CNN
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Pope Leo XIV “is deeply saddened,” after the three were killed on a strike at Gaza’s only Catholic Church, he said in a Vatican telegram Thursday.
Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin has called the strike a “military attack.”
The Latin patriarchy in Jerusalem has jurisdiction over prominent Catholics of the Latinos in Gaza, but the Holy Family Church said it was struck by Israel on Thursday morning. The church became a shelter for the small Christian community of the enclave amid ongoing war.
The Israeli military said it was “aware of the damage caused to the Holy Family Church in Gaza city and reports of victims at the scene,” adding that “the situation in the incident is under review.”
“The (Israel Defence Force) has made every viable effort to mitigate harm to civilians and civilian structures, including religious sites, and regret the damage caused to them,” he said.
The patriarchy appointed three people who were killed as Saad Issa Kostandi Salameh, Foumia Issa Latif Ayyad and Najwa Abu Dawood. Several others were injured as well.
“We pray for the rest of their souls and for the end of this wild war. We cannot justify the targeting of innocent civilians,” the statement read.
Pope Leo used his statement to repeat his plea for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Cardinal Pizzabara, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Pizzabara, told Vatican News that the church was attacked “in-person” on Thursday morning.
Father Gabriel Romanelli, a priest of the parish, was injured in the attack, the patriarchy said, along with many others. Romanelli is Argentina, which has served in Gaza for nearly 30 years.
Images validated by CNN show that the church was damaged in the attack, but the cross on the church roof was visible as is.
The church was attacked once during the Israeli war in Gaza. According to the Latin patriarchy in Jerusalem, in December 2023, an Israeli military sniper shot two women evacuated inside.
The church is internationally known for its close ties with the late Pope Francis, who summoned the parish almost every day since the beginning of the Israeli Hamas war.
Only about 1,000 Christians lived in Gaza before the attack on October 7th. This is overwhelmingly Muslim territory.
Meanwhile, the ceasefire continues to speak to an end to the war in Gaza, where Palestinian officials have killed more than 58,000 people.
Israel may show flexibility at a key fixed point of Gaza’s ceasefire talks, sources told CNN as negotiators try to close the gap to prevent the first pause in months of the fight.
Specifically, there may be some flexibility from Israel regarding the possibility of troops withdrawing from the Morag Corridor, a key Israeli security zone in the South Gaza Strip.
The positioning of Israeli forces in Gaza around the Morag Corridor during the proposed 60-day ceasefire was a major stumbling block of talks.
The corridor was established in April by the Israeli army with the explicit intention of splitting Gaza and putting great pressure on Hamas. The name refers to the Jewish settlement of Morag, once south of the territory between the cities of Khan Yunis and Rafa.
The US was talking about the prospect of a swift agreement for consultations. This gained momentum last month after ending a brief conflict between Israel and Iran. However, the day of the lecture did not provide a breakthrough.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
