Two people have been killed, with another injured after Israeli artillery fire hit the only Catholic Church in Gaza, according to witnesses and church officials.
Father Gabriele Romanelli, the parish’s priest who became a close friend of the late Pope Francis in the final months of his life, was among the injured, suffering light injuries to his leg.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni blamed Israel for the strike on the church.
She said: “The attacks on the civilian population that Israel has been demonstrating for months are unacceptable.
“No military action can justify such an attitude.”
In an unusual step, an apology for the incident has been posted on social media by the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
It said: “Israel expresses deep sorrow over the damage to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and over any civilian casualty.
“The IDF operates to the fullest extent possible to minimise the harm caused to civilians and civilian structures, including religious buildings, and regrets any damage to them.”
ISRAEL FOREIGN MINISTRY
|In an unusual step, an apology for the incident has been posted on social media by the Israeli Foreign Ministry
Jerusalem’s Latin Patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, told Vatican News that there is not yet complete certainty about what happened due to communication difficulties in Gaza.
He said: “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.”
The compound of the church was also damaged in the incident.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which has also had a church in the Gaza area damaged, said the Holy Family Church was sheltering some 600 displaced people, including many children, and 54 people with disabilities.
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|Father Gabriele Romanelli was among the injured, suffering light injuries to his leg
It also said the building had suffered significant damage, and issued a statement saying 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”.
The church is situated very close to Al-Ahli Hospital, which received the injured.
Fadal Naem, acting director of the hospital, said the area had been repeatedly struck for over a week.
The Catholic charity Caritas Jerusalem identified the fatalities as the parish's 60-year-old janitor and an 84-year-old woman who had been receiving psychological support inside a Caritas tent within the church compound.
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|The building of the Holy Family Church was damaged in the incident
Responding to the incident, Pope Leo XIV renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, saying he was “deeply saddened” by the news.
The Vatican’s No. 2, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, sent a telegram expressing the Pope’s condolences for the victims, and his “profound hope for dialogue, reconciliation and enduring peace in the region.”
Israel says it has launched an investigation, with the IDF saying in a statement that it was aware of the reports and casualties at the site.
Israeli attacks have killed more than 58,500 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
While not concrete, the ministry’s figures are quoted by the UN as the most reliable source of statistics available on casualties.
These numbers cover the time is since the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7 when over 1,000 people were killed and hundreds were taken hostage.