Israel says Holy Family Church in Gaza was ‘mistakenly’ hit, ‘regrets’ damage

Rome Newsroom, Jul 18, 2025 / 13:00 pm (CNA).

Israel said Holy Family Church in Gaza was “mistakenly” hit during a Thursday military operation and “regrets” damage done to the city’s only Catholic parish.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) shared a post on X on the evening of July 17 saying “fragments from a shell” hit the parish church, which has become a shelter for more than 500 people since the Israel-Hamas war broke out in October 2023.

“The cause of the incident is under review,” the X statement read. “The IDF directs its strikes solely at military targets and makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and religious structures, and regrets any unintentional damage caused to them.”

Saad Issa Kostandi Salameh, 60; Foumia Issa Latif Ayyad, 84; and Najwa Abu Daoud, 70, were fatally wounded by shrapnel that scattered across the compound after the explosion.

Holy Family Church pastor Father Gabriel Romanelli, a native of Argentina and friend of the late Pope Francis, was also among those injured by the Israeli attack.

The Latin Patriarchate in a July 17 statement strongly condemned “this targeting of innocent civilians and of a sacred place,” adding that it “will continue to stand by the side of the community of Gaza” and other Christian communities in the Holy Land.

“The time has come for leaders to raise their voices and to do all [that] is necessary in order to stop this tragedy, which is humanly and morally unjustified,” the statement read.

The attack occurred days after Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III spoke out on July 14 against “systemic and targeted” attacks against Christians by illegal Israeli settlers in the West Bank.

“The Church has had a faithful presence in this region for nearly 2,000 years,” the Monday statement read. “We firmly reject this message of exclusion and reaffirm our commitment to a Holy Land that is a mosaic of different faiths, living peacefully together in dignity and safety.”