The Archbishop of Westminster has issued a strong condemnation of Israel’s recently approved plan to take control of Gaza City and expand military operations in the region.
Newsroom (12/08/2025 Gaudium Press ) Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster and president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, has issued a strong condemnation of Israel’s recently approved plan to take control of Gaza City and expand military operations in the region. The statement, released on August 8, follows the Israeli security cabinet’s approval of a five-step strategy aimed at disarming Hamas, securing the release of hostages, demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, establishing temporary Israeli control, and installing a friendly Arab civil administration.
In his statement, Cardinal Nichols expressed profound sorrow for the people of Gaza, stating, “Today, and in these days, I weep for the people of Gaza as they face not just a continuation of their immense suffering but an escalation in their hardship and desperation.” He criticized the plan to intensify military actions, saying, “To increase the destruction of Gaza City and then the rest of its territory, in order to defeat a terrorist organization and movement, is a development that is rightly being condemned around the world.”
Calling for a different approach, Nichols urged, “There must be a better way,” advocating for a strategy that avoids further suffering for non-combatants caught in the conflict. “Already too much innocent blood has been shed; too many lives destroyed; too much hunger and starvation,” he said. “This war must be ended, not increased.”
The archbishop extended solidarity to the faithful in Gaza and commended the efforts of Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, for his consistent appeals for peace, humanitarian aid, and support for Holy Family Parish in Gaza City. Nichols called on Catholics to offer “practical help and prayers” in response to Pizzaballa’s efforts. He also invoked the intercession of Our Lady of Gaza and St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, whose feast day was celebrated on August 9.
The condemnation comes in the wake of a July incident in which an Israeli airstrike inadvertently struck Holy Family Church, Gaza’s only Catholic parish, killing three people and injuring 15. Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), responded to the attack by joining Pope Leo XIV in calling for an “immediate ceasefire” and expressing deep sadness over the loss of life. Bishop Abdallah Elias Zaidan, chairman of the USCCB Committee on International Justice and Peace, echoed these sentiments, urging an end to the conflict and the immediate expansion of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The conflict has drawn further international scrutiny following a Monday airstrike that killed five Al Jazeera journalists and one freelance journalist in a press tent outside Al Shifa Hospital in eastern Gaza City, according to Reuters. Israel alleged that one of the journalists, Anas al-Sharif, was a Hamas operative, a claim denied by Al Jazeera. The attack has been widely condemned by journalists, human rights organizations, and the United Nations.
As the situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate, Cardinal Nichols’ call for peace underscores growing global concern over the escalating violence and its devastating impact on civilians.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from CNA
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