Israeli Strike on Catholic Church Kills 2, Injures Several

Photo: World Council of Churches

GAZA — In a shelling that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed was accidental, the Holy Family Catholic Church was struck on Thursday, killing two and injuring several others. Among the injured is parish priest Fr. Gabriele Romanelli, who Pope Francis was known to have talked to on the phone every night since the beginning of the war.

The parish’s 60-year-old janitor and an 84-year-old woman receiving psychosocial support were the two killed, according to reporting from the Associated Press.

Fr. Gabriele Romanelli sustained minor leg injuries. Photo: Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP via Getty Images

Pope Leo XIV has once again called for an immediate ceasefire to the conflict, and in a message shared with the victims by Cardinal Pietro Parolin he expressed condolences and his closeness with the entire parish.

The church is known to be sheltering Christians and Muslims, and according to the director of Al-Ahli Hospital, a number of children with disabilities.

The Israeli military said that it is aware of the damage to the church and is investigating, stating that it “makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and civilian structures, including religious sites, and regrets any damage caused to them.” 

A wounded Palestinian Christian woman is brought into Al-Ahli Arab Hospital following an Israeli strike on The Church of the Holy Family, according to medics, in Gaza City July 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alka

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, did not sound convinced in his statement to the media:

“What we know for sure is that a tank, the IDF says by mistake, but we are not sure about this, they hit the Church directly, the Church of the Holy Family.”

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni condemned the attack and explicitly blamed Israel, saying that its attacks on the civilian population that have been demonstrated for months are unacceptable. “No military action can justify such an attitude,” she said.

Archbishop Theodosios of Sebastia of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, who has been extremely outspoken against the IDF’s use of force against civilians in Gaza, offered condolences “for the martyrs of the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza” and wished a speedy recovery to the wounded and injured, asking for “the war of extermination” to come to an end.

A mass funeral in the courtyard of the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Porphyrios following an Israeli strike of the historic church in October of 2023. Photo: Anadolu Agency/Anadolu/Getty Images

The Patriarchate itself also issued a statement:

“​​The Patriarchate of Jerusalem expresses its deepest condemnation and denunciation of the strike that targeted the Catholic Church of the Holy Family in Gaza City. This strike caused extensive damage and casualties to the parish complex, endangering the lives of innocent people, especially those with special needs and displaced persons seeking safe shelter within the church.

Targeting a holy site currently sheltering approximately 600 displaced persons, the majority of whom are children and 54 people 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.

The bombing destroyed large parts of the complex, and those with special needs were forced to evacuate the area, some of whom were unable to receive the respirators they rely on for survival, posing a direct threat to their lives.

At this critical moment, the Patriarchate affirms that churches are spiritual and humanitarian beacons, serving everyone without discrimination. It also calls on the international community and United Nations agencies to provide urgent protection for religious institutions and humanitarian centers in the Gaza Strip and to ensure respect for international humanitarian law, which criminalizes the targeting of civilians and places of worship.

Our prayers accompany those affected, and we hope that wisdom will triumph over the machine of war, and that the voice of mercy will prevail over the din of fire.”

This is not the first instance of Israel’s military force against a church that has resulted in the death of Christians. In October of 2023, shortly after the war in Gaza began, an airstrike killed 18 Palestinians at the ancient Greek Orthodox Church of St. Porphyrios.

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