Christian patriarchs make rare visit to Gaza after deadly Israeli strike on church

New Indian Express

3 hours ago

DEIR AL-BALAH: Top church leaders visited Gaza on Friday after its only Catholic church was struck by an Israeli shell the day before, an attack that killed three people and wounded ten, including a priest who had developed a close friendship with the late Pope Francis.
The strike drew condemnation from the pope and U.S. President Donald Trump, and prompted a statement of regret from Israel, which said it was a mistake. Since ending a ceasefire in March, Israel has regularly launched far deadlier strikes across Gaza against what it says are Hamas militants, frequently killing women and children. Strikes killed 18 people overnight, health officials said Friday.
Pope Leo XVI meanwhile renewed his call for negotiations to bring an end to the 21-month war in a phone call Friday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Vatican said.
Church leaders organize aid, evacuations
The religious delegation to Gaza included two Patriarchs from Jerusalem — Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III. The rare visit aimed to express the 'shared pastoral solicitude of the Churches of the Holy Land,' a statement said.
Israel has heavily restricted access to Gaza since the start of the war, though church leaders have entered on previous occasions, usually to mark major holidays.
They visited the Holy Family Catholic Church, whose compound was damaged in the shelling. They were also organizing convoys carrying hundreds of tons of food, medical supplies and other equipment to the territory — which experts say has been pushed to the brink of famine by Israel's war and military offensive — and the evacuation of those wounded in the church strike.
In his call with Netanyahu, Pope Leo XVI 'expressed again his concern over the dramatic humanitarian situation for the population in Gaza, with children, the elderly and the sick paying the most heartbreaking price,' the Vatican said in a statement.
An Israeli official who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to speak on the record confirmed that Netanyahu had placed the call and said that the Vatican's account was accurate.
In an earlier statement, the pope had 'repeated his intentions to do everything possible to stop the useless slaughter of innocent people," and condemned 'the unjustifiable attack" on the church.
The Vatican said the pope had also received an update on the condition of Rev. Gabriel Romanelli, the resident priest at the church, who was lightly wounded. The priest had regularly spoken by phone with Pope Francis, who died in April, telling the pontiff about the struggles faced by civilians in Gaza.
Netanyahu released a statement Thursday saying Israel 'deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit Gaza's Holy Family Church.' The Israeli military said it was still investigating.