Israeli Strike Hits Holy Family Catholic Church in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Killing 3

An Israeli shell struck the compound of the Holy Family Catholic Church, the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip, on Thursday, killing three people and wounding 10 others, including the parish priest, according to church officials. The Associated Press reported from Deir al-Balah. The late Pope Francis, who died in April, had regularly spoken with the priest about the situation in the war-ravaged territory.

The shelling also damaged the church compound, where hundreds of Palestinians had been sheltering during the 21-month Israel-Hamas war. Israel issued a rare apology and said it was investigating the incident.

Pope Leo XIV renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire in response to the attack. In a telegram of condolences, Leo expressed “his profound hope for dialogue, reconciliation and enduring peace in the region.” He said he was “deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack,” and he expressed closeness to the wounded priest, Rev. Gabriel Romanelli, and the entire parish.

Fadel Naem, acting director of Al-Ahli Hospital, which received the casualties, said the compound was sheltering both Christians and Muslims, including a number of children with disabilities. The Catholic charity Caritas Jerusalem said the parish’s 60-year-old janitor and an 84-year-old woman receiving psychosocial support in a Caritas tent on the compound were killed. Romanelli was lightly wounded. Shady Abu Dawood, whose mother was wounded by shrapnel to the head, said, “We were struck in the church while all the people there were elders, innocent people and children,” and he described the strike as “a brutal, unjustified action by the Israeli occupation.”

The Israeli military said it was investigating and that it “makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and civilian structures, including religious sites, and regrets any damage caused to them.” In a rare move, the Israeli Foreign Ministry posted an apology on social media, saying, “Israel expresses deep sorrow over the damage to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and over any civilian casualty.” Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni blamed Israel for the strike, saying, “The attacks on the civilian population that Israel has been demonstrating for months are unacceptable.”

The AP reported that Israel has repeatedly struck schools, shelters, hospitals and other civilian buildings, accusing Hamas militants of sheltering inside them and blaming them for civilian deaths. Palestinians say nowhere has felt safe since Israel launched its offensive in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Naem said the church is a stone’s throw from Al-Ahli Hospital and that the area around both has been repeatedly struck for over a week.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which also has a church in Gaza that was previously damaged by Israeli strikes, said the Holy Family Church was sheltering 600 displaced people, including many children, and 54 people with disabilities. It said the building suffered significant damage. In a statement, the Patriarchate said that targeting a holy site “is a blatant affront to human dignity and a grave violation of the sanctity of life and the inviolability of religious sites, which are meant to serve as safe havens during times of war.” The parish opened its doors to Christians and Muslims alike, an act of welcome to the stranger (Matthew 25:35).

Separately, one person was killed and 17 wounded on Thursday in a strike on two schools sheltering displaced people in the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, according to Al-Awda Hospital. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on that strike. The Gaza Health Ministry said that over the previous 24 hours, local hospitals received the bodies of 94 people killed in Israeli strikes and another 367 wounded.

Source: Read the original report