In the Holy Year of Hope, such a deed is designed to provide relief and comfort to the many families experiencing financial hardship. This crisis has been ongoing for some time, partly due to Israeli government cuts, and exacerbated by the recent years of war. For Cardinal Pizzaballa, “This was not an easy decision” because it means loss of revenues, but it is a sign of “grace” in “a  context of violence”.

According to the Jordanian scholar, the Netanyahu government's ultimate goal ‘goes beyond’ defeating Hamas and redrawing borders. The West Bank becomes an ‘opportunity to be exploited’ with a view to annexation. The weakness of the Palestinian Authority and the international community, the new paradigm of the Abraham Accords. Among the nations of the region, ‘more tactics than alliances’.

Leo XIV has approved the election of the new leader of the Franciscan presence in the Holy Places, following in the footsteps of the saint of Assisi. Italian, 55 years old, the new custos takes over from Francesco Patton who has reached the end of his mandate. For the Minister General of the Friars Minor Massimo Fusarelli, "The particular context of conflict and violence” in the Holy Land and in the Middle East “makes our mission in these places even more urgent.”

The Syrian community in Jordan (1.3 million) remains trapped between poverty and cuts in international aid, which have increased since the fall of the Assad regime. According to the UNHCR, few Syrians have returned home. "My house was destroyed,” one refugee told AsiaNews. He wonders how he can go back to a place without work. In Mafraq, near the Za'atari camp, people barely survive. Relations between Jordan and Syria rekindle hopes, but the future remains uncertain.

According to a study by Frontline AIDS, while the disease saw a 39 per cent overall drop in the past 15 years, the epidemic is escalating in the Middle East and North Africa, with a record 609 per cent jump in Egypt. Marginalised groups, in particular homosexuals, sex workers and drug addicts, are at great risk.

Dialogue and mutual exchange are the Holy See’s “weapons”, the apostolic nuncio to Jordan told AsiaNews. The Jordanian government is committed to “paths of reconciliation”. Aid is flowing constantly from Jordan to Gaza. Syrian refugees are cautious but eager to return home. Some 50,000 have already made the trip. The new Latin church on the Jordan River shows the “vitality of the Christian community”.