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CTV News
17-07-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Israeli strike hits Gaza church, killing 3 and wounding priest who was close to Pope Francis
Father Gabriel Romanelli, Latin parish priest of Gaza Strip, left, prays during the midnight Christmas Eve mass at Deir Al Latin Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza City, Dec. 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Adel Hana) DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip -- An Israeli shell slammed into the compound of the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing three people and wounding 10 others, including the parish priest, according to church officials. The late Pope Francis, who died in April, had regularly spoken to the priest about the situation in the war-ravaged territory. The shelling of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza also damaged the church compound, where hundreds of Palestinians have been sheltering from the 21-month Israel-Hamas war. Israel issued a rare apology and said it was investigating. Pope Leo XIV on Thursday renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire in response to the attack. In a telegram of condolences for the victims, Leo expressed 'his profound hope for dialogue, reconciliation and enduring peace in the region.' The pope said he was 'deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack,' and expressed his closeness to the wounded priest, Rev. Gabriel Romanelli, and the entire parish. Hundreds of people sheltered at the church The church compound was sheltering both Christians and Muslims, including a number of children with disabilities, according to Fadel Naem, acting director of Al-Ahli Hospital, which received the casualties. The Catholic charity Caritas Jerusalem said the parish's 60-year-old janitor and an 84-year-old woman receiving psychosocial support inside a Caritas tent in the church compound were killed in the attack. Parish priest Romanelli was lightly wounded. 'We were struck in the church while all the people there were elders, innocent people and children,' said Shady Abu Dawood, whose mother was wounded by shrapnel to her head. 'We love peace and call for it, and this is a brutal, unjustified action by the Israeli occupation.' The Israeli military said it was investigating. It said it 'makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and civilian structures, including religious sites, and regrets any damage caused to them.' In a rare move, the Israeli Foreign Ministry posted an apology on social media. 'Israel expresses deep sorrow over the damage to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and over any civilian casualty,' it said. Israel has repeatedly struck schools, shelters, hospitals and other civilian buildings, accusing Hamas militants of sheltering inside and blaming them for civilian deaths. Palestinians say nowhere has felt safe since Israel launched its offensive in response to Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni blamed Israel for the strike on the church. 'The attacks on the civilian population that Israel has been demonstrating for months are unacceptable,' she said. Church compounds have been struck before The church is just a stone's throw from Al-Ahli Hospital, Naem said, noting that the area around both the church and the hospital has been repeatedly struck for over a week. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which also has a church in Gaza that previously sustained damage from Israeli strikes, said the Holy Family Church was sheltering 600 displaced people, including many children, and 54 people with disabilities. It said the building suffered significant damage. 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, which are meant to serve as safe havens during times of war,' the Church said in a statement. Separately, another person was killed and 17 wounded Thursday in a strike against two schools sheltering displaced people in the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, according to Al-Awda Hospital. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strike. The Gaza Health Ministry said that over the past 24 hours, local hospitals received the bodies of 94 people killed in Israeli strikes and another 367 wounded. Pope Francis spoke almost daily with Gaza church In the last 18 months of his life, Francis would often call the lone Catholic church in the Gaza Strip to see how people huddled inside were coping with a devastating war. Francis had repeatedly criticized Israel's wartime conduct, and last year suggested that allegations of genocide in Gaza -- which Israel has rejected as a 'blood libel' -- should be investigated. The late pope also met with the families of Israeli hostages and called for their release. Only 1,000 Christians live in Gaza, an overwhelmingly Muslim territory, according to the U.S. State Department's international religious freedom report for 2024. Most are Greek Orthodox. The Holy Land's Christian population has dwindled in recent decades as many have emigrated to escape war and conflict or to seek better opportunities abroad. Local Christian leaders have recently denounced attacks by Israeli settlers and Jewish extremists. Ceasefire talks continue There has been little visible progress in months of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas aimed at a new ceasefire and hostage release agreement, after Israel ended an earlier truce in March. According to an Israeli official familiar with the details, Israel is showing 'flexibility' on some of the issues that have challenged negotiators, including Israel's presence in some of the security corridors the military has carved into the territory. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were discussing ongoing negotiations, said Israel has shown some willingness to compromise on the Morag Corridor, which cuts across southern Gaza. However, other issues remain, including the list of Palestinian prisoners to be freed by Israel and commitments to end the war. The official says there are signs of optimism but there won't be a deal immediately. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted 251 people, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Fifty hostages are still being held, less than half of them believed to be alive Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 58,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up more than half of the dead. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its tally. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government but is led by medical professionals. The United Nations and other international organizations consider its figures to be the most reliable count of war casualties. ------ By Wafaa Shurafa And Melanie Lidman Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Colleen Barry in Milan, Josef Federman in Jerusalem and Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut contributed.
CTV News
17-07-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
A parish priest and several injured as strikes hit Gaza's only Catholic church
Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, Latin parish priest of Gaza Strip, left, prays during the midnight Christmas Eve mass at Deir Al Latin Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza City, Dec. 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Adel Hana) DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — A parish priest and several others were injured after the Holy Family Church in northern Gaza was struck in an attack on Thursday morning, officials with the Catholic Church said. Parish priest Fr. Gabriel Romanelli was very close with the late Pope Francis and the two spoke often during the war in Gaza. The church — the only Catholic church in Gaza — was damaged in the attack, officials said, in what witnesses said appeared to be an Israeli tank shelling. The church was sheltering both Christians and Muslims, including a number of children with disabilities, according to Fadel Naem, acting director of Al-Ahli Hospital, which received the wounded. At least two people were in critical condition, and others injured included one child with disabilities, two women, and an elderly person, Naem said. The Israeli military did not have immediate comment on the strike. Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni blamed Israel for the strike on the church. '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. The church is just a stone's throw from Al-Ahli Hospital, Naem said, noting that the area around both the church and the hospital has been repeatedly struck for over a week. At least two people were killed in strikes on Gaza on Thursday, including one in Gaza City and one in central Gaza's Bureij refugee camp, according to local hospitals. In the last 18 months of his life, Francis would often call the lone Catholic church in the Gaza Strip to see how people huddled inside were coping with a devastating war. Last year, he told CBS' '60 Minutes' that he calls a priest daily at 7 p.m. at the Holy Family Church to hear what was happening to the nearly 600 people sheltering at the facility. Only 1,000 Christians live in Gaza, an overwhelmingly Muslim territory, according to the U.S. State Department's international religious freedom report for 2024. The report says the majority of Palestinian Christians are Greek Orthodox but they also include other Christians, including Roman Catholics. The war began with Hamas' cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023. That day, militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Fifty hostages are still being held, less than half of them believed to be alive. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 58,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up more than half of the dead. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its tally. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government but is led by medical professionals. The United Nations and other international organizations consider its figures to be the most reliable count of war casualties. Wafaa Shurafa And Melanie Lidman, The Associated Press
Asharq Al-Awsat
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
2 Dead, Several Injured in Raid on Catholic Church in Gaza
Two women were killed and several people were injured following a strike which hit the Catholic parish in the Gaza Strip, doctors at the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City said on Thursday. The strike damaged the Holy Family Church, the only Catholic Church inside the Palestinian enclave. The Vatican did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Israeli Defense Forces said it was looking into the matter. Italy's ANSA news agency said six people were seriously injured, while parish priest Father Gabriele Romanelli, who used to regularly update the late Pope Francis about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, suffered light leg injuries. "Israeli raids on Gaza have also hit the Holy Family Church," Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a statement. "The attacks against the civilian population that Israel has been carrying out for months are unacceptable. No military action can justify such an attitude," she added.
Al Arabiya
17-07-2025
- Al Arabiya
Two dead, several injured in raid on Catholic church in Gaza
Two women were killed and several were injured following a strike on the Catholic parish in the Gaza Strip, doctors at the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City said on Thursday. The strike damaged the Holy Family Church, the only Catholic Church inside the Palestinian enclave. Italy's ANSA news agency said six people were seriously injured, while parish priest Father Gabriele Romanelli, who used to regularly update the late Pope Francis about the war, suffered light leg injuries. Developing
RNZ News
09-07-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Desperate Gaza doctors cram several babies into one incubator as fuel crisis reaches critical point
By Kareem Khadder, Ibrahim Dahman and Lucas Lilieholm , CNN CNN found four babies in one incubator at a hospital in Gaza. Photo: CNN Doctors in Gaza say they were forced to cram multiple babies into one incubator as hospitals warned that fuel shortages are forcing them to shut off vital services, putting patients' lives at risk. The UN has warned that the fuel crisis is at a critical point, with the little supplies that are available running short and "virtually no additional accessible stocks left." "Hospitals are rationing. Ambulances are stalling. Water systems are on the brink. And the deaths this is likely causing could soon rise sharply unless the Israeli authorities allow new fuel in - urgently, regularly and in sufficient quantities," the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said. An 11-week Israeli blockade on humanitarian aid earlier in the year pushed the enclave's population of more than 2 million Palestinians towards famine and into a deepening humanitarian crisis. Limited aid deliveries resumed into the besieged enclave in May but aid groups have said it is not nearly enough to meet the scale of the needs. CNN approached COGAT, the Israeli agency in charge of coordinating aid deliveries into Gaza, for comment about the fuel shortages. The director of the Al-Ahli Hospital, south of Gaza City posted a photo on social media Wednesday of multiple newborn babies sharing a single incubator which was taken at another facility, Al-Helou. "This tragic overcrowding is not just a matter of missing equipment - it's a direct consequence of the relentless war on Gaza and the suffocating blockade that has crippled the entire healthcare system," Dr. Fadel Naim wrote in a post on X. "The siege has turned routine care for premature babies into a life-or-death struggle. No child should be born into a world where bombs and blockades decide whether they live or die." The director of Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza said the shortages were forcing them to close kidney dialysis sections so they could focus on intensive care and operating theatres. "If the fuel is not made available in the next few hours to Al-Shifa hospital, the hospital will become out of service in the next three hours and this will lead to high number of deaths," Dr. Mohammad Abu Silmiya told CNN, saying hundreds of patients were at risk, including 22 babies in incubators. Footage from inside the hospital showed doctors using flashlights as they treated patients. Another facility, the Nasser Medical Complex, said it had 24 hours of fuel left and was concentrating on vital departments such as maternity and intensive care. In addition to fuel shortages, difficulty finding replacement parts for the generators that power Gaza's hospitals risks is forcing more to shut down. "Not only the fuel is a major problem for us to run the generators of the hospitals, our main problem now is finding spare parts for the generators to replace old ones," Gaza's health ministry told CNN on Wednesday. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza issued an urgent statement that the facility's main generator had broken down due to a lack of spare parts, forcing it to rely on a smaller backup unit. "Fuel will run out within the coming hours, and the lives of hundreds of patients are at risk inside the hospital wards," the statement said. "The hospital's shutdown threatens to disrupt healthcare services for half a million people in the Central Governorate." Beyond hospitals, fuel is essential to keep basic services running in Gaza. The territory relies heavily on imports for cooking, desalination and wastewater plants, and to power the vehicles used in rescue efforts. Israel has restricted the entry of fuel throughout the conflict, and has previously claimed Hamas could use it to launch weapons. The aid group Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned of what it called "an unprecedented humanitarian crisis" unfolding in Gaza, in a statement Tuesday and called for a ceasefire and the entry of far greater levels of humanitarian aid. "Our teams have worked to treat the wounded and supply overwhelmed hospitals as indiscriminate attacks and a state of siege threaten millions of men, women and children," MSF said. "We urge Israeli authorities and the complicit governments that enable these atrocities, including the UK Government, to end the siege now and take action to prevent the erasure of Palestinians from Gaza." -CNN
