, and to 1,333 caregivers.
Gina Christian, OSV News, contributed to this story.
