An involved tank
“What we know for sure is that a tank hit the church directly. The Israeli army said by mistake but we are not sure”said the Catholic patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, at Vatican News. He went with his Greek Orthodox counterpart, Théophilos III, this Friday in the Gaza Strip. According to a press release from the Latin patriarchy, “Aiming 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 “.
This complex of the Church of the Sainte-Famille is a refuge for the small Catholic community 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.
Pope Leo XIV and Israeli Prime Minister spoke on Friday on the phone on Friday. The sovereign pontiff “renewed his call to revitalize negotiations in order to reach a ceasefire and at the end of the war“, expressing “His concern in the face of the dramatic humanitarian situation of the population of Gaza, whose heartbreaking price is paid in particular by children, the elderly and the sick”, According to the Vatican press release. Léon XIV also “Reaffirmed the urgency of protecting places of worship and especially all the faithful and all people in Palestine and Israel “.
