Star Metro - Top Holy Land clerics visit Gaza after deadly church strike

The rare visit came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel "deeply regrets" the strike on the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and blamed a "stray" round.

Israel strictly controls access to the territory, where the civil defence agency on Friday reported that further Israeli strikes killed at least 14 Palestinians across Gaza.

The Catholic Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and his Greek Orthodox counterpart, Theophilos III, headed an "ecclesiastical delegation" to meet local Christians following Thursday's strike on the Holy Family Church, the churches said.

The delegation expressed "the shared pastoral solicitude of the Churches of the Holy Land and their concern for the community of Gaza", the Latin Patriarchate said.

"During their stay, the delegation will meet with members of the local Christian community, offer condolences and solidarity, and stand alongside those affected by the recent events," it added.

The Jerusalem Patriarchate called it a "powerful expression" of church unity and solidarity.

The clerics, who last week travelled to the occupied West Bank after an attack on an ancient Byzantine-era church blamed on Israeli settlers, were joined by diplomatic representatives from more than 20 countries, including Jordan, Russia, China, the EU, Japan, and Canada, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate added.

Both churches said the visit had been facilitated with the help of aid agencies and also involved the delivery of food supplies and emergency medical equipment.

In Italy, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the delegation arrived with 500 tonnes of aid for local civilians.

"The Italian government calls on Israel to stop military actions and to fully guarantee the safety of the two envoys in their important mission," he said in a statement.

- 'Mistake' -

Pope Leo XIV, the leader of the world's Catholics, said he was "deeply saddened" by the strike on the church, where hundreds of displaced people were sheltering, including children and those with special needs.

His predecessor, Pope Francis, kept in regular contact with parish priest Father Gabriel Romanelli and repeatedly called for an end to the Gaza war, which has created a humanitarian crisis for the people living there.

Romanelli was one of 10 people injured in the strike and was seen with bandages on his leg.

Both Italy and France called the strike "unacceptable" while US President Donald Trump called Netanyahu after having "not a positive reaction" on hearing about it, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

"It was a mistake by the Israelis to hit that Catholic church, that's what the prime minister relayed to the president," she told reporters.

The Jerusalem churches, which have jurisdiction for Catholics and members of the Greek Orthodox church across Israel and the Palestinian territories, said they had ensured the medical evacuation of those injured.

One was in a critical condition and two others were seriously wounded, the Jerusalem Patriarchate said.

Out of the Gaza Strip's population of more than two million, about 1,000 are Christians. Most of them are Orthodox but according to the Latin Patriarchate, there are about 135 Catholics in the territory.

Israel's military maintains that it does not deliberately target churches and religious sites.

But the Jerusalem Patriarchate said there had been "repeated assaults on Christian holy sites in Gaza".

The war was sparked by Palestinian military group Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which led to the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel's military retaliation has killed at least 58,667 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.

W.Fortin--SMC