Workers have been straining to get aid into Gaza since the conflict began. President Joe Biden announced this week that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi agreed to allow 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid into Gaza from the restricted Rafah crossing, which connects Egypt and Gaza.
Another pervasive fear in the area, Lozano said, is that a major military offensive might “drag Lebanon into the war,” which “would entail a huge escalation of violence and death” that could spread all through Lebanon and Syria.
On its website, ACN says its beginning can be tied to a request by Pope Pius XII to Dutch priest Father Werenfried van Straaten in 1947.
“Ever since its earliest days, ACN has been geared towards charity and reconciliation, providing assistance to Christians in need,” the group says.
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Asked what ACN’s most pressing need was in its efforts to aid the stricken region, Lozano said: “Above all, what is needed is the return of peace.”
“Without peace, the consequences are devastating,” she said. “Not just for Israel and Palestine, [but] also for all the Christians in the region.”
“As a Christian, I believe that above all else, [prayer] is the only thing that can change this situation,” Lozano said. But the organization is also dependent upon “the generosity of singular people,” she noted.
“From all over Gaza, Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Israel, ACN is receiving stories of pain and fear but also faith, sacrifice, and generosity,” she said. “This is the Christian way of saying that evil should not have the last word.”
Daniel Payne is a senior editor at Catholic News Agency. He previously worked at the College Fix and Just the News. He lives in Virginia with his family.