Deadly stampede at Gaza food distribution site
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Thursday that "Israeli raids on Gaza" had hit the Catholic Church of the Holy Family in Gaza City, condemning "the attacks against the civilian population that Israel has been carrying out for months" as unacceptable.
"No military action can justify such behavior," the Italian leader said on social media.
The Israel Defense Forces said it was "aware of reports regarding damage caused to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and casualties at the scene. The circumstances of the incident are under review."
بيان صحفي أولي من البطريركية اللاتينية - Press Release of Latin Patriarchate pic.twitter.com/7jvPuTPDPN
— Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem (@LPJerusalem) July 17, 2025"The IDF makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and civilian structures, including religious sites, and regrets any damage caused to them," the military said in the statement, which it shared on social media.
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which oversees the church in Gaza, said in a statement that several people were injured in "a raid" on the Holy Family Church, including the Parish Priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli.
"Currently there are no fatalities confirmed," the patriarchate said, but "the Church sustained damage."
Father Carlos (center) from the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, assists casualties injured in an apparent Israeli strike on the church at the city's Al-Ahli Hospital, also known as the Baptist Hospital, July 17, 2025.
OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP/Getty
CBS News' team in Gaza saw Romanelli being brought to the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City. He appeared to have sustained an injury to his right leg.
The Italian Catholic news agency SIR reported that six people were injured, two of whom it said were in critical condition. It said the parish had been housing around 500 displaced Christians, but Fadel Naem, the acting director of Al-Ahli Hospital, told The Associated Press there were both Christians and Muslims sheltering at the church, including a number of children with disabilities.
Father Gabriel Romanelli, Parish Priest of the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Family, censes during Christmas Eve Mass at the church in the Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City, Dec. 24, 2024, amid the war in the besieged Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas.
OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP/Getty
The late Pope Francis would regularly call Father Romanelli to check in with him and the people staying in the church during the war in Gaza. In his final public appearance, one day before his death, Francis called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as well as the release of Israeli hostages.
Haley Ott is the CBS News Digital international reporter, based in the CBS News London bureau.
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