The Church of the Holy Family, the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip, suffered “severe damage” following an Israeli airstrike carried out this Thursday, according to a statement by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. It marks the first time the Tel Aviv regime bombs this particular religious structure.

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Italy’s ANSA news agency reported that six people were severely injured, while the parish priest, Father Gabriele Romanelli—who frequently kept the late Pope Francis informed about the war—sustained minor injuries to his leg.

Arab media outlets such as Al Jazeera and Wafa report that the attack resulted in the deaths of two women and left seven other people injured.

The now-deceased Pope Francis called Father Romanelli every day since the beginning of the Israeli genocidal campaign to ask about the situation in Gaza and the hundreds of displaced people taking shelter in this church.

In December 2023, two months after the start of the Zionist invasion of the Strip, an Israeli sniper opened fire on this parish and killed a mother and her daughter. Throughout 2024, the army completely destroyed 815 mosques in the Gaza Strip, according to a report from the Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).

After losing their homes or being forcibly displaced, many Gazans have sought refuge in schools, mosques, and the just destroyed Latin Monastery church as places to shelter from Israeli bombardments.

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