infrastructure in Gaza City, on Thursday. (PTI)
Deir al-Balah, July 18: Top church leaders visited Gaza on Friday after the Holy Family Catholic Church was struck by an Israeli shell the day before, resulting in the death of three people and wounding ten, including a priest who had developed a close friendship with the late Pope Francis. The strike drew condemnation from the pope and US President Donald Trump, and prompted a statement of regret from Israel, which said it was a mistake. Since ending a ceasefire in March, Israel has regularly launched far deadlier strikes across Gaza against what it says are Hamas militants, frequently killing women and children. Strikes killed 18 people overnight, health officials said Friday.
Pope Leo XVI renewed his call for negotiations to bring an end to the 21-month war in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The religious delegation to Gaza included two Patriarchs from Jerusalem – Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III. The rare visit aimed to express the “shared pastoral solicitude of the Churches of the Holy Land”.
Israel has heavily restricted access to Gaza since the start of the war, though church leaders have entered on previous occasions, usually to mark major holidays. They visited the Holy Family Catholic Church, whose compound was damaged in the shelling. They were also organising convoys carrying hundreds of tons of food, medical supplies, and other equipment to the territory, which experts say has been pushed to the brink of famine by Israel’s war and military offensive.
Israel has repeatedly struck schools, shelters, hospitals, and other civilian buildings, accusing Hamas militants of sheltering inside and blaming them for civilian deaths. Palestinians say nowhere has felt safe since Israel launched its offensive in response to Hamas’ Oct 7, 2023, attack. Israeli strikes killed at least 18 Palestinians overnight and into Friday, including a strike on a home in the southern city of Khan Younis that killed four members of the same family. Nearly 18,000 Palestinian children have been killed since the start of the war, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.(AP)