Aid drops over Gaza: lifeline from the sky, but no cure for hunger (2025)
Gaza lies in ruins, with neighborhoods, schools and farmland devastated. Since July 27, aid drops have delivered food and medical supplies, but road restrictions and limited scale mean needs far outstrip aid. In two weeks, 142 missions dropped 379 tonnes, yet crowding and stampedes have caused deaths. Hunger remains severe, with nearly half of 188 reported deaths being children.
Pope Leo XIV’s Holy Mass in Beirut (2025)
Pope Leo XIV’s first pastoral tour (November 27–December 2) included Turkey and Lebanon, marking the third papal visit to Lebanon, the Middle Eastern country with the highest proportion of Christians (about one-third of the population). The trip ended with a Holy Mass on Beirut’s waterfront and offered a brief moment of relief amid the country’s ongoing economic crisis, border tensions with Israel, and deep political divisions.
Palestine for Palestinians, Jordan for Jordanians (2025)
As rain fell over Amman on February 7, 2025, chants echoed through the streets as Jordanians and Palestinians rallied in protest. Triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s call to “clean out” Gaza and relocate its people to Jordan and Egypt, the demonstration reflected widespread outrage in a nation deeply connected to Palestine. With flags raised and voices united, the protest captured a moment of collective defiance and solidarity against displacement and injustice.
Columbia University’s Gaza Solidarity Encampment (2024)
On April 17, 2024, student organizations at Columbia University established the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” to call out the university’s complicity in what they called “a genocide” and ask the institution to divest from Israel. The encampment lasted for 13 days and encouraged other actions at multiple universities in the US and around the world.
Bishop Iyad Twal ordained, highlighting Jordan’s role in regional Christian identity (2025)
The ordination of Bishop Iyad Twal on February 28, 2025, as the first patriarchal vicar ordained on Jordanian soil, marks a historic affirmation of Jordan’s central role in regional Christian identity. Appointed amid the Gaza genocide, Twal’s deep ties to Jordan and Palestine and his decades of service reflect the Church’s commitment to unity, peace and a faith rooted in the realities of the Holy Land. “We are different but we stand together,” Twal said.
