An Israeli strike has hit the Holy Family church of Gaza City, the only Catholic church in Gaza, killing two people and injuring several others including the parish priest, who used to receive daily calls from the late Pope Francis.
“Two persons were killed as a result of an apparent strike by the Israeli army that hit the Holy Family compound this morning,” the Latin patriarchate of Jerusalem said in a statement.
Before his death in April, the pope would call Fr Gabriel Romanelli, who is originally from Argentina, every evening to discuss the war in Gaza. He began the routine on October 9th, 2023, two days after the attacks on Israel by Hamas, as a way to express solidarity during the conflict.
Footage from the hospital showed Fr Romanelli to be lightly injured, with a bandaged left leg but able to walk.
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Witnesses said the church appeared have been hit by Israeli tank shelling.
Pope Leo XIV said in a telegram sent by the Vatican’s secretary of state in his name that he was “deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack” and that he was renewing his calls for an immediate ceasefire.
In a statement, the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, said: “The Israeli raids on Gaza have also hit the Holy Family church. The attacks against the civilian population that Israel has been carrying out for months are unacceptable. No military action can justify such behaviour.”
The church was sheltering Christians and Muslims, including a number of children with disabilities, according to Dr Fadel Naim, the acting director of al-Ahli Arab hospital, which received the wounded. At least two people were in a critical condition, Dr Naim said, and among the others injured were a child with disabilities, two women and an elderly person.
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The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they were “aware of reports regarding damage caused to the Holy Family church in Gaza City and casualties at the scene. The circumstances of the incident are under review.
“The IDF makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and civilian structures, including religious sites, and regrets any damage caused to them,” its statement added.
The Israeli military said it was looking into the incident.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the results of the investigation would be published.
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Israel “deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit Gaza’s Holy Family Church.”
Israeli forces killed at least 27 people in attacks in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, including four who were killed in an attack on a home close to the Imam al-Shafi’i school in Zeitoun, a district southeast of Gaza City.
After Francis’s death, Fr Romanelli, who has served as parish priest since 2019, told the Guardian: “Even after he was hospitalised, he continued calling to check on us. Our grief is deep because we lost someone we felt had become a member of our church.”
Francis was a strong advocate of bringing the war to an end. In his last public address on Easter Sunday, he condemned the “deplorable humanitarian situation” in Gaza and implored Israel and Hamas to “call for a ceasefire, release the hostages and come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace”.
– Guardian
