Israeli forces hit Catholic parish in Gaza; two killed
July 17, 2025
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CWN Editor's Note: Two people were killed when an Israeli tank fired on Holy Family parish church in Gaza on July 17.
Four people were injured in the morning attack, including the pastor, Father Gabriel Romanelli.
Holy Family Church is the only Catholic parish in Gaza. During the last months of his life, Pope Francis had made it his practice to speak with Father Romanelli every day, offering encouragement to the little Catholic community.
The Latin-rite Catholic Patriarchate of Jerusalem condemned the attack as “a flagrant violation of human dignity and a blatant violation of the sanctity of life and the sanctity of religious sites.” The patriarchate noted that the parish complex is now sheltering “approximately 600 displaced persons, the majority of whom are children, and 54 people with special needs.”
Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, reporting on the shelling, said: “What we know for sure is that a tank—the IDF says by mistake, but we are not sure of this—they hit the church directly.”
Pope Leo XIV issued a statement expressing his “spiritual closeness” to the parish, entrusting the souls of the deceased to God, and renewing his call for an immediate ceasefire.
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