Mea culpa? Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu claimed to “deeply” regret a strike against a church in Gaza who killed three dead on Thursday after recognizing a “error” according to the White House.
The Israeli army said that “a preliminary investigation suggests that bursts of an shell drawn during an operation in the sector have mistakenly affected the Church” in the Holy Family in Gaza City (North).
The Latin patriarchy of Jerusalem said that an Israeli strike had touched this one Catholic church in the Gaza Strip devastated by a war launched by an attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023.
“Israel deeply regrets that a lost shot has reached the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza. Each lost innocent life is a tragedy. We share the pain of families and faithful, “said” Bibi “in a statement from his office. He added that Israel “investigates this incident”.
In Washington, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said that President Donald Trump called Israeli Prime Minister “to discuss the church strike in Gaza”. “It was a mistake by the Israelis to hit this Catholic church, this is what the Prime Minister said to the President,” she added.
According to a press release from the Latin patriarchy, the complex of the Church of the Holy Family, a refuge for the small Catholic community since the start of the war, “was struck by the Israeli army”. He reported three dead and 10 wounded, including Father Gabriel Romanelli.
Since the start of the war, Father Gabriel Romanelli regularly dialogued by video connection with the former Pope Francis, who died in April, since this complex which houses hundreds of Palestinian displaced.
“A tank struck the church”
Within the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, injured receive care in tents. Among them, Father Romanelli, wearing a dressing around the leg. Some injured arrived on stretchers. One of them has an oxygen mask. Other Palestinians cry next to the remains covered with white mortuary bags placed on the ground.
“A tank targeted us and hit the church. Several civilians have been killed and injured, “said Shadi Abou Daoud, a move from which the 70 -year -old died in the strike.
For the Latin patriarchy, “aiming for a sacred site which houses around 600 displaced, mostly children, is a blatant violation of human dignity (…) and the sacred character of religious sites, which are supposed to provide a safe shelter in wartime”.
Jerusalem’s Latin patriarch, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, told Vatican News: “What we know with certainty is that a tank hit the church directly. The Israeli army said by mistake but we are not sure ”.
Pope Léon XIV said he was “deeply saddened” and renewed his call “to an immediate cease-fire” in Gaza, where the indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel for a truce are deadlocked.
The Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, said that “Israeli raids on Gaza have affected the Church of the Holy Family. The attacks on the civilian population carried out by Israel for months are unacceptable ”
France has sentenced an “unacceptable” bombardment.
French President Emmanuel Macron “firmly condemns” the Israeli strike against a church in Gaza which left three dead and a dozen injured on Thursday, he said in the evening in a message on X.
I spoke with Cardinal Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, after the Israeli strike which hit the Church of the Sainte-Famille de Gaza, which I firmly condemn.
Our thoughts go to victims, their families and all Christians …
– Emmanuel Macron (@emmanuelmacron) July 17, 2025
According to the local civil defense, 25 people in total perished in Israeli strikes Thursday in Gaza.
This territory has about a thousand Christians, of a population of more than two million people besieged by Israel since October 2023 and on the verge of famine according to the UN.
Most Christians are Orthodox but, according to patriarchy, around 135 Catholics live in Palestinian territory.
“It is a place of worship. There were no jihadists in this church. There were families, civilians, “said Archbishop Pascal Gollnisch, director general of the work of the East, evoking the strike against the Church.
The attack on October 7 led to the Israeli side the death of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count made from official data.
Israel has sworn to destroy Hamas and launched a destructive offensive in retaliation in which at least 58,667 people, mostly civilians, were killed, according to data from the Ministry of Health in Gaza, deemed reliable by the UN.
