# Pope renews ceasefire call after Israeli strike on Gaza church kills three
*Event date: 2025-07-17*
Pope Leo XIV has renewed his call for a Gaza ceasefire after an Israeli strike hit the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, killing three people and wounding nine others.
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which oversees the only Catholic church in Gaza, said the building was struck by the Israeli army. The Vatican said the Pope was deeply saddened by the loss of life and injury and expressed spiritual closeness to the parish community. The church compound has sheltered displaced families from Gaza's tiny Christian community since the war began.
Israel's prime minister said the country deeply regretted that a stray ammunition round hit the church. The Israeli military said the incident was under review and that its initial inquiry suggested fragments from a shell fired during operational activity in the area struck the building by mistake. The gap between the church's account and Israel's explanation is central to understanding the incident, and both sides have left key details unresolved.
The Latin Patriarchate later named the dead as Saad Issa Kostandi Salameh, the parish janitor, Foumia Issa Latif Ayyad and Najwa Abu Daoud. It condemned the tragedy as a targeting of innocent civilians and a sacred place, while noting that many other civilians had already been harmed, displaced and killed in Gaza. Caritas Jerusalem said the shell hit the roof, scattering shrapnel and debris across the yard.
Video and photographs showed damage close to the church cross and broken windows. TV footage showed parish priest Father Gabriele Romanelli being led to hospital after a light injury. The patriarchate said nine others were wounded, including one in critical condition and two seriously injured. It also said many displaced people had been sheltering in the compound when the strike happened.
The episode immediately pulled in global political and religious voices. US officials discussed the strike with Israeli leaders. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called attacks against civilians unacceptable. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem also condemned the hit, describing it as a violation of human dignity and the sanctity of religious sites.
For Gaza's Christian community, the strike was not just another battlefield incident. The church had become a refuge for families who had already lost their homes. The report said late Pope Francis had called the parish nearly every day while alive, reinforcing the symbolic importance of the site to Christians far beyond Gaza.
The church compound sits in an area the Israeli military had previously told residents to leave, adding another layer of displacement and danger. Because the war has already driven large numbers of people into improvised shelters, a strike on a church compound carries unusually heavy resonance. It raises questions not only about the shell or fragment that hit the building, but about the broader risk to civilian sanctuaries in an urban war zone.
Even with the Israeli statement that the incident was accidental, the event is likely to intensify scrutiny of operations in densely populated parts of Gaza. For now, the confirmed facts are stark: three dead, nine injured, a church compound damaged, and a ceasefire appeal renewed from the Vatican.
