Two worshippers dead after Israeli tank fire hits church in Gaza as Pope Leo calls for immediate ceasefire
Two women have been killed and a priest injured after an Israeli tank opened fire on the only Catholic Church in northern Gaza, the Vatican has confirmed.
Listen to this article
Strikes hit the Holy Family Church in northern Gaza on Thursday morning, officials with the Catholic Church said.
Parish priest Father Gabriel Romanelli, who was injured in the incident, was very close to the late Pope Francis and the two spoke often during the war in Gaza.
The Catholic charity Caritas Jerusalem said the parish's 60-year-old caretaker and an 84-year-old woman receiving psycho-social support inside a Caritas tent in the church compound were killed in the attack.
Read more: Thai woman filmed herself having sex with Buddhist monks and blackmailed them
The Israeli military said it is aware of the incident and is investigating.
Parish priest Fr Gabriel Romanelli, who was close to the late Pope Francis, was also injured.
The Israeli military said it "makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and civilian structures, including religious sites, and regrets any damage caused to them".
It claims Hamas operatives have been active in the area, this has not been verified.
Witnesses said the attack appeared to be an Israeli tank shelling.
"Two persons were killed as a result of an apparent strike by the Israeli army that hit the Holy Family Compound this morning," the Vatican confirmed on Thursday afternoon.
In the wake of the strikes, Pope Leo called for an immediate ceasefire in the region.
Towards the end of his life, Pope Francis would regularly call for an end to Israel’s assault on Gaza, which has killed at least 53,000 people, the vast majority women and children.
Last year, he told CBS' 60 Minutes that he calls a priest daily at 7pm at the Holy Family Church to hear what was happening to the nearly 600 people sheltering at the facility.
Only 1,000 Christians live in Gaza, an overwhelmingly Muslim territory, according to the US State Department's international religious freedom report for 2024.
The report says the majority of Palestinian Christians are Greek Orthodox but they also include other Christians, including Roman Catholics.