Gaza: Israeli forces strike Catholic church, priest among injured + updates

Source: Vatican Media, LPJ, Caritas Jerusalem

Holy Family Church, the only Catholic parish in the Gaza Strip, was hit by an Israeli tank this morning, seriously injuring four people. Others were reportedly wounded more lightly, including the parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, told Vatican News that two of the injured persons are at risk of death:

"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, the Latin Church", he said. "There are four people seriously wounded, among these four, two are in very dramatic conditions and their lives are in serious danger".

"There are also other injured but less problematic, among them also the Parish Priest, because they were all in the Church".

"We don't have complete information about what has happened in Gaza today because the communication in Gaza is not that simple", he explained, adding he will try to get more information as soon as possible.

Speaking in Italian to Vatican News, Cardinal Pizzaballa expressed his closeness to those affected in Gaza: "We always try to reach Gaza in all possible ways, directly and indirectly. Now it's too early to talk about all this, we need to understand what happened, what should be done, especially to protect our people, and of course try to make sure that these things don't happen anymore. Then we will see how to continue, but certainly we will never leave them alone."

Earlier, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem had posted a press release on X confirming the Church was "struck by a raid". The statement said there are "no fatalities confirmed" at the moment, but the Church has sustained damage.

According to the Catholic press agency SIR, the Holy Family Church is currently hosting around 500 displaced Christians.

Caritas Jerusalem report:

This morning at approximately 10.10am, the Holy Family Church in Gaza-a sanctuary for displaced civilians-was struck by a shell, causing injuries and widespread panic among those seeking safety within its grounds.

The explosion occurred near the cross on the church roof, scattering shrapnel and debris across the yard. At the time, some individuals were outside the main building, including two elderly women who were sitting inside our Caritas psychosocial support tent. Both were severely wounded and were transported by ambulance to Al-Ahli Hospital after a 15-minute delay.

Three young people who had been standing at the entrance of the church were also badly injured and were rushed to the hospital using private vehicles due to the urgency of the situation. Several others sustained minor injuries, including cuts that required stitches.

Over the past week, Father Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest, had been urging people to remain inside their rooms, as intense nearby shelling and military operations had made the area increasingly dangerous. Yesterday, the threat became especially severe due to the presence of Israeli tanks near the church compound and continuous strikes in close proximity.

One of our Caritas colleagues said: "If Father Gabriel hadn't warned us to stay indoors, we could have lost 50 to 60 people today. It would have been a massacre."

We remain in contact with our team in Gaza and are awaiting updates on the conditions of the wounded.

Caritas Jerusalem urgently calls on all parties to respect and protect places of worship and humanitarian shelter. Striking or endangering civilians seeking refuge is a grave violation of international humanitarian law and a direct assault on human dignity.

Haaretz reports that two people are confirmed dead: the parish's 60-year-old janitor, Saad Salameh, and an 84-year-old woman receiving psychosocial support inside a Caritas tent in the church compound, Fumayya Ayyad, were killed in the attack.

This is the fourth time Holy Family Parish has come under attack.

On 12 November 2023, Elham Farah, an 84 year old music teacher was shot dead by Israeli forces when she left the shelter of the church to go to her home to get a coat.

On 16 December 2023 two women, Nahida, and her daughter, Samar, were killed in the parish compound by snipers.

On 9 December 2023, the parish buildings were hit by shrapnel which badly damaged water tanks and solar panels.