‘Blatant violation of sanctity’: Two killed, priest injured after Israeli strike on only Catholic church in Gaza; Pope Leo XIV reacts
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Blatant violation of sanctity’: Two killed, priest injured after Israeli strike on only Catholic church in Gaza; Pope Leo XIV reacts")
‘Serious act against place of worship’: Two killed, priest injured after Israeli strike on only Catholic church in Gaza Photograph: (AFP)
Israel expressed “deep sorrow” over the strike. The IDF in a statement said that they were “aware of reports regarding damage caused to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and casualties at the scene. The circumstances of the incident are under review.”
Two people were killed after an Israeli strike on Gaza’s only Catholic church on Thursday (Jul 17), said the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The late Pope Francis maintained regular contact with the church that was hit by the strike and daily called the parish priest, who was also injured in the attack. Regretting any harm to civilians, Israel said that it “never targets” religious sites. Following the attack, Pope Leo XIV said that he was “deeply saddened” by the strike. This comes as Gaza’s civil defence agency reported that at least 20 people were killed after Israeli strikes across the war-torn territory.
“With deep sorrow the Latin Patriarchate can now confirm that two persons were killed as a result of an apparent strike by the Israeli army that hit the Holy Family Compound this morning,” it said in a statement. “We pray for the rest of their souls and for the end of this barbaric war. Nothing can justify the targeting of innocent civilians.”
“Targeting a holy site currently sheltering approximately 600 displaced persons, the majority of whom are children and 54 with special needs, is 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,” it said.
In a telegram for the victims, Pope Leo XIV also expressed his “profound hope for dialogue, reconciliation and enduring peace in the region.”
‘Incident under review’
Israel expressed “deep sorrow” over the incident, adding that the military was investigating the strike. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in a statement said that they were “aware of reports regarding damage caused to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and casualties at the scene. The circumstances of the incident are under review.”
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“Israel never targets churches or religious sites and regrets any harm to a religious site or to uninvolved civilians,” Israel’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
‘Totally unacceptable’
The recent strikes on the church were condemned by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the attack “unacceptable”. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called the church incident “a serious act against a Christian place of worship.”
Monsignor Pascal Gollnisch, the head of Catholic charity l’Oeuvre d’Orient said, “There was no strategic objective, there were no jihadists in this church. There were families, there were civilians. This is totally unacceptable and we condemn in the strongest possible terms this attitude on the part of Israel.”
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