Cairo/Jerusalem (Reuters)-Israeli forces killed at least 22 people in gaza attacks on Thursday, and two people died in an attack on a church where the late Pope Francis used to speak regularly, doctors and church officials said.
Eight men in charge of protecting humanitarian aid trucks would be among the dead in air strikes while mediators continued to ceasefire negotiations in Doha.
A US authority said this week that the conversations were doing well, but two authorities of the Palestinian militant group Hamas told Reuters that there was no advance, while the Israeli military continued to attack Gaza.
A man and a woman died, and several people were injured in “an apparent attack from the Israeli army” to the church of the Holy Family in Gaza, Jerusalem’s Latin patriarchy told a statement.
“We pray that their souls rest (at peace) and to end this Barbara war. Nothing can justify the attack on innocent civilians,” said the patriarchy, which supervises the church.
Photos released by the church showed that his roof was hit near the main cross, burning the stone facade, and that the windows were broken.
Continues after advertising
Father Gabriele Romanelli, an Argentine who used to regularly update the late Pope Francis about the Israelo-Palestine conflict, was slightly injured in the attack. TV images showed him sitting receiving treatment at Al-Ahly Hospital in Gaza, with a bandage at the bottom of his right leg.
“The attacks against the civilian population that Israel has been doing for months are unacceptable. No military action can justify such an attitude,” said Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni in a statement.
The Pope Lion was “deeply sad” with the loss of lives and renewed his appeal for an immediate ceasefire, the Vatican said. Israel’s defense forces (IDF) said they were aware of victims’ reports and were analyzing the incident.
Continues after advertising
“IDF makes every possible effort to mitigate damage to civilians and civil structures, including religious places, and regrets any damage caused to them,” he said.
Israel has been trying to eradicate Hamas in Gaza in a military campaign that began after group A’s deadly attack in October 2023 and caused wide hunger and deprivation in the small enclave.
Palestinian doctors said an air strike on Thursday killed a man, his wife and his five children in Jabalia, northern Gaza, and that another in the north killed eight men who had been charged with protecting help trucks.
Continues after advertising
Three people were killed in an air strike in downtown Gaza and four in ZeiToun, east of Gaza, according to doctors.
(Additional report by Altee Armellini in Rome)
