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The World Council of Churches calls on all parties to respect UN peacekeepers mandate and to commit to diplomacy and dialogue. Peace cannot be achieved through violence, but only through genuine negotiations and a commitment to justice and reconciliation.

An interfaith solidarity prayer vigil is planned for 29 September, part of an ongoing call to action to support dispossessed Christian Palestinians in the Holy Land. 

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay called for peace and condemned the loss of innocent lives from pager explosions that detonated across Lebanon on 17 September.

A World Council of Churches (WCC) prayer on 16 September, held during the World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel, focused on how Christians can be a source of hope amid the crushing war in the Holy Land. 

The World Council of Churches (WCC) working group is meeting in Athens from 16-18 September. 

Through prayers and images on social media cards, the World Council of Churches (WCC) is inviting all people of good will to express their support for the 2024 World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel, to be observed 16-22 September.

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay joined all those grieving the loss of six hostages whose bodies were recovered from the Gaza Strip on 31 August. 

In a 26 August statement, the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem observe that the twelfth month of the devastating war is rapidly approaching, express their grave concerns, and  urge an immediate ceasefire. 

The World Council of Churches (WCC) expressed solidarity with a 16 August statement by the Jerusalem Patriarchate reacting to the Israeli police’s decision to ban Christian worshippers from participating in the sacred services of the Feast of the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor. 

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has newly published resources for the 2024 World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel, to be observed 16-22 September. This week includes the UN International Day of Peace on 21 September, now in its 25th year.

WCC leadership and ecumenical partners met online on 8 August with Christians based in Bethlehem representing a range of different organizations locally, to hear their testimonies, offer accompaniment and support in these times.

A delegation led by the World Council of Churches (WCC), accompanied by partners from the Middle East Council of Churches, ACT Alliance, and Caritas Internationalis, met online on 7 August with staff from the WCC Jerusalem Liaison Office and with accompaniers from the WCC Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel.

Held online on 8 August as part of a pastoral solidarity visit to the Holy Land, an ecumenical delegation met with the Higher Presidential Committee of Churches in Palestine. The session focussed on the current political situation, the need for an end to the ongoing war and seemingly escalating conflict, so that the region may shift into building peace long-term.

The war in Gaza continues, with the number of lives lost growing by the day and with an immanent risk of further escalation of war and conflict across the region. On 7 August, a delegation from the World Council of Churches (WCC) accompanied by partners from the Middle East Council of Churches, ACT Alliance, and Caritas Internationalis, heard the witness of some of those for whom this war has become a daily reality.