GAZA CITY (Reuters) -An apparent Israeli strike on Gaza’s sole Catholic Church killed two people and injured several, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said on Thursday.
“Two persons were killed as a result of an apparent strike by the Israeli army that hit the Holy Family Compound this morning,” the Patriarchate said in a statement.
The Holy Family Church in Gaza spoke in a separate statement of “a number of injured, some in critical condition.”
In a telegram for the victims, Pope Leo said he was “deeply saddened” and called for “an immediate ceasefire.”
The pope expressed his “profound hope for dialogue, reconciliation and enduring peace in the region,” according to the telegram which was signed by the Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said they were “aware of reports regarding damage caused to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and casualties at the scene. The circumstances of the incident are under review.”
“The IDF makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and civilian structures, including religious sites, and regrets any damage caused to them,” the statement added.
Israel’s foreign ministry said in a statement on X that the results of the investigation would be published. It also said the country did not target churches or religious sites and regretted harm to them or civilians.
The Patriarchate earlier said the parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli, was among those injured, and his church had sustained damage.
Father Romanelli, an Argentine, used to regularly update the late Pope Francis about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict via calls and messages. Reuters footage from the hospital showed him to be lightly injured, with a bandaged left leg but able to walk.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni blamed Israel for the strike on the religious compound.
“The attacks against the civilian population that Israel has been carrying out for months are unacceptable. No military action can justify such an attitude,” she said in a statement.
(Reporting by Alvise Armellini and Gavin Jones in Rome and Nidal Al Mughrabi, Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell and Charlotte Greenfield in Jerusalem; writing by Claudia Cristoferi, editing by William Maclean)
