Vatican news reports: “The Holy Family Church, the only Catholic Church in the Gaza Strip, was hit by a tank this morning. Three people subsequently died from their injuries. Others were reportedly wounded more lightly, including the parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli.
“Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, earlier spoke to Vatican News: ‘What we know for sure is that a tank, the IDF says by mistake, but we are not sure about this, they hit the Church directly, the Church of the Holy Family, the Latin Church’, he said. ‘There are four people seriously wounded, among these four, two are in very dramatic conditions and their lives are in serious danger.’
“‘There are also other injured but less problematic, among them also the Parish Priest, because they were all in the Church”.
“’We don’t have complete information about what has happened in Gaza today because the communication in Gaza is not that simple,’ he explained, adding he will try to get more information as soon as possible.”
The dead included the parish’s 60-year-old janitor and an 84-year-old woman receiving psychosocial support inside a Caritas tent in the church compound, Catholic News Agency reported
The Times of Israel (TOI) reports the israeli response:”Under US pressure, Netanyahu says Israel ‘regrets’ Gaza church strike, is probing it.”
“’It emerged that fragments from a shell fired during operational activity in the area hit the church mistakenly,’ the IDF says, adding that the cause of the incident is under review. The IDF directs its strikes solely at military targets and makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and religious structures, and regrets any unintentional damage caused to them.’”
TOI noted that a statement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s office was issued “shortly after the White House announced that Netanyahu agreed on a phone call with US President Donald Trump to issue a statement stressing the deadly strike was a mistake.” Further, “The statement, which is not issued in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s name, expresses gratitude to Pope Leo XIV for his “words of comfort.”
Pope Leo “commended the souls of the deceased to the ‘loving mercy of Almighty God’ and offered prayers for the recovery of the injured and the consolation of those who grieve,” according to Vatican News
The Pope “renewed his appeal for peace and for a ceasefire, and expressed his ‘profound hope for dialogue, reconciliation, and enduring peace in the region.’”
World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay said “Places of worship must never be targets,” he said. “Sacred sites are sanctuaries of peace, and attacks on them constitute a grave violation of international humanitarian law and human dignity.”
Image: Holy Family Church, Gaza. Image Credit – WCC