Cardinal brings aid to Gaza after Israeli strike on Catholic church
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Cardinal Pizzaballa Brings Aid Amidst Gaza Church Crisis
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa arrived in Gaza on Friday to provide aid after an Israeli strike hit the sole Catholic church in the region. The attack resulted in three fatalities and numerous injuries.
Since the onset of Israel’s military actions against Hamas in October 2023, the church has sheltered many Palestinians. Pizzaballa expressed a commitment to maintaining a Catholic presence in Gaza and voiced doubts about the strike being an accidental error.
Despite Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu attributing the attack to ‘stray ammunition’ and pledging an investigation, skepticism persists due to past unresolved incidents. Pope Leo and international leaders are calling for an end to hostilities, emphasizing the protection of civilians and holy sites.
(With inputs from agencies.)
Cardinal brings aid to Gaza after Israeli strike on Catholic church
Three people died and several were injured, including the parish priest, in the strike on the Holy Family Church compound in Gaza City a day earlier. Photos show its roof close to the main cross, scorching the stone facade, and shattering windows. Pizzaballa said a Catholic presence would remain in Gaza “whatever happens,” and he expressed doubts about Israel’s explanation that the strike was a mistake. Pope Leo renewed appeals for an end to the war, called for the protection of civilians and places of worship, and again voiced concern for the dramatic humanitarian situation in Gaza, the Vatican said. It is extremely rare for foreign officials to be allowed entry into Gaza, as Israel has essentially sealed its borders. Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, was accompanied by the cardinal to bring aid to victims of Israel’s strike on sole Catholic church in the Palestinian enclave, while he and a Vatican official questioned Israeli explanations for the incident.
Item 1 of 5 Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III visit the Church of the Holy Family which was hit in an Israeli strike on Thursday, in Gaza City July 18, 2025. The Latin patriarchate of Jerusalem/Handout via REUTERS
Summary Strike on parish killed three people, injured several
Netanyahu blamed it on “stray ammunition”
Cardinal and Vatican official question whether it was a mistake
Israeli PM discussed incident with Pope Leo and Trump
ROME/JERUSALEM, July 18 (Reuters) – Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa entered Gaza on Friday to bring aid to victims of Israel’s strike on the sole Catholic church in the Palestinian enclave, while he and a Vatican official questioned Israeli explanations for the incident.
Three people died and several were injured, including the parish priest, in the strike on the Holy Family Church compound in Gaza City a day earlier. Photos show its roof has been hit close to the main cross, scorching the stone facade, and shattering windows.
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The church has sheltered hundreds of Palestinians since the start of Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in the enclave in October 2023, following the group’s deadly attack on Israel.
In an interview with Italy’s Corriere della Sera daily, Pizzaballa said a Catholic presence would remain in Gaza “whatever happens,” and he expressed doubts about Israel’s explanation that the strike was a mistake.
“We are not a target. They say it was an error. Even if everybody here believes it wasn’t,” said the cardinal, who is Jerusalem’s Latin Patriarch, the top Catholic authority in the region.
The Vatican’s editorial director, Andrea Tornielli, wrote on the Holy See’s official news outlet that Israel’s references to a mistake and its promises of an investigation “can hardly be reassuring”.
“Not only because they are contradicted by the images of mosques reduced to rubble and churches attacked (…) but also because, after a year and a half, there are still no results from the investigation into the killing of two Christian women shot by a sniper in the Gaza parish,” he said.
‘STRAY AMMUNITION’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday blamed “stray ammunition” for the church strike and said his country was “investigating the incident and remains committed to protecting civilians and holy sites.”
Netanyahu called Pope Leo on Friday.
In the conversation, Leo renewed appeals for an end to the war, called for the protection of civilians and places of worship, and again voiced concern for “the dramatic humanitarian situation” in Gaza, the Vatican said.
Netanyahu – who on Thursday was reportedly reprimanded for the church strike by U.S. President Donald Trump – expressed to Leo “Israel’s regret for the tragic incident” and “heartfelt condolences” for the families of the victims, his office said.
It is extremely rare for foreign officials to be allowed entry into Gaza, as Israel has essentially sealed its borders. Pizzaballa was accompanied by Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem.
The two religious leaders brought “hundreds of tons of food supplies as well as first aid kits and urgently needed medical equipment,” the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said in a statement.
The aid is meant not only for Gaza’s small Christian community but for “as many families as possible”, the Patriarchate said, adding it also ensured the evacuation of those injured in the church strike.
The pope, who on Thursday said he was “deeply saddened” by the attack but did not blame Israel for it, called the cardinal and Theophilos on Friday to convey support for their mission, Pizzaballa told Vatican media.
The pope expressed his love and affection for the Gaza parish community “and reiterated his intention to do everything possible to stop the needless slaughter of innocents,” the Vatican said.
Reporting by Alvise Armellini in Rome and Crispian Balmer in Jerusalem, editing by Alexandra Hudson and Gavin Jones
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Top Holy Land clerics visit Gaza after deadly church strike
Two of the most senior Christian leaders in Jerusalem made a rare visit to war-torn Gaza on Friday, a day after Israeli fire killed three at the Palestinian territory’s only Catholic church. Israeli military told AFP it “struck a terror infrastructure site” and had taken steps to mitigate the risk to civilians. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and expressed concern about the “dramatic humanitarian situation”, renewing his appeal for negotiations, a ceasefire and an end to the war. But the Jerusalem Patriarchate said there had been “repeated assaults on holy sites” and blamed it on “stray ammunition” and the Israeli military said it was “not aware” of the incident near Rafah, in the south of the city. It said aid agencies helped facilitate the “full pastoral visit” which also involved the delivery of food supplies and emergency medical equipment, and medical evacuation of the injured. It also said Israel was blocking agreement, threatening the initial release of 10 hostages and taking steps to “mitigate the risk” of civilians being injured.
The Roman Catholic Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and his Greek Orthodox counterpart, Theophilos III, greeted local Christians and toured the Holy Family Church in Gaza City.
Both men, in full black clerical robes in the searing heat, arrived in two battered people carriers, one with the yellow, white and cross-keys flag of the Vatican fluttering from the front window, before heading inside.
“The Patriarchs met with families who have sought shelter there. They offered condolences, conveyed pastoral encouragement, and personally observed the damage sustained by the church during the recent strike,” the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said.
At the Greek Orthodox Saint Porphyrius Church, they “offered words of comfort and solidarity” to the displaced, in a visit the Greek Orthodox Jerusalem Patriarchate called a “powerful expression” of church unity.
Israel strictly controls access to Gaza, where the civil defence agency on Friday reported that further Israeli strikes killed more than 30 people, including nine aid seekers near the city of Rafah in the south.
The agency said an airstrike killed six members of the same family in Khan Yunis, also in the south, where locals used their bare hands to pick through the rubble in a desperate search for survivors.
Louai Abu Sahloul, a relative of the victims, said the relentless wave of strikes was taking its toll. “People are like walking dead, tired of hunger, pain and destruction everywhere in Gaza,” he told AFP.
The Israeli military told AFP it “struck a terror infrastructure site belonging to Hamas in the Khan Yunis area” and had taken steps to mitigate the risk to civilians.
It was “not aware” of the incident near Rafah, it added.
– ‘Stop the needless slaughter’ –
The two Jerusalem church leaders said aid agencies helped facilitate the “full pastoral visit”, which also involved the delivery of food supplies and emergency medical equipment, and medical evacuation of the injured.
Pope Leo XIV, the leader of the Catholic Church, said he was “deeply saddened” by Thursday’s 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.
Romanelli was one of 10 people wounded.
The Vatican said the pope called Pizzaballa on Friday morning to ask about the situation in Gaza and the condition of wounded, including Romanelli.
“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 Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and expressed concern about the “dramatic humanitarian situation”, renewing his appeal for negotiations, a ceasefire and an end to the war.
Netanyahu’s office said he voiced Israel’s regret, calling it a “tragic incident” and blaming it on “stray ammunition”.
He also updated the pope on Israeli efforts to secure a ceasefire and hostage release deal at talks in Qatar, saying their “efforts… have so far not been reciprocated by Hamas”.
In a video broadcast on Friday, Abu Obaida, a spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, in turn said Israel was blocking agreement, threatening the initial release of 10 hostages.
– Holy sites –
Pizzaballa, whose office said he was expected to remain in Gaza until Sunday, and Theophilos III lead congregations across Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
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 says 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.
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Israel’s Netanyahu called Pope Leo after Gaza church strike, Vatican says
The pope renewed his appeal for a ceasefire and an end to the war in Gaza. He expressed his concern over the “dramatic” humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave.
During the call, the pope renewed his appeal for a ceasefire and an end to the war in Gaza, and expressed his concern over the “dramatic” humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave, a Vatican statement said.
Leo also stressed the urgent need to protect places of worship, the faithful, and all people in the Palestinian territories and Israel, the statement added.
(Reporting by Alvise Armellini, editing by Gavin Jones)