Families of Israeli captives in Gaza Strip appeal to Pope Francis | CPT PPP Coverage
Cryptopolytech (CPT) Public Press Pass (PPP)
News of the Day COVERAGE
200000048 – World Newser
•| #World |•| #Online |•| #Media |•| #Outlet |
View more Headlines & Breaking News here, as covered by cryptopolytech.com
Families of Israeli captives in Gaza Strip appeal to Pope Francis appeared on www.catholicnewsagency.com by Andrea Gagliarducci.
‘My life stopped’
Pope Francis held the hand of Oron Shaul’s mother for almost the entire duration of the meeting. According to the Israeli embassy to the Holy See, Shaul fell during Operation Protective Edge Hadar. During a military action in the Gaza Strip, the soldier was attacked by Hamas against an IDF armored vehicle carrying seven soldiers and was later kidnapped. At the end of July 2014, the Israeli army declared him dead.
Shaul’s mother, Zehava, said she was particularly moved by Pope Francis’ attention to her case. The pope, she said, “gave me the feeling that I was the only one at that moment. I know he has relationships all over the world, and he promised to do his best to bring my daughter home. I told him Oron’s story.”
Oron Shaul, she said, “insisted on going to Gaza because his friends were there. There was an accident between tanks, two soldiers were injured, and there was a need to replace them. Oron volunteered first. However, the tank where he was got stuck right in front of the Hamas tunnel. I had asked Oron never to be the first to propose, but he didn’t listen to me and came out first. They fired a missile, but Oron was out of the tank, and they kidnapped him. All of his friends died on the spot.
“They showed his name tag,” she said. “From there, my life stopped.”
The situation in the Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip is an “enclave” of the State of Palestine within the State of Israel. It is about 25 miles long and about 6 miles wide and is home to 1.4 million Palestinians. It was ruled by Egypt between 1948 and 1967 and then by Israel from 1967 to 2005.
The Gaza Strip has been claimed by Palestine, along with the West Bank and East Jerusalem, as part of the State of Palestine. In 2005, Israeli troops withdrew from the Strip, also ordering the removal of settlements and the relocation of more than 10,000 Israelis. However, Israel retained control of the airspace of the Strip, the land border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, and territorial waters.
When the National Authority took control of the Gaza Strip, it was governed by al Fatah. However, this was weakened by Hamas, the paramilitary political organization that today effectively governs the Gaza Strip, after winning local elections in 2006 and ousting Fatah in 2007.
Andrea Gagliarducci is an Italian journalist for Catholic News Agency and Vatican analyst for ACI Stampa. He is a contributor to the National Catholic Register.
FEATURED ‘News of the Day’, as reported by public domain newswires.
View ALL Headlines & Breaking News here.
Source Information (if available)
This article originally appeared on www.catholicnewsagency.com by Andrea Gagliarducci – sharing via newswires in the public domain, repeatedly. News articles have become eerily similar to manufacturer descriptions.
We will happily entertain any content removal requests, simply reach out to us. In the interim, please perform due diligence and place any content you deem “privileged” behind a subscription and/or paywall.
CPT (CryptoPolyTech) PPP (Public Press Pass) Coverage features stories and headlines you may not otherwise see due to the manipulation of mass media.
First to share? If share image does not populate, please close the share box & re-open or reload page to load the image, Thanks!