{"id":669,"date":"2026-06-23T13:10:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T12:10:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/montenegroembassy.orderofmalta.int\/?post_type=news&p=669"},"modified":"2026-06-23T13:11:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T12:11:09","slug":"blessing-of-order-of-malta-clinic-in-gaza-city","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/montenegroembassy.orderofmalta.int\/en\/news\/blessing-of-order-of-malta-clinic-in-gaza-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Blessing of Order of Malta Clinic in Gaza City"},"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-669","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry","news_categories-news"],"acf":{"hidden_news":"no","evidence":"yes","focus_on":"no","breaking":"yes","news_cover":{"id":670,"url":"https:\/\/montenegroembassy.orderofmalta.int\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2026\/06\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-06-23-at-11.30.46-1.jpeg"},"cover_image_copyrighted":false,"news_content":"

Gaza City\/Rome\/Cologne:<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 On Monday 22nd June, His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem\u00a0blessed the Order of Malta\u2019s clinic in Gaza City, in the presence of His Beatitude Theophilos III, Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and all Palestine and Jordan.\u00a0Following\u00a0this\u00a0blessing, around thirty\u00a0staff members, including doctors, nurses, and pharmacists, will begin providing primary health care to up to one hundred\u00a0sick\u00a0people every day.\u00a0The clinic was\u00a0established\u00a0under a\u00a0partnership between the Order of Malta and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.\u00a0Its activities are\u00a0coordinated\u00a0by Malteser International, the Order of Malta\u2019s\u00a0humanitarian\u00a0aid agency.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMedical care for\u00a0people in\u00a0Gaza is currently in a catastrophic state,\u201d\u00a0says Dr. Ali Ibrahim Al-Musaddar,\u00a0Medical\u00a0Director of the clinic. \u201cViolence continues despite\u00a0the\u00a0ceasefire.\u00a0Sixty percent of health facilities have been\u00a0completely destroyed\u00a0and many more severely damaged.\u201d\u00a0Sanitary conditions are\u00a0extremely poor.\u00a0\u201cSkin diseases are spreading,\u201d says Dr. Al-Musaddar.\u00a0\u201cNearly the\u00a0entire population has been\u00a0repeatedly\u00a0displaced and is dependent on humanitarian aid.\u00a0They are arriving here\u00a0sick,\u00a0exhausted,\u00a0and deeply traumatized\u00a0in\u00a0urgent\u00a0need of help.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe\u00a0blessing\u00a0of the clinic\u00a0by\u00a0the Latin Patriarch\u00a0on the eve of the feast of St. John the Baptist, patron of the Order, which is celebrated on 24 June,\u00a0is a historic milestone,\u201d said Dr. Josef Blotz, Grand Hospitaller of the Order, who is responsible for the Order\u00a0of Malta\u2019s\u00a0charitable and medical works. \u201cOver nine hundred years after our foundation\u00a0here, we continue to\u00a0serve people in need in the Holy Land regardless of their religion or background.\u00a0This clinic will provide lifesaving medical care to people in need. It will also show them that they are not forgotten. We are now working actively to deepen our engagement\u00a0in these most difficult circumstances.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Funding\u00a0and\u00a0in-kind\u00a0support\u00a0for the clinic is provided by\u00a0the German Foreign Office,\u00a0the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs,\u00a0Aktion Deutschland\u00a0Hilft, UNICEF,\u00a0the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and the Archdiocese of Munich and Paderborn.\u00a0Since the start of the\u00a0Gaza\u00a0war\u00a0in 2023, Malteser International\u00a0has been able to\u00a0provide approximately 25,000 people\u00a0living in and\u00a0near the parish\u00a0with\u00a0more than\u00a0200 tons\u00a0of\u00a0life-saving supplies.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Sovereign Military Order of Malta<\/b>\u00a0is a primary subject of international law and Catholic and lay religious order. Its mission is to bear witness to the faith and\u00a0assist\u00a0the poor and sick.\u00a0The Order of Malta is\u00a0mainly active\u00a0in health and social care and humanitarian aid,\u00a0operating\u00a0in over 130 countries. Together with its 13,500 members, it has 100,000 volunteers supported by some 60,000 doctors,\u00a0nurses\u00a0and paramedics. The Order manages hospitals, healthcare clinics, out-patient units, institutes for the elderly and disabled, palliative care\u00a0centres\u00a0as well as projects for health and social care and psychological\u00a0assistance\u00a0for migrants and refugees. It has bilateral diplomatic relations with 115 States, official relations with another 4 States, and relations at ambassadorial level with the European Union and African Union. It has the status of Permanent Observer to the United Nations and is represented in the main international organizations. Since 1834, the seat of the Order of Malta\u2019s government has been in Rome. The 81st Grand Master is Fra\u2019 John T. Dunlap.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Malteser International (MI)<\/b>\u00a0is the\u00a0international humanitarian aid organization\u00a0of the Catholic\u00a0Sovereign\u00a0Order of Malta. It\u00a0fulfills the Order\u2019s mission of \u201cservice to the poor and the sick.\u201d\u00a0The\u00a0organization provides aid to people, regardless of\u00a0their\u00a0religion, political beliefs, origin, or\u00a0sex.\u00a0Catholic\u00a0values and the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence form the foundation of its work. Further information: www.malteser-international.org\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","news_gallery":"yes","news_gallery_elements":[{"id":676,"url":"https:\/\/montenegroembassy.orderofmalta.int\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2026\/06\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-06-23-at-11.30.46.jpeg"},{"id":674,"url":"https:\/\/montenegroembassy.orderofmalta.int\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2026\/06\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-06-23-at-11.30.47.jpeg"},{"id":672,"url":"https:\/\/montenegroembassy.orderofmalta.int\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2026\/06\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-06-23-at-11.30.47-1.jpeg"}],"news_excerpt":"On Monday 22nd June, His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem\u00a0blessed the Order of Malta\u2019s clinic in Gaza City, in the presence of His Beatitude Theophilos III, Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and all Palestine and Jordan."},"news_categories":[{"id":11,"name":"News","slug":"news","description":"","link":"https:\/\/montenegroembassy.orderofmalta.int\/en\/news-categories\/news\/"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/montenegroembassy.orderofmalta.int\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/notizie\/669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/montenegroembassy.orderofmalta.int\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/notizie"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/montenegroembassy.orderofmalta.int\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/montenegroembassy.orderofmalta.int\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/notizie\/669\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":680,"href":"https:\/\/montenegroembassy.orderofmalta.int\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/notizie\/669\/revisions\/680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/montenegroembassy.orderofmalta.int\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}