Bishop Shomali: end vicious circle of violence in Gaza

(Vatican Radio) Palestinian militants barraged Israel with nearly 150 rockets on Thursday, killing at least three people and striking the southern outskirts of Tel Aviv, as Israel pressed its campaign of air and naval strikes on militant targets across the Gaza Strip. A rocket attack on the city of Rishon Lezion was by far the deepest target reached by Gaza militants so far.

Israeli Defense officials say their country is prepared to launch a ground invasion into Gaza if necessary, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is saying the army is prepared for a ``significant widening'' of its Gaza offensive. “No government would tolerate a situation where nearly a fifth of its people live under a constant barrage of rockets and missile fire, and Israel will not tolerate this situation,” he said.

The fighting is the heaviest in four years.

It has brought life to a standstill on both sides of the border, with schools canceled and people huddled indoors.

The auxiliary bishop and vicar-general of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, William Shomali, appealed on Vatican Radio for an immediate end to the violence. “What is happening in Gaza now is a vicious circle of violence,” he said, adding a call for prayer and concrete solidarity with the innocent victims of the violence. Listen to our report from regional correspondent Mark Weiss, followed by bishop William Shomali of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem: