"I am particularly close to the families affected by this act, which is among those against the civilian population. I ask for an immediate end to the barbarity of war and for a peaceful resolution to the conflict." These were the heartfelt, yet severe, words spoken by Pope Leo XIV at the Angelus in the packed Piazza di Castel Gandolfo. Addressing the international community, he urged strict observance of humanitarian law, and therefore, consequently, respect for the prohibition on the indiscriminate use of force and the forced displacement of populations. Indeed, as widely reported by the media, an Israeli air raid hit the Parish of the Holy Family, killing three people and wounding others, including the parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli.

A "misdirection," Israel appears to have called it. More precisely, during a phone call with US President Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu apparently claimed that the attack had been "a mistake," and that Israel "remains committed to protecting civilians and holy sites."

Well, aside from those statements, which are likely questionable in many respects, there would appear to have been two direct repercussions and effects on the situation: on the one hand, the tangible sense of Israel's growing international unpopularity over its military operations in the Strip, and, on the other, the increasingly widespread skepticism about the bombing's accidental nature. First, because the prevailing impression seems to be that of a war waged and exacerbated by other factors rather than by Israel's defensive needs, and which, clearly, appears unacceptable and otherwise unjustifiable by the international community as a whole. Therefore, while it is true that self-defense is a legal principle according to which a State, attacked by another State, has the right to defend itself from such aggression, it is equally true that the provision of Article 51 of the United Nations Charter has, so to speak, a binary meaning, in the sense that the use of force is permitted only and exclusively in all prescribed cases of self-defense, which, in truth, would not appear to be identifiable in the circumstances. Finally, because, consequently, any other use of force must necessarily be considered illegal.

Any assessment would seem consistent in the event of an attack launched by Israel, which targeted the Parish of the Holy Family. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni herself harshly criticized the attack on Gaza and the Parish of the Holy Family, explicitly declaring that not only are "the attacks against the civilian population that Israel has been carrying out for months unacceptable," but also that "no military action can justify such an attitude." These are important statements, not to be underestimated, and which, combined with similar ones from key European leaders, should translate into concrete action to ensure an immediate ceasefire. Israel's attitude, and indeed its domestic and international political conduct in general, would appear (the use of the conditional is imperative) profoundly influenced by the demands of its Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. On a strictly political level, his continued existence in power (if one were to allow such an expression) would appear to be conditioned by two factors: the war against Hamas in Gaza and his fight against unspecified Israeli power groups seeking to end his rule. At this juncture, then, for the people of Gaza, Palestine, and the entire Middle East, so severely affected by military attacks, international solidarity represents a saving grace, a concrete hope for silencing the guns.

Giuseppina Di Salvatore – Lawyer, Nuoro

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