Northern Ireland

Archbishop Eamon Martin: War in Gaza has been ‘merciless and disproportionate’

In his New Year address, Eamon Martin said modern warfare had become indistinguishable from “terror,” with civilian areas of Gaza and other countries routinely bombarded with hi-tech weaponry.

Archbishop of Armagh Eamon Martin has also been Apostolic Administrator of Dromore since 2019
Archbishop of Armagh, Eamon Martin, has echoed calls from Pope Francis to redirect growing military spend around the world towards humanitarian causes.

THE leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland has called Israel’s military campaign in Gaza “merciless and disproportionate,” saying modern warfare has become indistinguishable from “terror.”

In his New Year message, Archbishop Eamon Martin spoke of how civilian areas of Gaza, and other countries, were routinely bombarded with hi-tech weaponry.

He also echoed calls from Pope Francis to redirect the growing spend on armaments (a growing estimate of a US $2.5 trillion) towards a global fund to tackle humanitarian causes.

“How much humanity needs God’s mercy and forgiveness for inflicting the horrors and brutality of war across the world today - in Gaza and other parts of the Holy land and Middle East; in Sudan, DRC, Yemen, Myanmar and Ukraine - sadly the list is long and shameful,” Archbishop Martin said.



Adding that the growing military spend was incompatible with his Christian beliefs, he said: “The use in war of more and more sophisticated and powerful weapons - especially in the midst of streets, homes, hospitals and schools - makes it difficult to distinguish so-called ‘modern warfare’ from terror.

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“How can tactics, which cause thousands of civilian deaths, alongside the whole scale destruction of food, water, health services and other infrastructure that is essential for survival, ever hope to restore justice and rights, resolve differences, respect human dignity, or provide a path for reconciliation and peace?”

He said the “egregious” October 7 attacks from Hamas in 2023, with 100 hostages still being held in Gaza, was followed by a “merciless and disproportionate response” by Israel – with 45,000 people killed including 17,000 children, two million forcibly displaced and almost the entire population living in “extreme hunger” while humanitarian access is effectively blocked.

The conflict is continuing in the Gaza Strip (Ohad Zwigenberg/AP)
The conflict is continuing in the Gaza Strip (Ohad Zwigenberg/AP) (Ohad Zwigenberg/AP)

The “near-complete destruction of Gaza, and the bringing of its population to the brink of famine,” he said, was also a symbol of how the international community has failed to prevent the escalation.

Countering any claims of anti-semitism in his remarks, he said: “I wish to put it on record, once again, that I abhor the violations by Hamas and other Islamist militant groups against the people of Israel, and that I fully support the right of Israelis to live in peace and security.

“This right has to be achieved in the context of a just peace, where the legitimate rights of Palestinians are also protected in line with international law.”

On Tuesday, Palestinian health authorities said that 45 patients and injured people were evacuated for treatment outside the Gaza Strip.

The Health Ministry has said several thousand Palestinians in Gaza require medical treatment abroad, with most hospitals in Gaza being forced to close, with those remaining open only partially functioning.

The UN Human Rights Office add that Israel’s attacks on and around hospitals have pushed Gaza’s health system “to the brink of total collapse” and may have violated international law.

Israel accuses Hamas militants of using health facilities for military purposes but has provided little evidence for the claim.