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Herald Malaysia
6 days ago
- Politics
- Herald Malaysia
Israel says ‘deviation of munitions' led to deadly strike on Gaza Catholic church
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Wednesday said a 'deviation of munitions' led to the accidental strike on Holy Family Church in Gaza, an incident that resulted in three deaths and multiple injuries last week. Jul 24, 2025 A picture shows a view of a damaged facade of the Holy Family Church on July 18, 2025, a day after it was hit in an Israeli strike in Gaza City on July 17. | Credit: OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP via Getty Images By Daniel Payne Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Wednesday said a 'deviation of munitions' led to the accidental strike on Holy Family Church in Gaza, an incident that resulted in three deaths and multiple injuries last week. The July 17 strike claimed the lives of three civilians at the church and injured nine, including the pastor, Father Gabriel Romanelli. The church has served as a shelter for more than 600 people since the Israel-Hamas conflict began in October 2023, including Catholics, Orthodox Christians, and Muslims. Israeli officials said last week that the parish was 'mistakenly' hit by IDF fire. In a statement on July 23, meanwhile, military spokesman Nadav Shoshani said an IDF inquiry showed the church was struck 'due to an unintentional deviation of munitions.' 'The impact caused damage to the structure and injured several Gazan civilians,' Shoshani said. The statement did not mention the three deaths at the parish. The IDF 'directs its military strikes solely at military targets and works to mitigate harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure as much as possible, including religious institutions,' the statement said. The Israeli military 'regrets any harm caused to civilians,' the statement added. 'Grave dangers' In a Wednesday statement, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said it learned of the results of the inquiry through media reports. 'The published findings of the investigation only underscore the grave dangers of conducting military operations in the vicinity of religious and civilian sites,' the statement said. The findings 'once again highlight the vital importance of upholding the principles of international humanitarian law.' The Wednesday statement from IDF said the military has 'facilitated the entry of humanitarian aid, including food, medical equipment, and medication, to the Holy Family Church in Gaza,' though the patriarchate said on Wednesday that aid 'has not yet been delivered' to the parish. Aid workers would distribute food and medical supplies to the parish and surrounding neighborhoods upon being let into the area, the patriarchate said. The bombing has greatly stirred tensions in a region already fraught with conflict, particularly in the nearly two years since Hamas invaded Israel, touching off a protracted conflict that has left tens of thousands dead. Holy Family Church, the only Catholic parish in Gaza, has often been at the center of media and international attention amid the conflict. It has provided shelter and aid to hundreds in the war-torn region. Pope Francis made regular nightly calls to the parish in the roughly year and a half leading up to his death, with the parish children calling the Holy Father 'grandfather.' Though IDF issued an unprecedented admittance of error last week, Patriarchate Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa stirred tensions further when he suggested to an Italian newspaper that the strike may have been made on purpose. 'They say it was an error. Even if everybody here believes it wasn't,' the prelate said last week.--CNA
NZ Herald
18-07-2025
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Holy Family Church has been a place of refuge during war, but is damaged after a deadly Israeli strike
Romanelli was lightly injured. The church has long been the centre of worship for Gaza's Catholic minority. During the war, it also became a place of refuge, sheltering hundreds of Palestinian civilians - Muslims as well as Christians. Some 450 displaced people were reportedly sheltering at the site when it came under attack. A man and a woman who were seriously injured in the midmorning strike died in surgery at nearby al-Ahly Hospital, according to the hospital's director of surgery, Mostafa Naim. Naim identified two of the dead as Foomya Ayad and Saad Eissa Salama. They were Orthodox Christians but were sheltering at the church, according to Kamel Ayad, a spokesman for Gaza's Greek Orthodox Church. The patriarchate later confirmed the death of a third person, Najwa Abu Daoud. 'The Latin Patriarchate strongly condemns this tragedy and this targeting of innocent civilians and of a sacred place,' it said in a statement. 'However, this tragedy is not greater or more terrible than the many others that have befallen Gaza.' It added: 'The time has come for leaders to raise their voices and to do all what is necessary in order to stop this tragedy which is humanly and morally unjustified.' The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that Israel 'deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit Gaza's Holy Family Church. Every innocent life lost is a tragedy. We share the grief of the families and the faithful.' The Israel Defence Forces said an initial inquiry 'suggests that fragments from a shell fired during operational activity in the area hit the church mistakenly'. The IDF said it 'directs its strikes solely at military targets and makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and religious structures, and regrets any unintentional damage caused to them'. Israel's Foreign Ministry said the results of the military's investigation would be 'published transparently'. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, told Vatican News that a tank had fired on the church directly, 'the IDF says by mistake, but we are not sure about this'. Caritas, a Catholic charity that runs mental health services at the Holy Family Church, said the building's roof was hit by a shell, scattering shrapnel across the courtyard below and severely wounding two elderly women sitting inside a Caritas tent, along with others nearby. As shelling and Israeli military operations had picked up in the area over the past week, Romanelli had urged people sheltering at the church to stay inside. If most hadn't heeded that warning, the casualty count today could have been much higher, the Caritas statement said. Pope Leo XIV said in a statement that he was 'deeply saddened' to learn of the attack and that 'he assures the parish priest, Father Gabriele Romanelli, and the whole parish community of his spiritual closeness'. The Pope reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, according to the statement, which was signed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state. The strike on the Holy Family Church also drew swift condemnation from politicians in Italy, which surrounds Vatican City. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was one of the first to confirm the strike on the church. She said in a statement in Italian: 'The attacks against the civilian population that Israel has been carrying out for months are unacceptable. No military action can justify such behaviour.' The Jerusalem patriarchate for the Greek Orthodox Church condemned the strike as 'a flagrant violation of human dignity and a blatant violation of the sanctity of life and the sanctity of religious sites, which are supposed to provide a safe haven in times of war'. The strike 'destroyed large parts of the complex' and forced some people with special needs who rely on ventilators to evacuate the area, putting their lives at risk, the statement added. An aid worker in contact with the church said they had provided the GPS co-ordinates for the entire church compound to the Israeli military early in the war. Pope Francis was an early and outspoken critic of the way Israel has waged its war in Gaza, which Israel launched in retaliation for the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, during which Palestinian militants killed about 1200 people - mostly civilians - and took about 250 hostages to Gaza. The ensuing Israeli military campaign has devastated most of the Gaza Strip, displaced nearly all of its population at least once and killed more than 58,000 people. The close attention from Pope Francis both made the church famous and drew attention to the plight of Gaza's civilians as they tried to survive Israeli bombardment, repeated displacement and shortages of food, clean water, fuel and other basic supplies. After an Israeli sniper killed two women who had taken shelter at the Holy Family Church in December 2023, two months into the war, Francis called Israel's actions in Gaza 'terrorism'. Seven other people were injured in the shooting on the parish complex, the patriarchate in Jerusalem said at the time.
Boston Globe
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Israel strikes the Gaza church the pope used to call nightly
'The Latin Patriarchate strongly condemns this tragedy and this targeting of innocent civilians and of a sacred place,' it said in a statement. 'However, this tragedy is not greater or more terrible than the many others that have befallen Gaza.' It added: 'The time has come for leaders to raise their voices and to do all what is necessary in order to stop this tragedy which is humanly and morally unjustified.' Advertisement Naim identified two of the dead as Fumayya Ayyad and Saad Eissa Salameh. They were Orthodox Christians but were sheltering at the church, according to Kamel Ayad, a spokesman for Gaza's Greek Orthodox Church. One of the wounded remained in critical condition, and two were in serious condition as of late afternoon local time, the Latin patriarchate said. Romanelli was lightly injured. Cardinal Pizzaballa told Vatican News that a tank had fired on the church directly, 'the IDF says by mistake, but we are not sure about this.' Advertisement Caritas, a Catholic charity that runs mental health services at the church, said the church's roof was hit by a shell at around 10:10 a.m. local time, scattering shrapnel across the courtyard below and severely wounding two elderly women sitting inside a Caritas tent, along with others nearby who were rushed to the hospital. As shelling and Israeli military operations picked up in the area over the past week, Romanelli had urged people sheltering at the church to stay inside. If most hadn't heeded that warning, the casualty count Thursday could have been much higher, the Caritas statement said. Pope Leo XIV said in a statement he was 'deeply saddened' to learn of the attack and that 'he assures the parish priest, Father Gabriele Romanelli, and the whole parish community of his spiritual closeness.' The pope reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, said the statement, which was signed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state. The strike on the Holy Family Church also drew swift condemnations from politicians in Italy, which surrounds Vatican City. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was one of the first to confirm the strike on the church. She said in a statement in Italian: 'The attacks against the civilian population that Israel has been carrying out for months are unacceptable. No military action can justify such behavior.' The Israel Defense Forces said it was aware of the reports of damage to the church and casualties. 'The circumstances of the incident are under review,' it said in a statement. 'The IDF makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and civilian structures, including religious sites, and regrets any damage caused to them.' Advertisement Israel's Foreign Ministry said the results of the military's probe would be 'published transparently.' The Holy Family Church, located in Gaza City in the north of the besieged enclave, has long been the center of worship for Gaza's Catholic minority. During the war, it also became a place of refuge, sheltering hundreds of Palestinian civilians, Muslims as well as Christians. Some 450 displaced people were sheltering at the site when it came under attack, Jubran said. The Jerusalem patriarchate for the Greek Orthodox Church condemned the strike Thursday as 'a flagrant violation of human dignity and a blatant violation of the sanctity of life and the sanctity of religious sites, which are supposed to provide a safe haven in times of war.' The strike 'destroyed large parts of the complex' and forced some people with special needs who rely on ventilators to evacuate the area, putting their lives at risk, the statement added. An aid worker in contact with the church said they had provided the GPS coordinates for the entire church compound to the Israeli military early in the war. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Even as Israeli bombing and fighting raged around the parish, priests there continued to hold services — and, for a year and a half, gave nightly updates to Francis, the leader of the world's roughly 1.4 billion Catholics. In the regular video calls, which sometimes took several hours to get through, Francis would ask about the parishioners and would give them his blessing, Romanelli told The Washington Post this spring. Francis died in April. Advertisement 'He never gave up until he reached us and delivered his message' each night, Romanelli said. The close attention from the pontiff made the church famous and drew attention to the plight of Gaza's civilians as they tried to survive relentless Israeli bombardment, displacement and shortages of food, clean water, fuel, and other basic supplies. Francis was an early and outspoken critic of the way Israel has waged its war in Gaza, which Israel launched in retaliation for the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, during which Palestinian militants killed about 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and took about 250 hostages to Gaza. The ensuing Israeli military campaign has devastated most of the Gaza Strip, displaced nearly all of its population at least once, and killed more than 58,000 people. After an Israeli sniper killed two women who had taken shelter at the Holy Family Church in December 2023, two months into the war, Francis called Israel's actions in Gaza 'terrorism.' Seven other people were injured in the shooting on the parish complex, the patriarchate in Jerusalem said at the time. Leo XIV does not appear to have kept up the tradition of the regular calls to the church in Gaza, according to a Vatican official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Leo has previously called for a ceasefire in Gaza and the return of Israeli hostages.
OC Media
15-07-2025
- General
- OC Media
How do Georgians perceive women's sexual freedom?
Sign in or or Become a member to unlock the audio version of this article Join the voices Aliyev wants to silence. For over eight years, OC Media has worked with fearless journalists from Azerbaijan — some of whom now face decades behind bars — to bring you the stories the regime is afraid will get out. Help us fuel Aliyev's fears — become an OC Media member today Become a member Data CRRC has collected shows that there have been significant changes in the attitudes of Georgians towards women's sexual freedoms since 2013, especially among Muslims, who have seen a large decrease in rates of disapproval, although this has not translated to a significant increase in approval. The data was collected as part of the Knowledge of and Attitudes towards the European Union in Georgia survey, carried out for the Europe Foundation between 2013 and 2023. According to the resulting statistics, the share of Georgians reporting it is always or sometimes justified for a woman to have premarital sex increased from 22% in 2013 to 36% in 2023. Similarly, in 2013, only 32% of Georgians said it was always or sometimes justified for a woman to have a baby outside of marriage, compared with 51% in 2023. These numbers show that attitudes towards sex are loosening, particularly with regard to women. But whose attitudes are changing? In 2013, 87% of Muslims said that it was never justified for a woman to have sex before marriage, compared to 67% of Armenian Apostolic Christians and 66% of Orthodox Christians. Ten years later, only 58% of Muslims said it was never justified, compared to 68% of Armenian Apostolic Christians and 50% of Orthodox Christians. However, while the number of Muslims saying that pre-marital sex was never justified fell dramatically, this was not accompanied by a proportionate increase in Muslims saying pre-marital sex was justified. Indeed, there was only an increase from 6% of Muslims reporting that pre-marital sex was sometimes or always justified in 2013 to 15% in 2023. During this same period, the number of Muslims who refused to answer the question went up from only 1% in 2013 to 18% in 2023. In contrast, the decrease in opposition to pre-marital sex by Orthodox Christians came with a notable increase in the percentage that believed pre-marital sex was always justified — in 2013, only 3% of Orthodox Christians agreed that pre-marital sex was always justified, compared to 13% in 2023. The numbers for pre-marital sex being sometimes justified also went up, from 21% to 26%. The answer refusal rate for this group did not change significantly. Advertisement This pattern is repeated with attitudes toward having children outside of marriage. In 2013, 84% of Muslims said this was never justified, while in 2023 only 55% reported the same. In this case, the number of Muslims who said a child outside of marriage was always justified did move from 0% in 2013 to 5% ten years later, but again the biggest change was in those who refused to answer, going from 2% in 2013 to 16% in 2023. The percentage of Muslims who said pre-marital sex was never acceptable decreased by 29 points, as did the percentage of those who said children outside of marriage was never acceptable. The numbers for Orthodox Christians were similarly consistent, both declining by 16 points. The Armenian Apostolic community differed, however — while their views of pre-marital sex for women were quite consistent, the percent who said having a child outside of marriage was always unjustified went from 80% in 2013 to 60% in 2023. Unlike the case with changing Muslim views, this decrease largely came from Armenian Apostolic Christians saying that children outside of marriage were sometimes (17% to 30%) or always (0% to 5%) justified. The share of refusals did not change significantly. Meanwhile, Orthodox Christians showed the biggest changes in full approval of pre-marital sex, as well as full approval of having children out of wedlock. Opposition to women having children outside of marriage and to women having premarital sex decreased in Georgia from 2013 to 2023. Some of the biggest decreases came from Georgian Muslims, who are among the religious groups most disapproving of these behaviours. However, this decrease in opposition does not coincide with an increase solely in approval — instead, in addition to a degree of greater acceptance, Muslims increasingly refused to answer questions about sex. The data used in this article is available here. This article was written by Katharine Khamhaengwong, an International Fellow at CRRC Georgia, and Makhare Atchaidze, a researcher at CRRC Georgia. The views expressed in this article are the authors' alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of CRRC Georgia, the Europe Foundation, or any related entity.
OC Media
01-07-2025
- Politics
- OC Media
Georgians don't want to be ruled by church, despite confidence in religious institutions
Sign in or or Become a member to unlock the audio version of this article Join the voices Aliyev wants to silence. For over eight years, OC Media has worked with fearless journalists from Azerbaijan — some of whom now face decades behind bars — to bring you the stories the regime is afraid will get out. Help us fuel Aliyev's fears — become an OC Media member today Become a member Data from the ISSP 2018 religion survey shows that while Georgians have more confidence in churches and religious organisations than in schools, the business world, the legal system, and parliament, they also largely believe that religious leaders should not try to influence how people vote. In total, very few believe that churches and religious institutions in Georgia should have more power. The relationship between the state and the Georgian Orthodox Church is complicated and contested. While the Georgian government has provided the church with an annual budgetary allocation of millions of dollars, the government has also proposed and passed various measures the church has opposed, ranging from making Orthodoxy the state religion to protections for various minority groups. Within the general populace, two thirds (67%) of Georgians have a great deal of confidence in churches and religious organisations, and 88% have at least some confidence in them. As other CRRC research has consistently shown, people's own religious organisations and the army are the most trusted institutions in Georgia. This pattern appears within the ISSP survey as well, with churches and religious organisations being the most trusted institutions asked about on the survey. As the vast majority of Georgians are Orthodox Christians, the religious institution in question will typically be the Georgian Orthodox Church. However, despite this confidence, 71% of Georgians agree that religious leaders should not try to influence how people vote, compared to 15% who disagree, 9% who neither agree nor disagree, and 4% who were uncertain or refused to answer the question. Additionally, a plurality of Georgians, 42%, think churches and religious institutions have too much power in the country, while only 14% think they have too little power. Slightly over a third (36%) think religious organisations have the right amount, and 8% refused to answer or were uncertain over how to respond to the question. Regression analyses looking at settlement type, sex, age group, education, having a partner or not, and frequency of religious service attendance shows that attitudes vary among different groups towards religious institutions' role in society. For confidence in churches and religious groups, sex, age group, and relationship status were not predictors of attitudes, while settlement type, education level, and religious service attendance were. Advertisement The groups most likely to express a great deal of confidence in churches and religious institutions were people in rural areas, weekly church attendees, and people with a secondary or lower education. Education level similarly predicted responses to whether people believe religious leaders should try to influence voters — people with a higher education were less likely to agree that religious leaders should try to influence votes. Sex and relationship status were also correlated: women and those without partners were more likely to say that religious leaders should not influence voting. Settlement type, age group, and frequency of religious service attendance did not predict attitudes. Unlike the previous two questions, education level was not predictive of views on whether or not churches and religious organisations had too much or too little power in society. Settlement type, sex, and relationship status were likewise uncorrelated. Age and frequency of religious service attendance, on the other hand, were predictive. People who never or very rarely attended religious services were most likely to say that churches and religious institutions had too much power. Similarly, young people (18–34) were more likely to believe religious institutions have too much power. Notably, people who attended religious services monthly were actually more likely than those who attended weekly to think churches and religious institutions should have more power — 20% compared to 15%. Despite their general favourability toward the church and religious institutions, Georgians do not think these institutions should have more power or that their leaders should try to influence voters. The data used in this article is available here. The regression analysis used in this article included the following variables: settlement type (capital, other urban, rural), age (18-34, 35-55, 55+), sex (male or female), education (secondary or lower, secondary technical, or higher than secondary), employment status (employed or unemployed), relationship status (has a spouse or partner, does not have a spouse or partner), and frequency of attendance of religious services (never or less than once per year, at least once per year, at least once per month, at least once per week). This article was written by Teimuraz Kobakhidze, a junior researcher, and Katharine Khamhaengwong, an international fellow, at CRRC Georgia. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of CRRC Georgia or its affiliates.
