Israel

by Fady Noun | GATEWAY TO THE EAST

Five kilometres from the border with Israel, the institute founded under the Ottoman Empire in 1881 for Christian girls is fighting for survival. Fr Youssef Nasr: Catholic schools welcome around 190,000 students, 20% of the total and 30% of private schools. Non-Christians account for 30%, although in some areas the figure exceeds 60%. The economic challenge for survival and post-war ethnic tensions.

by Dario Salvi

During the night, a drone attacked one of the boats off the coast of Tunisia. Suspicions point to Israel. A dozen Asian countries have joined the international initiative of the Global Sumud Flotilla, a symbol of “resilience” as its name suggests in Arabic. Filipino activist: it is important to show “our solidarity”.

| 09/09/2025
| GATEWAY TO THE EAST

At least seven people are in serious condition. Hamas and Islamic Jihad deny involvement in an attack that has not yet been claimed. The movement that controls Gaza commends the attackers, while the Palestinian Authority condemns them. Ben Gvir calls for the death penalty “for terrorists”. Speaking to AsiaNews, Rabbi Milgrom lamented this “terrible attack,” saying that “ we must remain united” with the aim of "achieving peace”.

 

| 08/09/2025
| ISRAEL – PALESTINE

The Latin parish of the Holy Family this morning celebrated the feast of the saint of the least and the defenceless. In 1982, she visited the community of the Missionaries of Charity that still exists in Gaza, staying in the home with the disabled placed in their care. Amid the war, the saint’s  face of love is stronger than hate.

| 05/09/2025
| GAZA – INDIA
by Fady Noun

The UN Security Council has extended UNIFIL’s mandate for one final year, until 31 December 2026, after the United States rejected further extensions. Present in Lebanon since 1978, UN peacekeepers now number 10,800. President Joseph Aoun was grateful towards the UN mission, while Israel reiterated its misgivings.

| 29/08/2025
| LEBANON – UNITED NATIONS
by Dario Salvi

Cardinal Pizzaballa and Greek Orthodox Theophilus III reject the prospect of "evacuation" in the face of the Israeli military operation already underway. “There can be no future based on imprisonment, the displacement of Palestinians, or revenge,” they say. The Sisters of Mother Teresa, who arrived in 1973 after the killing of the local parish priest, serve a community devastated by hunger and war. In Tel Aviv, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum is marking a “National Day of Struggle”.

| 26/08/2025
| GATEWAY OF THE EAST

The photojournalist killed today in Gaza along with four other colleagues in a double Israeli raid on al-Nasser Hospital wrote about this in her accounts. Her photos and reels captured the everyday faces of suffering in Khan Yunis. Reporters Without Borders expressed their outrage over the 200 journalists killed in Gaza, asking how long the slaughter will continue? Caritas Internationalis slams “empty platitudes”, calls for an immediate ceasefire.

| 25/08/2025
| GAZA – ISRAEL
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“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”