Jerusalem on Edge: Fears Rise After Iran Attacks
Jerusalem is once again gripped by fear following the recent strikes against Iran by the United States, and Israel. Streets are largely deserted, religious sites are inaccessible, and shops in the Old City remain shuttered. Observing the current situation, Father Ibrahim Faltas, a former Custodian of the Holy Land schools, recalls the events of , when rockets were fired at the city. He shares memories of that tragic day, echoing the present moment as war engulfs the entire region.
“Together with the teachers and school staff, we barely managed to maintain the necessary composure to reassure the children, whom their parents had just brought to school, bidding them farewell for the day,” recounts the Franciscan of Egyptian origin. “It wasn’t easy for the teachers to hold back tears as they encouraged the children. Before entering the classroom, they had just together recited a simple prayer of Saint Francis. I looked at the children and saw hidden trauma in their sad eyes.”
“We who live near the holy sites seem to live normally, because we believe, we pray, and we hope, but the deafening noise of war always brings us back to the painful reality,” says Father Faltas. “Children do not know violence, they do not know the inhuman reasons for violence, and continue to be the innocent victims of the absurd evil. Children know and recognize only good. In these moments, they tremble and their trembling is caused by evil. It is the fear of something they do not know that extinguishes their smiles, the smiles of all the children who suffer and die in lands ravaged by war. They suffer and die in Gaza, in Tehran, in Kyiv, in Tel Aviv. Children are frightened, they are saddened, they suffer from hunger and cold, sitting in soaked tents, isolated in shelters and bunkers, or even worse, buried under the rubble of schools and homes. They cannot play, they cannot leverage pens and colored pencils. And all this is the result of the inhumanity of war.”
Following the events of , numerous appeals have been made by the international community for a return to humanity. These have been voiced with particular intensity by two Popes, civil and religious authorities, ordinary men and women, and well-known public figures. However, responses have been lacking, and even when given, have so far failed to yield results or solutions in Gaza, the Holy Land, and other places torn apart by years of war and violence.
“Who should respond to the calls for peace? Who is humanity responding to the wounded humanity?” asks the Franciscan, who has lived and worked in the Holy Land for many years. He argues that these are questions for which there are no answers if, for years, the fundamental rights of innocent people continue to be trampled upon and if the duties of the international community are subject to the interests of war economies, as well as a lack of interest in those who suffer.
In Gaza, children have been deprived of the right to a peaceful development. Instead of receiving medical care and education, they are forced to search among the rubble for items to sell for food and blankets. “Who supports them and helps them while they rummage through the dust and provide for other innocent people? Who still remembers them? Who did not rush to support those who sought refuge, but lost their lives at sea, whose bodies, dreams and hopes are now washed ashore?”
These are questions for which we have no answers, questions to which those who bear the moral responsibility to prevent evil from being the absolute determinant in these times do not respond. “My life experience in the Holy Land,” writes Father Ibrahim Faltas, “still makes me believe and hope that there are human beings whose hearts are filled with love for their neighbor without reservation or boundaries, who are able to offer a friendly hand, listen attentively, give a hug that warms the soul. This is the humanity that every human being should recognize in themselves, and this is the humanity that the international community should represent. Rights and duties, responsibility and respect are essential elements to remain human, to believe, trust and hope in humanity, to end the noise of war and allow the sound of peace to resonate.”
The strikes against Iran, carried out by the US and Israel, have prompted a threat of retaliation from Tehran, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps promising a “historically destructive” attack against Israel and the US, according to reports. The escalation follows a reported strike on the residence of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which was reportedly destroyed. Iran has already responded with counter-strikes against Israel and US military installations in the Persian Gulf region.
According to the Iranian Red Crescent, over 200 people have been killed and 747 injured in the strikes across Iran. State media reports claim one Israeli missile struck a girls’ school, resulting in over 80 deaths. The Iranian Foreign Minister has described the attacks as “absolutely unprovoked and illegal.” US and Israeli leaders maintain the attacks were carried out in self-defense, citing concerns over Iran’s nuclear program.
Māris Andžāns, Director of the Geopolitics Research Centre and Associate Professor at Riga Stradiņš University, stated that Iran cannot win this conflict, pointing to a previous 12-day war last year in which Iran was “humiliated and suffered losses.” He also noted the swift reported killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the initial moments of the recent strikes, characterizing it as evidence of the Iranian regime’s weakness. Andžāns predicts further strikes targeting military, political, and strategic locations within Iran for days or weeks to approach.
The potential for disruption to global energy markets is also growing. Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane through which approximately one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies are transported, raising the prospect of a significant increase in oil prices. Latvia’s Foreign Ministry has advised against travel to both Israel and Iran.