Top church leaders meet in Gaza as Israel strikes kill several in Khan Younis
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III entered Gaza to express the "shared pastoral solicitude of the Churches of the Holy Land," a statement released by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said.
The patriarchs and their delegation arrived at the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza in the afternoon. As well as the three people killed in the strike, 10 were wounded, including the parish priest
The delegation was also planning on sending hundreds of tons of food aid, medical supplies and equipment to families inside Gaza, the patriarchate said, adding they also had "ensured evacuation" of individuals injured in the attack to hospitals outside Gaza.
The attack drew condemnation from world leaders and religious figures. Pope Leo XIV on Thursday renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire in response to the attack.
US President Donald Trump called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express his frustration.
Israel expressed regret over what it described as an accident and said it was investigating it.
The visit by religious leaders on marked a rare entrance to the territory by a delegation of outsiders. With the exception of a trickle of aid workers and a small number of Palestinians needing medical care outside the territory, very few have been able to enter or exit Gaza since the start of Israel's latest offensive in May.
At the time of the strike, 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 casualties.
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 Gabriel Romanelli was lightly wounded.
"The Latin Patriarchate remains steadfast in its commitment to the Christian community and the entire population of Gaza. They will not be forgotten, nor will they be abandoned," read the statement from Caritas.
Mr Netanyahu released a statement saying Israel "deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit Gaza's Holy Family Church".
The Israeli military said an initial assessment indicated that "fragments from a shell fired during operational activity in the area hit the church mistakenly". It said it was still investigating.
At least 14 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Friday, in Gaza, according to Gaza's civil defence agency.
The emergency service said fighter jets conducted air strikes and there was artillery shelling and gunfire in the early morning in areas north of the southern city of Khan Younis.
Agency official Mohammed al-Mughayyir said 10 people were killed in two separate strikes in the Khan Younis area, with one hitting a house and the other tents sheltering displaced people.
In Gaza's north, four people were killed in an air strike in the Jabalia al-Nazla area, he added.
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas meant the AFP news agency was unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency and other parties.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which asked for exact coordinates to look into the reports.
Palestinian Bedouins accused Israeli settlers on Friday of killing 117 sheep in an overnight attack and stealing hundreds of others in an apparent effort to chase farmers off their land in the occupied West Bank.
The incident comes amid what the United Nations described this week as intensifying attacks by Jewish settlers and security forces against Palestinians in the West Bank and record mass displacements.
The Israeli army did not respond to a request for comment about the mass slaughter of the animals belonging to the Arab al-Kaabaneh Bedouin community, in the Jordan Valley.
Veterinarians were called in to treat a handful of sheep which had survived the knife and gun attack, some of the animals shaking uncontrollably and in apparent shock.
Reuters was unable to independently verify who was responsible for the attack.
Palestinian Minister Moayad Shaaban condemned the incident, calling it part of a broader strategy to displace Palestinians from the region.
"These sheep and animals were slaughtered and shot at," he told Reuters.
The attack has prompted at least one family to begin relocating.
Bedouin Tareq Kaabaneh said he could no longer withstand what he called settler intimidation.
"They were armed, they steal donkeys and sheep. In the night they come here and start shooting toward us," Mr Kaabaneh said.
The United Nations reported this week that mass displacements in the West Bank had reached levels unprecedented since Israel first took military control of the territory nearly six decades ago.
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva also said there had been 757 settler attacks on Palestinians or their properties since January — a 13 per cent increase from the same period last year.
The United Nations' highest court said last year that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories, including the West Bank, was illegal and should end as soon as possible.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas fighters stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel's subsequent military assault has killed more than 59,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry.
Most of the population of more than 2 million has been displaced, triggering widespread hunger and leaving much of the territory in ruins.
AP/AFP/ Reuters
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ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
ABC allowed inside Gaza
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ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
The ABC is granted access to a Kerem Shalam aid site Israel says it is using to feed Gaza
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SBS Australia
5 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Dozens killed in Gaza while seeking aid
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