Israeli strike on Gaza church kills three and injures priest Pope Francis called daily

The Guardian

5 days ago

An Israeli strike has hit the only Catholic church in Gaza, killing three people and injuring 10 others including the parish priest, who used to receive daily calls from the late Pope Francis.
The Catholic charity Caritas Jerusalem earlier named two of the victims were Saad Salameh, the 60-year-old janitor of the Holy Family church, and Fumayya Ayyad, an 84-year-old woman who was receiving psychological support in a Caritas tent within the church's compound when the blast occurred.
'Both were critically wounded and transported to al-Mamadani hospital, but due to the severe lack of medical resources and blood units in Gaza, they tragically passed away,' the charity said. 'Their deaths are a painful reminder of the impossible conditions faced by civilians and medical personnel under siege. May Saad and Fumayya rest in peace. We carry their memory with us.'
Ibrahim Saqallah, a paramedic at the nearby al-Ahli Arab hospital, told the Guardian that three people were killed and about 10 others wounded, some critically. The injuries were caused by shrapnel from an exploding artillery shell.
Saqallah said the hospital was notified that the church had been hit. 'I got into the ambulance and headed straight to the church,' he added. 'This [Israeli] army is arrogant – it does not distinguish between Christian or Muslim, nor does it care whether it's a church, a mosque, a home, or even a school. We are living in the midst of a brutal war.'
The shelling of church also damaged its compound, where hundreds of Palestinians, including children and people with disabilities, have been sheltering from the 21-month Israel-Hamas war. Israel issued a rare apology and said it was investigating.
Attallah Terzi, a displaced 75-year-old Christian now sheltering in a school next to the church, said: 'I had just returned to the classroom after being outside for a few minutes when a massive explosion occurred. It was the first time since the beginning of the war that the sound of an explosion was so intense.'
Before his death in April, the former pope would call Gabriel Romanelli, an Argentinian, every evening. He began the routine on 9 October 2023, two days after the attacks on Israel by Hamas ignited the devastating war in Gaza.
Reuters footage from the hospital showed Romanelli to be lightly injured, with a bandaged left leg but able to walk.
Terzi witnessed the killing of a woman who had been assisting a man in a wheelchair and another whose head was hit by a stone that appeared to have fallen from the church. She also saw a young man being struck by shrapnel. Romanelli had run to help him before being injured himself.
Pope Leo XIV said in a telegram sent by the Vatican's secretary of state in his name that he was 'deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack' and that he was renewing his calls for an immediate ceasefire.
In a statement, the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, said: 'The Israeli raids on Gaza have 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.'
Elizabeth Funnell, the Middle East representative for the Catholic aid agency Cafod, added: 'We once again call on the international community to act urgently to protect civilians, places of worship, and humanitarian spaces, and to ensure that people in Gaza have access to the most basic right: the chance to survive.'
The Israel Defense Forces 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,' its statement added.
The Holy Family church in Gaza spoke in a separate statement of 'a number of injured, some in critical condition'.
Dozens of Palestinians were killed and wounded during Israeli airstrikes on several areas of the Gaza Strip on Thursday, including four who were killed in an attack on a home close to the Imam al-Shafi'i school in the Zeitoun area of Gaza City.
After Francis's death, Romanelli, who has served as the parish priest since 2019, told the Guardian: 'Even after he was hospitalised, he continued calling to check on us. Our grief is deep because we lost someone we felt had become a member of our church.'
Francis was a strong advocate of ending the war. In his last public address on Easter Sunday, he condemned the 'deplorable humanitarian situation' in Gaza and implored Israel and Hamas to 'call for a ceasefire, release the hostages and come to the aid of a starving people, that aspires to a future of peace'.