Latest news with #Romanelli
The Hindu
3 days ago
- General
- The Hindu
Nuns to stay, serve in Gaza despite attacks, says Missionaries of Charity
A day after two nuns of the India-headquartered Missionaries of Charity were seen in a viral video in the close proximity of a deadly rocket attack in Gaza Strip, the Mother House in Kolkata reiterated its commitment to continue to serve in the conflict-hit enclave. Three nuns of the Missionaries of Charity are in Gaza and will continue to stay there 'as that is the life of the nuns of the order' a spokesperson from the Mother House in Kolkata told The Hindu on Monday (July 28, 2025). 'The sisters are on the ground in Gaza and are currently serving the old and the children. They have been there from the beginning of the conflict helping the common people who are suffering because of the war. In fact, we have been there for a long time,' the spokesperson said over phone, adding that the nuns of the order have been present in Gaza Strip for decades throughout which several Israel-Palestinian conflicts have taken place. The remarks from the Missionaries of Charity, started by Mother Teresa, came a day after a video went viral showing two of the three nuns of the order praying inside a church as bombs fell outside shattering the calm of the Sunday congregation. The Missionaries of Charity has served in multiple conflict zones in the world, including in Gaza where they began helping the affected people since February 26, 1973. The organisation started facing difficulties soon after the latest Israel-Palestinian conflict began on October 7, 2023. On December 16, 2023, more than two months after the start of the military campaign by Israel against targets in Gaza, the Missionaries of Charity's convent located on the compound of the Holy Family Parish, the only Catholic church near Gaza City, was bombed. That incident was reported by Father Gabriel Romanelli of the Institute of the Incarnate Word, pastor of the Holy Family Parish. The video of Sunday's attack was also shared by Father Romanelli with the international media. Father Romanelli was injured in an attack on July 17 on the Holy Family Parish that was reportedly carried out by the Israeli Defence Forces. The Missionaries of Charity did not share the names of their nuns who are serving in Gaza 'as the situation remains fragile' on the ground and the spokesperson said, 'This is the life of the nuns of the Missionaries of Charity. We will continue to serve there despite the violence.'
Herald Malaysia
7 days ago
- Politics
- Herald Malaysia
Pope renews call for ceasefire in Gaza
Pope Leo XIV has renewed his urgent appeal for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza following a deadly Israeli military strike on the Holy Family Catholic parish — the only Catholic church in the war-torn enclave. Jul 25, 2025 Damage can be seen next to the cross on the roof of the Holy Family Church in Gaza after it was hit in an attack July 17, 2025. (CNS photo/courtesy Aid to the Church in Need, UK) VATICAN: Pope Leo XIV has renewed his urgent appeal for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza following a deadly Israeli military strike on the Holy Family Catholic parish — the only Catholic church in the war-torn enclave. The attack, which left at least three people dead and several others wounded, including parish priest Fr Gabriel Romanelli, has drawn widespread condemnation from the Catholic a telegram sent on behalf of the Holy Father by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, Pope Leo XIV expressed deep sorrow over the loss of life and injuries caused by the attack. He extended his spiritual closeness to the wounded, especially Fr Romanelli, and to the entire parish Pope commended the souls of the deceased to 'the loving mercy of Almighty God,' offered prayers for the recovery of the injured, and conveyed his heartfelt condolences to the grieving families. 'The Holy Father renews his appeal for an immediate ceasefire,' the telegram stated, 'and expresses his profound hope for dialogue, reconciliation, and enduring peace in the region.'The Holy Family Church compound in Gaza, which currently shelters around 500 displaced Christians, was struck on the morning of July 17 by what the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) claim was a tank shell fired in error. However, Church officials remain Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, confirmed in an interview with Vatican News that the church was directly hit, resulting in serious casualties. 'There are four people seriously wounded,' he said, 'and among these, two are in very critical condition.' He added that Fr Romanelli, though lightly injured, was inside the church during the with Gaza remains difficult, complicating efforts to obtain precise details about the incident. However, the Patriarch stressed that the church will continue to stand by the community. 'We will never leave them alone,' he affirmed, adding that efforts are underway to ensure protection for civilians and sacred spaces Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem issued a strong statement condemning the raid, describing it as part of a wider tragedy engulfing Gaza. 'This targeting of innocent civilians and a sacred place is humanly and morally unjustified,' the statement read. 'This tragedy is not greater or more terrible than the many others that have befallen Gaza. Death, suffering, and destruction are everywhere.'Appealing to world leaders, the Patriarchate called for urgent international action to end the violence. 'The time has come for leaders to raise their voices and to do all that is necessary to stop this tragedy,' it said. 'This horrific war must come to a complete end, so that we may commence the long work of restoring human dignity.' Since the outbreak of war on Oct 7, 2023, over 60,200 people have been reported killed, including more than 58,000 Palestinians and nearly 2,000 Israelis, according to figures from the Gaza Health Ministry.' --Vatican News
IOL News
18-07-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Senior clerics visit Gaza following deadly church strike
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa (L) and a members of a Christian visit the Saint Porphyrius Church in Gaza City on July 18. Image: Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP Two of the most senior Christian leaders in Jerusalem travelled to Gaza on Friday after Israeli fire killed three at the Palestinian territory's only Catholic church, provoking international condemnation. The rare visit came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel "deeply regrets" the strike on the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and blamed a "stray" round. Israel strictly controls access to the territory, where the civil defence agency on Friday reported that further Israeli strikes killed at least 25 Palestinians, including a family of five in their own home. Local people used their bare hands to pick through the debris in the southern city of Khan Yunis in a desperate search for survivors. "Entire families are buried under the rubble," Louai Abu Sahloul, a relative of the victims, told AFP, adding that the relentless wave of strikes was taking its toll. "People are like walking dead, tired of hunger, pain and destruction everywhere in Gaza," he said. The Catholic Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and his Greek Orthodox counterpart, Theophilos III, headed to Gaza and met local Christians following Thursday's strike. They visited both the Holy Family Church and the Greek Orthodox Saint Porphyrius Church in what the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem called "the shared pastoral solicitude of the Churches of the Holy Land and their concern for the community of Gaza". The Greek Orthodox Jerusalem Patriarchate called it a "powerful expression" of church unity and solidarity. 'Stop the needless slaughter' The clerics last week visited the occupied West Bank with diplomatic representatives from more than 20 countries after an attack on an ancient Byzantine-era church blamed on Israeli settlers. Both churches said the Gaza visit had been facilitated with the help of aid agencies and also involved the delivery of food supplies and emergency medical equipment. In Italy, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the delegation arrived with 500 tonnes of aid for local civilians. Pope Leo XIV, the leader of the Catholic Church, said he was "deeply saddened" by the strike on the church, where hundreds of displaced people were sheltering, including children and those with special needs. His predecessor, Pope Francis, kept in regular contact with parish priest Father Gabriel Romanelli and repeatedly called for an end to the Gaza war, which has created a humanitarian crisis for the people living there. Romanelli was one of 10 people injured in the strike and was seen with bandages on his leg. The Vatican said the pope called Pizzaballa on Friday morning to ask about the situation in Gaza and the condition of Romanelli and the other wounded. "He expressed his support and affection to the entire community gathered around the parish and those suffering from the violence, and reiterated his intention to do everything possible to stop the needless slaughter of innocents," a statement read. The pontiff also spoke with Netanyahu and expressed concern about the "dramatic humanitarian situation", renewing his appeal for negotiations, a ceasefire and the end of the war, a separate statement added. A spokesman at Netanyahu's office told AFP the conversation was "friendly" and the prime minister expressed his regret. 'Mistake' Both Italy and France called the strike "unacceptable" while US President Donald Trump called Netanyahu after having "not a positive reaction" on hearing about it, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. "It was a mistake by the Israelis to hit that Catholic church, that's what the prime minister relayed to the president," she told reporters. The Jerusalem churches, which have jurisdiction for Catholics and members of the Greek Orthodox Church across Israel and the Palestinian territories, said they had ensured the medical evacuation of those injured. One was in a critical condition and two others were seriously wounded, the Jerusalem Patriarchate said. Out of the Gaza Strip's population of more than two million, about 1,000 are Christians. Most of them are Orthodox but according to the Latin Patriarchate, there are about 135 Catholics in the territory. Israel's military maintains that it does not deliberately target churches and religious sites. But the Jerusalem Patriarchate said there had been "repeated assaults on Christian holy sites in Gaza". The war was sparked by Palestinian militant group Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which led to the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's military retaliation has killed at least 58,667 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza. The UN considers these figures to be reliable. AFP
Sydney Morning Herald
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Israeli shell hits Gaza church that late pope called every day
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. Romanelli was lightly wounded. 'We were struck in the church while all the people there were elders, innocent people and children,' said Shady Abu Dawood, whose mother was wounded by shrapnel to her head. 'We love peace and call for it, and this is a brutal, unjustified action by the Israeli occupation.' 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. The military said it only struck militant targets and made 'every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and religious structures, and regrets any unintentional damage caused to them'. Loading Israel has repeatedly struck schools, shelters, hospitals and other civilian buildings, accusing Hamas militants of sheltering inside and blaming them for civilian deaths. Palestinians say nowhere has felt safe since Israel launched its offensive in response to Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack. Italian Premier 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,' 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 more than 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. 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. The Washington Post reported that Francis used to ring Romanelli every evening. Francis had repeatedly criticised Israel's wartime conduct, and last year suggested that allegations of genocide in Gaza – which Israel has rejected as a 'blood libel' – should be investigated. The late pope also met the families of Israeli hostages and called for their release. Only 1000 Christians live in Gaza, an overwhelmingly Muslim territory, said the US State Department's international religious freedom report for 2024. Most are Greek Orthodox. The Holy Land's Christian population has dwindled in recent decades as many have emigrated to escape war and conflict or to seek better opportunities abroad. Local Christian leaders have recently denounced attacks by Israeli settlers and Jewish extremists. Separately, another person was killed and 17 were wounded on Thursday in a strike against two schools that sheltered displaced people in the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, Al-Awda Hospital reported. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strike. The Gaza Health Ministry said that over the past 24 hours, local hospitals had received the bodies of 94 people killed in Israeli strikes and another 367 wounded. Meanwhile, there has been little visible progress from months of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas aimed at a new ceasefire and hostage release agreement, after Israel ended an earlier truce in March. Early on Friday AEST, Axios reported that Qatar, Egypt and the US had presented Israel and Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas with an updated Gaza ceasefire proposal, citing two sources. The two main updates in the latest proposal had to do with the scope of the Israeli military's withdrawal from Gaza during a ceasefire and the ratio of Palestinian prisoners to be released for each Israeli hostage. The Qatari prime minister is expected to meet Hamas leaders in Doha on Saturday to seek their agreement to the updated proposal, the report added. Hamas-led militants killed about 1200 people, mostly civilians, in the October 7, 2023 attack 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
LeMonde
18-07-2025
- LeMonde
Israel's shelling of a Catholic church in Gaza sparks widespread outrage
The strike obliterated a section of the church roof. On Thursday, July 17, at 10:20 am, an Israeli army tank shell struck the Holy Family Church, a sanctuary for 500 of the Gaza Strip's Christians and dozens more Muslim refugees from the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, in the enclave's north. According to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, three people were killed in the attack. Saad Salameh, the 60-year-old parish janitor, and Fumayya Ayyad, 84, were injured in the church courtyard and died shortly afterward at Al Ahli Arab Hospital. Najwa abu Daoud, 73, also lost her life in the attack. Nine other people were wounded, including Father Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest. "He sustained a minor leg injury and promptly received medical care," said Farid Jubran, a representative of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, when contacted by phone, adding: "He immediately went to back to work supporting the faithful." After the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack and the start of the war, Romanelli was stuck in Jerusalem, and was only able to return to his parish in May 2024, as part of a visit by Italian Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, to the Palestinian territory. Known for having spoken by phone or video nearly every day with the late Pope Francis until his death, Romanelli, a 55-year-old Argentine priest, has spent over a year helping his small congregation survive amid the Israeli bombardments. He has organized classes for children, distributed drinking water and celebrated Mass every day, doing his best to be present wherever he is needed.
