Two dead after Israeli airstrike hits Gaza's only Catholic church
A shell struck the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza on Wednesday, which has been serving as a shelter for hundreds of Palestinians amid the war.
Among the injured was Rev. Gabriele Romanelli, the man who took the late pontiff's phone calls every day to update him on the situation in Gaza, according to the Vatican.
Advertisement
6 Rev. Gabriele Romanelli, who spoke to Pope Francis everyday before his death, was among the injured after an Israeli shell hit his Church in Gaza.
REUTERS
6 The Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza held a service for the two people killed in Wednesday's strike.
AFP via Getty Images
Since the war began following Hamas' terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023, the church compound has taken in more than 600 Christians and Muslims living in Gaza, including dozens of children with disabilities, according to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
Advertisement
The Christian church said the building had suffered significant damage.
Targeting the building 'is a blatant affront to human dignity and a grave violation of the sanctity of life and the inviolability of religious sites, which are meant to serve as safe havens during times of war,' the Jerusalem-based church said in a statement.
6 The injured were rushed to the nearby Al-Ahli Hospital for treatment.
AFP via Getty Images
6 The cross still stood on the church after a shell struck and damaged its roof.
AFP via Getty Images
Advertisement
Pope Leo XIV said he was 'deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack″ and reaffirmed that the Vatican remains close to Romanelli and those taking refuge at the church.
The American pope once again called for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, where Israel and Hamas forces have fought for 650 days, with the current peace talks bearing no fruit.
The Holy Family Catholic Church's 60-year-old janitor and an 84-year-old woman were the latest casualties in the war, according to the Al-Ahli Hospital, which received the dead and injured.
6 The church has taken hundreds of Christians and Muslims refuge since the war in Gaza began.
AFP via Getty Images
Advertisement
Fadel Naem, the hospital's acting director, said both the areas around the church and medical center have been struck repeatedly in the last week.
While the Israeli military has defended bombing civilian infrastructure as a necessity to rout out Hamas, the Jewish state's foreign minister issued a rare apology after the church was hit.
'Israel expresses deep sorrow over the damage to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and over any civilian casualty,' the ministry said in a statement.
6 Smoke billows over the ruined Gaza strip following the latest Israeli airstrikes on Thursday.
AFP via Getty Images
The Israel Defense Forces said it was also aware of the damage and is currently investigating the strike.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni slammed Israel for the deadly shelling, describing the attack on the church as emblematic of its bombardment campaign across Gaza that continues to claim civilian lives.
'The attacks on the civilian population that Israel has been demonstrating for months are unacceptable. No military action can justify such an attitude,' she said.
With Post wires
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
15 minutes ago
- New York Post
AOC's Bronx HQ vandalized with red paint after Israel vote: ‘F-CK AOC!'
Progressive New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Bronx headquarters was vandalized by anti-Israeli activists after she voted against cutting US funding for Israel. The office in Westchester Square in the East Bronx was splattered in red paint on Sunday, and adorned with a sign reading 'AOC funds genocide in Gaza' days after congresswoman ditched her fellow 'Squad' colleagues and voted against a proposed amendment to slash millions in aid for Israel's missile defense. A photograph of Ocasio-Cortez's face in the window was completely covered by the paint, photos show. Advertisement 'F–K AOC,' a group known as the Boogie Down Liberation Front told reporter Ashoka Jegroo while taking responsibility for the vandalism. AOC's Bronx office was defaced with red paint. James Keivom 'The Bronx is sick and tired of people like AOC and Ritchie Torres using us as a stepping stone for their own political careers,' the group said in a statement. Advertisement 'The Bronx stands with the people of Palestine and we denounce the hypocrisy of AOC who voted to fund Israel's ongoing genocide and starvation campaign in Gaza. F–K AOC!' The lefty congresswoman has been taking heat from her progressive supporters after she voted against an amendment for the Department of Defense Appropriations Act proposed by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Friday that sought to cut $500 million from Israel's air defense systems. The amendment, which was emphatically spiked 6 to 422, was supported by GOP Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Ocasio-Cortez's progressive 'Squad' pals, including Reps. Ilhan Omar (Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.). AOC voted against an amendment to a defense bill that would have cut funding for Israel. James Keivom Advertisement The House of Representatives ultimately passed the bill early Friday 221 to 209, allocating some $832 billion in defense funding for fiscal year 2026, including a boost in pay for troops as well as increased research and development spending. 'Marjorie Taylor Greene's amendment does nothing to cut off offensive aid to Israel nor end the flow of US munitions being used in Gaza. Of course I voted against it,' the congresswoman posted on X amid the backlash. 'What it does do is cut off defensive Iron Dome capacities while allowing the actual bombs killing Palestinians to continue,' she continued. 'I remain focused on cutting the flow of US munitions that are being used to perpetuate the genocide in Gaza.'
San Francisco Chronicle
15 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
UK, France and 23 other countries say the war in Gaza ‘must end now'
LONDON (AP) — Twenty-five countries including Britain, France and a host of European nations issued a joint statement on Monday saying the war in Gaza 'must end now' and Israel must comply with international law. The foreign ministers of countries including Australia, Canada and Japan said 'the suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths' and condemned 'the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food." 'The Israeli government's aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity,' the statement said. 'The Israeli government's denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable. Israel must comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law," it added. The signatories included the foreign ministers of about 20 European countries as well as Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and the EU commissioner for equality, preparedness and crisis management. The U.S. and Germany did not sign the statement. The signatories called for an immediate ceasefire, adding they are prepared to take action to support a political pathway to peace in the region. Gaza's population of more than 2 million Palestinians is in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, now relying largely on the limited aid allowed into the territory. Many people have been displaced multiple times. Hamas triggered the war when militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Fifty remain in Gaza, but fewer than half are thought to be alive. Israel's military offensive has killed more than 59,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians but the ministry says more than half of the dead are women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas government, but the U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties. Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks in Qatar. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly asserted that expanding Israel's military operations in Gaza will pressure Hamas in negotiations.
Los Angeles Times
15 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
U.K., France and 23 other countries say the war in Gaza ‘must end now'
LONDON — Twenty-five countries including Britain, France and a host of European nations issued a joint statement on Monday saying the war in Gaza 'must end now' and Israel must comply with international law. The foreign ministers of countries including Australia, Canada and Japan said 'the suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths' and condemned 'the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food.' 'The Israeli government's aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity,' the statement said. 'The Israeli government's denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable. Israel must comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law,' it added. The signatories included the foreign ministers of about 20 European countries as well as Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and the European Union commissioner for equality, preparedness and crisis management. The U.S. and Germany did not sign the statement. The signatories called for an immediate ceasefire, adding they are prepared to take action to support a political pathway to peace in the region. Gaza's population of more than 2 million Palestinians is in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, now relying largely on the limited aid allowed into the territory. Many people have been displaced multiple times. Hamas triggered the war when militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Fifty remain in Gaza, but fewer than half are thought to be alive. Israel's military offensive has killed more than 59,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians but the ministry says more than half of the dead are women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas government, but the U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties. Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks in Qatar. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly asserted that expanding Israel's military operations in Gaza will pressure Hamas in negotiations.
