Pope ‘deeply saddened’ after two people killed in strike on Gaza’s only Catholic church

By Ibrahim Dahman, Catherine Nicholls, Christopher Lamb, Abeer Salman, Eugenia Yosef and Sophie Tanno, CNN

(CNN) — Pope Leo XIV is “deeply saddened” after two people were killed in a strike on Gaza’s only Catholic church, he said in a Vatican telegram on Thursday.

Calling the strike a “military attack,” the Vatican’s Secretary of State Pietro Parolin said: “In commending the souls of the deceased to the loving mercy of Almighty God, the Holy Father prays for the consolation of those who grieve and for the recovery of the injured.”

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which has jurisdiction for Latin-rite Catholics in Gaza, said the two people were killed after Gaza’s Holy Family Church was struck by Israel on Thursday morning. Several others were injured.

The Israeli military said it was “aware of reports regarding damage caused to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and casualties at the scene,” adding that “the circumstances of the incident are under review.”

“The (Israel Defense Forces) makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and civilian structures, including religious sites, and regrets any damage caused to them,” it said.

The patriarchate named the two killed as Saad Issa Kostandi Salameh and Foumia Issa Latif Ayyad.

“We pray for the rest of their souls and for the end of this barbaric war. Nothing can justify the targeting of innocent civilians,” its statement read.

Pope Leo used his statement to reiterate his plea for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Church ‘directly’ hit

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, told Vatican News that the church was hit “directly” by a tank Thursday morning.

The parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli, was injured in the attack, the patriarchate said, alongside a number of others.

Images verified by CNN showed the church, which has become a shelter for the enclave’s tiny Christian community, was damaged in the attack, but the crucifix on top of the church’s roof appeared intact.

The church has come under attack once before amid Israel’s war in Gaza. In December 2023, an Israeli military sniper shot and killed two women who were sheltering inside, according to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

The church is known internationally for its close connection with the late Pope Francis, who would call the parish almost daily since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war.

Meanwhile ceasefire talks to end the war in Gaza, which Palestinian officials say have killed over 58,000 people, are continuing.

Israel may show flexibility on a key sticking point in the Gaza ceasefire talks, sources have told CNN, as negotiators attempt to close the gaps preventing the first pause in months of fighting.

Specifically, there could be some flexibility from Israel on the potential withdrawal of its troops from the Morag Corridor – a key Israeli security zone in the southern Gaza strip – a source familiar with the matter told CNN on Thursday.

The positioning of Israeli troops in Gaza around the Morag Corridor during a proposed 60-day ceasefire has been a major stumbling block in the talks.

The corridor was established by Israeli forces in April with the stated intention of dividing up Gaza and exerting greater pressure on Hamas. Its name refers to the Jewish settlement of Morag that once lay between the cities of Khan Younis and Rafah in the south of the territory.

The US had talked up the prospects of a quick agreement in the talks, which had gained momentum after deal ended the brief Israel-Iran conflict last month. But days of talks yielded no breakthrough.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

The-CNN-Wire
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