Pope Leo XIV has renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire and said he was “deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury” after a tank fired on the only Catholic church in Gaza yesterday, killing three people. Source: The Tablet.
Shelling from an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) tank hit the Holy Family Church during a raid in northern Gaza, according to a statement from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem shortly afterwards.
It reported “several injuries in the place”, including to the parish priest, and said the church “sustained damage”.
The patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa told Vatican News that “a tank – the IDF says by mistake, but we are not sure about this – they hit the church directly”, leaving four people with serious injuries, including two “in serious danger”.
Fr Gabriel Romanelli IVE, the parish priest, was among those who suffered minor injuries.
It was later confirmed that two of the injured had died. Caritas Jerusalem named them as Saad Salameh, the church’s 60-year-old janitor who was in the yard, and Fumayya Ayyaal, 84, who was sitting in a tent where the aid agency was providing support.
The patriarchate later reported a third death, and said that of nine others injured, two were in a serious condition and one critical.
“The people in the Holy Family compound are people who found in the Church a sanctuary – hoping that the horrors of war might at least spare their lives, after their homes, possessions, and dignity had already been stripped away,” Caritas Jerusalem said in a statement, condemning “this tragedy and this targeting of innocent civilians and of a sacred place”.
“However, this tragedy is not greater or more terrible than the many others that have befallen Gaza,” it continued.
Pope Leo said he was “deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life an injury” and expressed his “spiritual closeness” to the community, which Pope Francis had called regularly since the start of the war in Gaza until days before his death.
Along with his prayers, the Pope “renews his call for an immediate ceasefire, and he expresses his profound hope for dialogue, reconciliation and peace in the region”, said a telegram from the Vatican signed by the Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
To support Caritas Australia’s Gaza Crisis Appeal, visit www.caritas.org.au/gaza or call 1800 024 413 toll free.
FULL STORY
Three dead after IDF tank fires on Gaza Catholic church (By Patrick Hudson, The Tablet)
Caritas Australia mourns a devastating attack on the Holy Family Church in Gaza (Caritas Australia)
