GAZA CITY: The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem mentioned an Israeli strike on Gaza’s solely Catholic church killed two individuals on Thursday (Jul 17), as Israel mentioned it “by no means targets” non secular websites and was investigating what occurred.
“With deep sorrow the Latin Patriarchate can now affirm that two individuals had been killed because of an obvious strike by the Israeli military that hit the Holy Household Compound this morning,” the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem mentioned in a press release.
“We pray for the remainder of their souls and for the top of this barbaric conflict. Nothing can justify the focusing on of harmless civilians,” it added.
The spokesman for Gaza’s civil defence company, Mahmud Bassal, instructed AFP that “two residents from the Christian group had been killed because of accidents sustained in an Israeli strike” on the church in Gaza Metropolis.
Israel mentioned it expressed “deep sorrow over the injury to the Holy Household Church in Gaza Metropolis and over any civilian casualty”, including that the army was investigating.
“Israel by no means targets church buildings or non secular websites and regrets any hurt to a spiritual website or to uninvolved civilians,” the overseas ministry mentioned on X.
Out of the Gaza Strip’s inhabitants of greater than two million, about 1,000 are Christians. Most of them are Orthodox however in keeping with the Latin Patriarchate, there are about 135 Catholics within the territory.
The deaths on the church compound got here as Gaza’s civil defence company reported a minimum of 20 individuals useless in different Israeli strikes across the Palestinian territory.
