Six children among the dead after Israeli missile 'error' sees strike hit crowds of people queueing for water in Gaza
The strike, which killed a total of ten people and injured 17 others, hit a water distribution point in the Nuseirat refugee camp according to Gazan officials.
Witnesses said a drone fired a missile at people who were filling up their jerry cans next to a water tanker.
However, Israel said the missile had been intended for an Islamic Jihad militant in the area but a malfunction caused it to fall 'dozens of metres from the target'.
'The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians,' it said in a statement, adding that the incident was under review.
It also insisted that it works to mitigate civilian harm 'as much as possible'.
Water shortages in Gaza have worsened in recent weeks, with fuel shortages causing desalination and sanitation facilities to close.
As a result people, have become dependent on collection centres to fill up their plastic containers.
Hours after the water tanker incident, 12 people were killed by an Israeli strike in a market in Gaza City, including a prominent hospital consultant, Palestinian media reported.
And early on Sunday morning a missile hit a house in Gaza City where a family had moved to after receiving an evacuation order from their home.
Anas Matar, whose family members were killed, said: 'My aunt, her husband and the children, are gone.
'What is the fault of the children who died in an ugly, bloody massacre at dawn?
'They came here, and they were hit. There is no safe place in Gaza.'
Khaled Rayyan said he was woken by the sound of two large explosions after a house was hit in Nuseirat.
'Our neighbour and his children were under the rubble,' he said.
Another resident, Mahmud al-Shami, called on the negotiators to secure a deal.
'What happened to us has never happened in the entire history of humanity,' he said. 'Enough.'
The Hamas-backed Gaza health ministry said on Sunday more than 58,000 people had been killed since the start of the war, with 139 added to the death toll in the past 24 hours.
The conflict began when Hamas militants stormed into Israel in October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
Of the 251 people taken hostage by militants that day, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.
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Daily Mail
15 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Israeli tank blows up Catholic Church in Gaza, killing two and wounding priest who was close friend to Pope Francis
Israeli tank fire has hit the compound of Gaza 's only Catholic church, killing two people and wounding several others, according to witnesses and church officials. Among the injured was the parish's priest, who became a close friend of Pope Francis in the final months of the late pontiff's life. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa said an Israeli tank hit the Holy Family Church in Gaza earlier today. '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 told Vatican News. 'We don't have complete information about what has happened in Gaza today because the communication in Gaza is not that simple,' he added. The shelling of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza also damaged the church compound, where hundreds of Palestinians have been sheltering from the war. Pope Leo XIV on Thursday renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza in response to the attack. In a telegram of condolences for the victims sent by the Vatican's No. 2, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Leo expressed 'his profound hope for dialogue, reconciliation and enduring peace in the region.' The pope was 'deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack,' and expressed his closeness to the parish priest, the Rev. Gabriele Romanelli and the entire parish. Romanelli was very close to the late Pope Francis and the two spoke often during the war in Gaza. The church compound was sheltering both Christians and Muslims, including a number of children with disabilities, according to Fadel Naem, acting director of Al-Ahli Hospital, which received the fatalities and people injured. The Catholic charity Caritas Jerusalem said the parish's 60-year-old janitor and an 84-year-old woman receiving psychosocial support inside a Caritas tent in the church compound were killed in the attack. Parish priest Romanelli was lightly injured. The Israeli military said it was aware of the damage caused at the church and is investigating. The Israeli military said it 'makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and civilian structures, including religious sites, and regrets any damage caused to them.' Israel accuses Hamas militants of operating from civilians areas. In a rare move, the Israeli Foreign Ministry posted an apology on social media. 'Israel expresses deep sorrow over the damage to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and over any civilian casualty,' the ministry said. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni blamed Israel for the strike on the church. 'The attacks on the civilian population that Israel has been demonstrating for months are unacceptable. No military action can justify such an attitude,' she said. The church is just a stone's throw from Al-Ahli Hospital, Naem said, noting that the area around both the church and the hospital has been repeatedly struck for over a week. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which also has a church in Gaza that previously sustained damage from Israeli strikes, said the Holy Family Church was sheltering 600 displaced people, including many children, and 54 people with disabilities. It said the building suffered significant damage. Targeting a holy site 'is a blatant affront to human dignity and a grave violation of the sanctity of life and the inviolability of religious sites, which are meant to serve as safe havens during times of war,' the Church said in a statement. Separately, another person was killed and 17 injured Thursday in a strike against two schools sheltering displaced people in the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, according to Al-Awda Hospital. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strike. In the last 18 months of his life, Francis would often call the lone Catholic church in the Gaza Strip to see how people huddled inside were coping with a devastating war. Last year, he told CBS' '60 Minutes' that he calls a priest daily at 7 p.m. at the Holy Family Church to hear what was happening to the nearly 600 people sheltering at the facility. Only 1,000 Christians live in Gaza, an overwhelmingly Muslim territory, according to the U.S. State Department's international religious freedom report for 2024. The report says the majority of Palestinian Christians are Greek Orthodox but they also include other Christians, including Roman Catholics. The strikes come as Israel and Hamas continue talks for a ceasefire in Gaza, though little progress has been made. According to an Israeli official familiar with the details, Israel is showing 'flexibility' on some of the issues that have challenged negotiators, including Israeli presence in some of the security corridors the military has carved into the Gaza Strip. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were discussing ongoing negotiations, said Israel has shown some willingness to compromise on the Morag Corridor, which cuts across southern Gaza. However, other issues remain, including the list of prisoners to be freed and commitments to end the war. The official says there are signs of optimism but there won't be a deal immediately. The war began with Hamas' cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023. That day, terrorists killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Fifty hostages are still being held, less than half of them believed to be alive. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 58,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up more than half of the dead. It does not distinguish between civilians and Hamas fighters in its tally. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government but is led by medical professionals. The United Nations and other international organizations consider its figures to be the most reliable count of war casualties.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Two dead and several injured after Israeli strike on Gaza's only Catholic church
Two people have been killed in an Israeli strike on Gaza's only Catholic church, according to church officials. A man and a woman died, and several people were wounded in "an apparent strike by the Israeli army" on Gaza's Holy Family Church, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said in a statement. The Holy Family Church is the only Catholic church inside the besieged Palestinian enclave. "We pray that their souls rest (in peace) and for an end to this barbaric war. Nothing can justify the targeting of innocent civilians," said the Patriarchate, which oversees the church. In a telegram for the victims signed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's Secretary of State, Pope Leo said he was "deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack." He "assures the parish priest, father Gabriele Romanelli, and the whole parish community of his spiritual closeness," the telegram said. The Pope renewed his "call for an immediate ceasefire, and he expresses his profound hope for dialogue, reconciliation and enduring peace in the region." Among those injured was Father Gabriele Romanelli, an Argentine, who used to regularly update Francis about the war ravaging Gaza. He suffered light leg injuries, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa said. The church was sheltering both Christians and Muslims, including several children with disabilities, according to Fadel Naem, acting director of Al-Ahli Hospital, which received the wounded. At least two people were in critical condition, and others injured included one child with disabilities, two women, and an elderly person, Mr Naem said. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem added that the church had sustained damage. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni blamed Israel for the attack. She wrote on X, formerly Twitter: 'Israeli raids on Gaza also hit the Holy Family Church. 'The attacks against the civilian population that Israel has been carrying out for months are unacceptable. No military action can justify such behaviour.' A spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said it was '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,' its statement added. The church is just a stone's throw from Al-Ahli Hospital, Mr Naem said, noting that the area around both the church and the hospital has been repeatedly struck for over a week. Only 1,000 Christians live in Gaza, an overwhelmingly Muslim territory, according to the US State Department's international religious freedom report for 2024. The report says the majority of Palestinian Christians are Greek Orthodox, but they also include other Christians, including Roman Catholics. In the last 18 months of his life, Francis would often call the lone Catholic church in the Gaza Strip to see how people huddled inside were coping with a devastating war. Francis called the only Catholic church in the strip hours after the war in Gaza began in October 2023. It marked the start of what the Vatican News Service would describe as a nightly routine throughout the war.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Strike on Gaza Catholic church kills two, injures several, Patriarchate says
GAZA CITY, July 17 (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. 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.
