PALESTINE – Israeli fighter jets struck the Holy Family church in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood on Thursday killing at least 3 people and injuring 9 others according to local reports. One of them is in critical condition.

The Holy Family Church is the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip, which has been sheltering many displaced Christian and Muslim Palestinians since October 2023.

According to Gaza’s Civil Defense Agency earlier, two elderly Palestinians died, while several other people were injured, including the parish priest, Gabriel Romanelli.

Romanelli was transferred to the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital to receive medical treatment for his leg injury, witnesses said.

In a press release, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem confirmed the attack and the injuries, including the wounding of the parish priest, stating that the church has sustained damage.

The Israeli army claimed that the circumstances of the attack were under review.

The army alleged that it exerts all efforts to “mitigate harm to civilians and civilian structures, including religious sites, and regrets any damage caused to them.”

In the course of its deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army has bombed several worship places, including the Gaza Baptist Church and the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius, the oldest in the Gaza Strip and the third oldest in the world.