By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
VATICAN CITY/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Pope Leo XIV has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to achieve a ceasefire and “protect places of worship” after Gaza’s only Catholic Church was reportedly struck by Israel’s military, killing three people and injuring 10, including the parish priest, the Vatican said.
The pope renewed his appeal for negotiations and a ceasefire in Gaza in Friday’s phone call, according to the Vatican’s press office.
“From his residence at Castel Gandolfo,” Leo discussed with Netanyahu the “military attack by the Israeli army that struck the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza, killing three people and injuring others, including some seriously,” said the Holy See Press Office in a statement.
“During the conversation,” it noted, Leo “repeated his appeal for a renewed push for negotiations, a ceasefire and an end to the war.”
The pope also “again expressed his concern about the tragic humanitarian situation of the population in Gaza, whose children, elderly, and sick are paying an agonizing price.”
“Finally,” the statement stressed that Leo reiterated the urgent need to protect places of worship and, especially, the faithful and all people in Palestine and Israel.”
ISRAELI TANK FIRE
The Holy Family Church was struck Thursday by an Israeli tank on Thursday morning, “resulting in three deaths and 10 injuries, including the parish priest,” Gabriel Romanelli, the Vatican confirmed. It was not immediately clear when the injured Romanelli would resume church activities.
“An explosion hit the front of our church, the Church of the Holy Family. That cross [where the explosion occurred], you see, is nearly two meters (six feet) tall, so it’s large, and the shrapnel [as well as] the rocks fell on two elderly women who were under the church in a tent, and they died. The metal fragments injured many others. There were fifteen wounded, three of whom have died,” the parish priest recalled.
The Vatican said 10 people were injured.
“The doorman, Saad, died, along with the two elderly women, Foumia and Najwa,” the priest said in comments shared by the Vatican and seen by Worthy News.
“Let us pray, asking the Lord for forgiveness. As I said, the situation continues to be very serious. We continue to pray for peace and 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.”
He added that “During Mass that same day, in the Orthodox church where we buried the dead, 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, and forgive the whole world. For the Lord’s forgiveness is the source of grace, peace, and reconciliation.”
APPEALING TO LEADERS
In a statement, the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem appealed to leaders “to raise their voices and to do all that is necessary in order to stop this tragedy, which is humanly and morally unjustified.”
Israel has denied deliberately targeting civilian sites but accuses Hamas of hiding among the public, including Gaza’s Christian minority.
Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that saw the killing of 1,200 people and the abduction of more than 250 others, sparked the current war.
The Hamas-controlled health ministry says more than 58,000 people have been killed in the fighting in Gaza.
The ministry’s casualty lists do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but they include the names of “thousands” of children.
Over the past month, more than 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli military, including five who died in a roadside ambush earlier this month.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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