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Pope Leo XIV Demands Gaza Ceasefire, as Israeli Tank Crew Shells Church, Kills 3 Women

Juan Cole 07/18/2025

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Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Israeli newspaper Arab 48 reports that an Israeli tank crew fired on the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza, killing three women and wounding several several others, in the old quarter of Gaza City. The shelling did substantial damage to the church building, as well. The Baptist Hospital received two of the dead and several of the wounded, who included parish priest Father Gabriel Romanelli, who was lightly injured.

The late Pope Francis called Romanelli every evening in the last months of his life. Pope Francis had demanded an inquiry into whether Israel’s war on Gaza constitutes a genocide.

The third victim to succumb to her wounds was Najwa Abu Daud. Some 500 Palestinian refugees are being given shelter at the church.

Pope Leo XIV conveyed through his Secretary of State “his spiritual closeness to the parish priest, Fr. Gabriel Romanelli—who was injured during the attack—as well as to the entire parish community.”

The Pope called for an immediate ceasefire in the aftermath.

Vatican News says that the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, told them, “What we know for sure is that a tank, the IDF says by mistake, but we are not sure about this, they hit the Church directly, the Church of the Holy Family, the Latin Church.” He said that some of the wounded are in critical condition and in danger of dying.

His open doubt that the shelling was a mistake reflects widespread opinion in international diplomatic circles, including the Italian government.

Israel has previously targeted houses of worship, such as the historic Mosque of Omar and the historic Church of Porphyrios, and at least nine other major mosques in the Gaza Strip, apparently as part of a campaign of spiritual demoralization against the Palestinian population. UNESCO reported last month, “Since 7 October 2023, Israeli forces have caused damage to cultural and religious sites in Gaza. As at 29 November 2024, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) had verified damage to 75 sites in Gaza since 7 October 2023: 10 religious sites, 48 buildings of historical and/or artistic interest, three depositories of movable cultural property, six monuments, one museum and seven archaeological sites.”

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote on “X” that “Israeli raids on Gaza also hit the Holy Family Church. The attacks against the civilian population that Israel has been carrying out for months are unacceptable.”

That is, Meloni did not see the shelling of the church as a one-off action or an accident, as the Israeli authorities described it, but as part and parcel of a long-term Israeli strategy of attacking Palestinian civilians and civilian infrastructure.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonia Tajani concurred, calling the shelling a “serious act against a Christian place of worship.” He added, “The attacks by the Israeli army against the civilian population in Gaza are no longer acceptable.”


“Siege Church,” Digital, Midjourney, 2025

The shelling of the Holy Family Church was only one of many Israeli strikes on Thursday, IMEMC, notes, which left several dozen civilians dead:

    “Medical sources in Gaza reported that the Israeli attacks claimed the lives of at least 61 Palestinians, including 30 in Gaza City. Dozens more were wounded, among them children and women throughout the coastal enclave.The sources also confirmed the death of a newborn at the Baptist hospital in the Zeitoun neighborhood, in the southern area of Gaza city, due to malnutrition . . .
    In related news, Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières or MSF) reported that Israeli forces shelled tents sheltering displaced families in Khan Younis at around 3 a.m. yesterday, as part of an expanded military operation. Among the wounded in the attack was MSF colleague Hosni Al-Najjar. A nearby tent was also struck, killing an infant inside.

It notes that Israel said it killed 3 Hamas commanders.

Israeli rules of engagement allow 20 civilian deaths for every militant killed, and even 50 to 100 civilians dead for high-value targets. This RoE is unparalleled in any industrial democracy and contravenes basic principles of International Humanitarian Law. As a result, NATO has ceased joint military operations with Israel, given its barbaric disregard for civilian life.

Filed Under: Featured, Israel/ Palestine

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment. He is Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Follow him on Twitter at @jricole or the Informed Comment Facebook Page

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