Once again, Israeli occupation forces [IOF] have bombed and violated a place of worship in the Gaza Strip, killing and injuring civilians inside. This time, the attack directly targeted the Church of the Holy Family (Latin Monastery Church) in Gaza City. The strike occurred while hundreds of civilians were sheltering inside the church, resulting in the killing of three civilians and the injury of six others, including the parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli. This attack is part of a recurring Israeli policy of targeting and destroying places of worship — both mosques and churches — including while they are being used by worshippers and forcibly displaced civilians seeking refuge and safety.
According to information collected by the PCHR’s field team, at approximately 10:12 a.m., the IOF fired an artillery shell that struck the upper section of the church building. Shrapnel scattered throughout the compound, killing three civilians: Saad Salama (60), Fomia Ayad (80), and Najwa Ibrahim Awad (75), and injuring six others, some critically.
The strike caused extensive damage to the church, which houses around 600 displaced people, including 54 persons with disabilities who had sought shelter there after their homes were destroyed, according to the Jerusalem Orthodox Patriarchate1. Many were forced to evacuate under shelling, some without their ventilators and vital medical equipment, putting their lives at immediate risk.
Our colleague, Reem Al-Soury, who has been forcibly displaced and sheltering in the church, shared:
“We sought refuge in the church looking for a safe place since 13 October 2023. We lost our home, like most families here. We have nowhere else to go. We previously refused to evacuate to the south and stayed under the church’s protection, hoping it would keep us safe, as it is a well-known sanctuary. All the families here are Christian, peaceful civilians hoping to survive this madness. Today’s incident was devastating. From the moment of the strike, the screams of women and children, the terror in everyone’s eyes — it was overwhelming. We tried to help the injured and reassure them, even though we knew some injuries were critical. I saw two women lying on the ground in severe condition. One man was bleeding heavily while sitting in his wooden chair, another unconscious in his wheelchair. They had been talking just moments before. I saw the kind young man, Suhail Abu Dawoud, lying on the floor, bleeding. It seemed his presence in front of Fathers Joseph and Gabriel shielded them, taking the worst of the blast.”
The church had also taken in dozens of Christian civilians who survived a previous bombing of the Greek Orthodox Church, where Israeli forces killed and injured many. After that attack, survivors were welcomed into the Latin Monastery Church, which had been providing them protection and care for months.
The PCHR’s team learned that the priest remained in daily contact with the Pope at the Vatican from the first day of the Israeli military assault until his death. The Pope had been calling daily to check on the Christian community and Gaza’s population as a whole — a pastoral and humanitarian gesture reflecting deep spiritual solidarity with a people facing genocide. Pope Leo expressed sorrow over the killing of civilians following the Israeli airstrike on Gaza’s only Catholic church.
This attack is not an isolated incident. It is part of a systematic campaign that does not distinguish between Muslims and Christians, mosques or churches. The IOF spares no one in its aggression. Every Palestinian in Gaza is a direct target in this ongoing genocide.
Since the beginning of Israel’s military offensive on Gaza more than 21 months ago, the PCHR has documented the destruction of hundreds of mosques and damage to at least three churches, in a clear pattern of targeting all elements of Palestinian identity. These attacks are part of a broader policy of genocide and extermination — one that includes the targeting and destruction of religious, cultural, and historical landmarks. These acts constitute blatant violations of the special protections afforded to religious sites under international humanitarian law.
For example, on 19 October 2023, Israeli forces bombed the Church of Saint Porphyrius, one of the oldest churches in the world, located next to the Ahli Hospital in Gaza City. The church was sheltering dozens of forcibly displaced civilians at the time. Israeli aircraft fired two missiles at the church’s annex building, killing 18 people — including eight children and five women — and injuring dozens more.
Gaza’s historic mosques and churches are not just places of worship; they are symbols of profound cultural, religious, and historical significance. Targeting them is a crime against humanity’s shared heritage and sacred spaces and reflects the IOF’s destructive nature toward all that is civilised, sacred, and alive in Gaza.
PCHR calls on the international community to assume its legal and moral responsibilities and to act immediately to stop the crime of genocide against Palestinian civilians and to ensure real protection for religious sites and places of worship. Also, PCHR affirms that the continued international silence on these crimes paves the way for further attacks on civilians and religious institutions. The protection of such places is a legal and moral duty that cannot be delayed or compromised.
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[…] is also home to significant cultural and religious landmarks, including St. Porphyrius Church and the Latin Monastery Church, both of which have been repeatedly targeted, resulting in numerous civilian casualties, while still […]
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