The strike obliterated a section of the church roof. On Thursday, July 17, at 10:20 am, an Israeli army tank shell struck the Holy Family Church, a sanctuary for 500 of the Gaza Strip’s Christians and dozens more Muslim refugees from the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, in the enclave’s north. According to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, three people were killed in the attack. Saad Salameh, the 60-year-old parish janitor, and Fumayya Ayyad, 84, were injured in the church courtyard and died shortly afterward at Al Ahli Arab Hospital. Najwa abu Daoud, 73, also lost her life in the attack.
Nine other people were wounded, including Father Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest. “He sustained a minor leg injury and promptly received medical care,” said Farid Jubran, a representative of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, when contacted by phone, adding: “He immediately went to back to work supporting the faithful.”
After the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack and the start of the war, Romanelli was stuck in Jerusalem, and was only able to return to his parish in May 2024, as part of a visit by Italian Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, to the Palestinian territory. Known for having spoken by phone or video nearly every day with the late Pope Francis until his death, Romanelli, a 55-year-old Argentine priest, has spent over a year helping his small congregation survive amid the Israeli bombardments. He has organized classes for children, distributed drinking water and celebrated Mass every day, doing his best to be present wherever he is needed.
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