CrossFireArabia
One man and one woman were killed after Israel bombed a Catholic Church in Gaza, Thursday morning.
The parish priest of the Holy Family Catholic Church as it’s officially known, Father Gabriel Romanelli as well as six others were injured and taken to the Al Ahli Baptist Hospital. in Gaza City.
The news was confirmed by The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pizzaballa and carried across news and social media websites, reaffirming that Romanelli, an Argentinian cleric, kept an open channel with the late Pope Francis informing him od developments in Gaza.
The church which lies in Gaza City was directly hit by an Israeli tank shell causing major structural damage to the building that has since housed Palestinians fleeing from Israeli bombs.
Italy’s Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni confirmed in a social media post that: “Israeli raids on Gaza also hit the Church of the Holy Family. The attacks against the civilian population that Israel has been carrying out for months are unacceptable. No military action can justify such an attitude.”
Gaza has a minority Christian community whose number stood at around 1,100 including 135 Catholics. The number may have yet dwindled since the Israeli genocide which began soon after 7 October 2023 that killed over 58,000 people.
Indeed, in that month, Israeli warplanes bombed the Church of St Porphyrius, Gaza’s oldest church and killing at least 18 people.
In October 2023, just days after the war began, Israeli forces bombed the Church of Saint Porphyrius, the Gaza Strip’s oldest, killing at least 18 people.
