Strikes hit Catholic church in Gaza. Two dead, 11 wounded. The Pope’s condolences

“This morning at around 10:10 a.m., the Holy Family Church, the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip which is sheltering around 500 Christians who were displaced by the war and have lost everything, was hit by an Israeli tank. The attack killed a man and a woman and left 11 people injured. People sheltering there were left in a state of panic after the explosion, which struck near the cross upon the church’s roof, with shrapnel and debris raining down into the courtyard.” Anton Asfar, the director of Caritas Jerusalem, described the sequence of events to SIR. Shortly before, SIR had received news of the attack from the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, in a brief statement: “The Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza was hit by a tank this morning. Two people were killed and six were wounded, some of them seriously. The parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli, was lightly injured and is being treated in hospital.” The statement was updated as more information became available. The church complex is currently sheltering around 500 displaced Christians. The two people killed have been named as Saad Issa Kostandi Salameh (60) and Foumia Issa Latif Ayyad (84). The former was the parish janitor, who was in the courtyard at the time of the attack. The second victim was a woman receiving psychosocial support in the Caritas aid tent.

 

The account of the attack: “We are monitoring the situation minute by minute,” states a note from Caritas. “The people inside the parish compound are terrified and have barricaded themselves in their rooms, converted from classrooms. When the explosion occurred, some people happened to be outside the main building, including two elderly women who were seated inside our Caritas psychosocial support tent. Both were seriously injured and urgently transported by ambulance to Al-Ahli Hospital. Three youths at the church entrance were also seriously injured and taken to hospital by private vehicles given the seriousness of the situation,” added Asfar.

Some were treated with stitches for cuts from broken glass and shrapnel. The director of Caritas recalls that, “last week, Father Romanelli urged everyone to stay in their rooms due to the heavy shelling and military operations in the area, as it was becoming increasingly dangerous. Yesterday, the situation deteriorated further due to the presence of Israeli tanks near the church complex and continuous attacks in the surrounding area.” A Caritas Jerusalem worker’s words to Asfar are especially significant:

“If Father Gabriel hadn’t asked us to stay inside, it would have been a massacre with at least 50 or 60 people dead.”

Caritas Jerusalem is keeping in touch with its team in Gaza to receive updates on the condition of those affected. Their appeal: “We call on all parties to respect and protect places of worship and humanitarian facilities. Targeting or endangering civilians seeking refuge constitutes a serious violation of international humanitarian law and a direct breach of human dignity”.

The Pope’s message. Pope Leo XIV expressed his condolences in a telegram signed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, addressed to the parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli, and the entire parish community. The Pope said he was “deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack on the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza”. The Holy Father assures the parish priest and the whole parish community of “his spiritual closeness offering his prayers “for the consolation of those who grieve and for the recovery of the injured.” The Pope renewed his “call for an immediate ceasefire” and expressed his “profound hope for dialogue, reconciliation, and enduring peace in the region”.

CEI and COMECE. “We are appalled to learn of the unacceptable attack on the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza,” wrote the Presidency of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI) in a note. “We offer our sympathies to the affected parish community, especially to those who are suffering and to the wounded, which include Father Gabriel Romanelli.” “We firmly condemn the ongoing violence that is causing destruction and death among the population of the Strip, which has been severely tested by months of war,” the statement continues:

“We call on the parties involved and the international community to lay down their arms and to enter negotiations – the only path to a peaceful solution.”

The Presidency thanked “the President of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, Noemi Di Segni, for her message of sympathy, and all those who are expressing their closeness to the Catholic Church at this time”. Monsignor Mariano Crociata, who is currently in Ukraine on a solidarity visit, offered his condolences to the victims and expressed his solidarity with the Catholic community in Gaza, “struck at a time of extreme vulnerability”.

Archbishop Mariano Crociata remarked that such actions “deepen our sorrow over the escalating violence and compel us to reaffirm our steadfast opposition to all forms of warfare and armed conflict”.

Israeli responses. Following the attack, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) released a statement claiming that they are “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,” it added. In a statement, also posted on X, Israel’s Foreign Ministry expresses “deep sorrow over the damage to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and over any civilian casualties. The IDF is examining this incident, the circumstances of which are still unclear, and the results of the investigation will be published transparently. Israel never targets churches or religious sites and regrets any harm to a religious site or to uninvolved civilians.”