As the military battles the besieged enclave, Israel’s only Catholic church, according to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, bombed three people and injured at least ten others, according to the military.
The Holy Family Church in Gaza City was struck on Thursday, and according to a statement from the Patriarchate, at least one person is in critical condition. The church’s priest suffered minor injuries, the article continued.
According to the Catholic charity Caritas Jerusalem, the parish’s 60-year-old janitor and an 84-year-old woman were among those who were killed.
At least 32 Palestinians were killed by Israeli-caused attacks in Gaza on Thursday, according to medical sources who spoke to Al Jazeera.
A Palestinian activist’s video of the Holy Family Church’s attack shows the church’s pastor, Father Gabriel Romanelli, following the Israeli attack. The priest is seen in the video, wearing a bandaged, otherwise good right leg.
After condemning the deadly attack, the Patriarchate said in its statement that “the people in the Holy Family Compound were people who found in the Church a sanctuary … hoping that the horrors of war would at least spare their lives.”
According to Shadi Abu Dawoud, a 47-year-old Palestinian Christian, the main hall of the church was home to “peaceful civilians” consisting of dozens of displaced citizens, mostly children and elderly people.
When Israeli forces attacked, he told Al Jazeera, “My mother suffered serious injuries in the head while she was wandering in the church’s yard with other elderly women.” This Israeli airstrike completely surprised us. This is a barbaric and unlawful act.
Mohammed Abu Hashem, 69, who lives next to the church, claimed that a massive explosion left the area covered in black smoke as he was destroying his home. He added that he never anticipated the Israelis would attack the church.
He claimed that the Israeli airstrike was “absolutely horrifying.” Beyond words can describe the horror we are experiencing. Nothing could possibly describe what we are going through. It is not even close to what you hear or watch on television.
The assistant parish priest of the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, Father Bashar Fawadleh, the parish priest of the Christ The Redeemer church in Taybeh, near Ramallah, claimed to have spoken with him about the attack.
“He described the bombing as being very difficult. According to Fawadleh, they bombed the church itself. Our perception is that between life and death, between hope and sorrow.
Fawadleh called for a ceasefire once more to put an end to the “horrible war in Gaza.”
“War of extermination”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack was the result of “stray ammunition” and that Israel was “remaining committed to protecting civilians and holy sites.”
According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, the president contacted the Israeli leader after having “not a positive reaction” to the strike. His statement was made after that call.
Leavitt claimed that the prime minister’s statement to the president, “That was a mistake by the Israelis to hit that Catholic church, was.
Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut reported from Amman, in the capital of Jordan, citing the Foreign Ministry’s earlier statement that an investigation was being conducted.
The military frequently absolves itself of any kind of wrongdoing, which makes it a little difficult to believe any kind of Israeli investigation that occurs after 21 months of war. No one is held accountable, Salhut said.
She added that despite repeated attacks since the start of the war on Gaza, Israel continued to defend its claim that it did not target churches or religious institutions.
According to a telegram sent by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, Pope Leo, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, was “deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack” on the Gaza church.
Pope Leo “assures the parish priest, Father Gabriele Romanelli, and the entire parish community of his spiritual closeness,” according to the telegram.
He reiterates his “call for an immediate ceasefire,” and he expresses his sincere desire for peace, reconciliation, and lasting peace in the area.
In a show of support for the church’s parishioners, his predecessor, the late Pope Francis, had made frequent calls with them each night. The call was made the day before he passed away in April.
An Israeli tank “directly” struck the church, according to Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, in comments to  and Vatican News .
“We are not certain about this because a tank hit the church directly, the Church of the Holy Family, the Latin church,” he continued.
Israel has repeatedly attacked religious sites, including mosques and churches, since the start of the conflict in Gaza. At least 18 people were killed when the Israeli army bombed the oldest church in the Gaza Strip in October 2023, just days after the deadly assault.
Israel “exterminated” by attacking Palestinian civilians who were sheltering in religious sites and schools in Gaza, according to a report from an independent UN commission last month.
Israel has destroyed more than 90% of Gaza’s school and university buildings, according to a report from the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which includes East Jerusalem and Israel.
Hamas criticized the attack as “a new crime committed against innocent displaced persons” in the meantime.
In a statement shared on Telegram, the group stated that “it fits within the context of the comprehensive war of extermination against the Palestinian people.”
Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister of Italy, attributed the strike to Israel, saying that Israeli attacks on “the civilian population that Israel has been carrying out for months are unacceptable.”
