Fr Gabriel Romanelli, lightly injured in the leg during the Israeli military strike on the Holy Family Parish compound in the Gaza Strip on 17 July told L’Osservatore Romano that what happened in the parish was ‘terrible’ and that ‘the situation continues to be very serious.’ He asked the universal Church community for prayers: ‘Let’s try to convince the whole world to end this war,’ he said.
In a statement issued on 17 July, the Israel Defense Forces, or IDF, said that an initial inquiry ‘suggests that fragments from a shell fired during operational activity in the area hit the church mistakenly’. It added that the cause of the incident ‘is under review’.
The shrapnel that hit the church damaged part of the roof, barely missing the iconic cross.
‘That cross you see is nearly two metres tall, so it’s large, and the shrapnel, not only the shrapnel, but also the rocks fell on two elderly women who were under the church in a tent, and they died,’ Fr Romaneli explained.
‘The metal fragments injured many others. There were 15 wounded, three of whom have died. The doorman, Saad, died, along with the two elderly women,’ the parish pastor explained to the Vatican flagship newspaper and its journalist Roberto Cetera.
The parishioners confirmed dead by the Latin Patriarchate were Saad Salameh, 60, Fumayya Ayyad, 84, and Najwa Abu Daoud, a woman in her 70s. Salameh was the parish’s janitor and was in the yard at the time of the explosions, said a 17 July press release from Caritas Internationalis. Ayyad was sitting inside a Caritas psychological support tent when the blast sent shrapnel to the area, fatally injuring her. Abu Daoud was sitting in the same tent as Ayyad, the patriarchate’s CEO Sami El-Yousef confirmed to OSV News on 17 July.
In the midst of this tragedy, we’ve felt comfort, prayer, the closeness of our pastors, all the faithful, and all people of goodwill.
Fr Romanelli said two people remain seriously wounded—not in life-threatening condition anymore, ‘but they’re still in very serious condition.’
‘Najeeb is still hospitalised at the Anglican hospital, with a punctured lung.’ He said the other injured person is ‘Suhail, our postulant, our religious brother ... a very capable young man, very apostolic’ and an aspiring priest.
‘Since he was 15, he felt his calling, and he was supposed to be in seminary two years ago, but the war started, and he couldn’t leave or travel to officially begin his novitiate. He’s very active here in the parish. He suffered a severe injury and had surgery, and now he faces a long recovery. So please pray for these two, who are the most seriously injured. The rest of the wounded are doing well.’
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa entered the Gaza Strip on 18 July together with Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III, offering his support, closeness and prayers following the attack.
Cardinal Pizzaballa remained in Gaza City until 20 July, saying Sunday morning Mass in the parish church. Pictures posted on the parish’s Facebook showed him taking pictures with parishioners, clearly comforted by his presence, and videos circulating on social media also showed him playing with parish children.
‘It was a deeply heartfelt visit, truly beautiful. In the midst of this tragedy, we’ve felt comfort, prayer, the closeness of our pastors, all the faithful, and all people of goodwill,’ Fr Romanelli said.
How can a population like that of Gaza be destroyed and starved like this? Many boundaries have already been crossed.
In the morning of 18 July, Pope Leo XIV received a phone call at his residence in Castel Gandolfo from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
‘During the conversation, the Holy Father renewed his appeal for renewed momentum in the negotiations and for a ceasefire and an end to the war,’ a statement from the Vatican following the call said.
‘I believe it was appropriate,’ Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, said of Netanyahu’s phone call on 18 July in his phone interview with Italian television channel RAI.
‘It was absolutely necessary to explain to the Pope directly and to inform him about what happened, given the gravity of the incident. So I see the call as a positive gesture,’ he said.
He emphasised, however, that ‘real results of the promised investigation must be made known,’ and the investigation should ‘be carried out seriously’.
‘After so many words, we finally need to see actions. I truly hope that what the prime minister said can become a reality as soon as possible, because the situation in Gaza is truly unbearable,’ Cardinal Parolin told RAI.
Cardinal Parolin added that the Israel–Hamas war ‘is a war without limits, based on what we’ve seen’.
He asked, ‘How can a population like that of Gaza be destroyed and starved like this? Many boundaries have already been crossed.
‘We’ve been comforted by the closeness of the Church, as always,’ Fr Romanelli said, referencing the call Pope Leo made to Cardinal Pizzaballa on 18 July as he was entering Gaza.
We’ve lost so much, we’ve suffered so much, and we continue to suffer. We offer it all in the name of the Lord.
As the situation remains serious, Fr Romanelli said, ‘We continue to pray for peace, to try to convince the world that this war will bring no good. The sooner it ends, the better—for everyone: for Palestine, for Israel, for all citizens.’
Emphasising the suffering of his flock—around 600 Christians shelter in the premises of the Holy Family Parish—he said, ‘What can I say ... we’ve lost so much, we’ve suffered so much, and we continue to suffer. We offer it all in the name of the Lord.’
He said that during the funeral Mass for three Christians, who were Greek Orthodox, on 17 July, ‘We said the prayer of our Lord Jesus: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” May the Lord truly forgive, not only them, but also us, forgive the whole world. For the Lord’s forgiveness is the source of grace, peace and reconciliation.’
Asking for prayers, he said, ‘Let’s try to convince the whole world to end this war, so we can begin rebuilding peace, justice and reconciliation, both in Palestine and in Israel.
The ‘barbarity of war’ and forced displacement of people have to end, and civilians and places of worship have to be protected, Pope Leo XIV implored on 20 July after reciting the Angelus with those gathered outside the papal palace in Castel Gandolfo.
‘Tragic news continues to arrive these days from the Middle East, especially from Gaza,’ he said. ‘I again call for an immediate end to the barbarity of the war and for a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
‘I renew my appeal to the international community to observe humanitarian law and to respect the obligation to protect civilians, as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force and the forced displacement of the population,’ he said.
Expressing his ‘profound sorrow’ for the attack on the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza, he said, ‘I pray for the victims: Saad Issa Kostandi Salameh, Foumia Issa Latif Ayyad and Najwa Ibrahim Latif Abu Daoud, and I am particularly close to their families and to all the parishioners.
‘Sadly, this act adds to the continuous military attacks against the civilian population and places of worship in Gaza,’ the Pope said.
Before praying the Angelus, the Pope spoke to reporters waiting near the entrance to the papal villa after he celebrated Mass in nearby Albano Laziale.
I deeply sympathise with your feeling that you can do little in the face of this serious situation. You are in the heart of the Pope and of the whole Church. Thank you for your witness of faith.
They asked him about the Middle East conflicts, particularly in Gaza, and he said there is a need for parties to ‘go to the table to dialogue and to put down their weapons because the world can’t take it anymore.’
‘There are so many conflicts, so many wars; there is a need to really work for peace, to pray with trust in God, but to also work’ toward those efforts, he said.
When asked about his telephone call with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on 18 July, the Pope said, ‘We insisted on the need to protect the holy places of all religions,’ and to work together in this regard.
But he added, there is a need for ‘true respect for people, for sacred places, and to try to leave behind so much violence, so much hatred, so many wars.’
After praying the Angelus, the pope addressed all of ‘our beloved Middle Eastern Christians’.
‘I deeply sympathise with your feeling that you can do little in the face of this serious situation,’ he said. ‘You are in the heart of the Pope and of the whole Church. Thank you for your witness of faith.’
He prayed Our Lady intercede to ‘protect you always and accompany the world towards the dawn of peace.’
Banner image: Damage to the roof of the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, which was hit in an Israeli strike on 17 July. (Photo: OSV News/Khamis Al-Rifi, Reuters.)
