The Catholic church that was struck in Gaza City last Thursday was unintentionally hit during a military operation, the Israel Defense Forces said on Wednesday, confirming civilian injuries and damage to the site caused by the strike.
A probe completed on Tuesday night by the Southern Command found that the Holy Family Church compound — Gaza’s only Catholic church — was hit due to a misfired munition during IDF activity in the area. Adjustments were made mid-operation to improve targeting accuracy, and the army said guidelines for using fire near religious and sensitive sites have since been reinforced.
The incident, which the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said killed three people and injured several others including parish priest Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, sparked international condemnation and an expression of “deep sorrow” from Israel. The Foreign Ministry said at the time that Israel “never targets churches or religious sites.”
The IDF said Wednesday that the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) facilitated the entry of humanitarian aid — food, medicine, and supplies — into the church and enabled a visit by Greek and Latin Patriarchate representatives. Injured civilians were evacuated for further medical treatment.
The military reiterated that it targets only military objectives and expressed regret for any civilian harm.
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza continued on Wednesday, with the Israel Air Force striking some 120 terror targets over the past day, including cells of operatives, booby-trapped buildings, tunnels, and other infrastructure, the IDF said.
Dozens of casualties have been reported by media outlets in Gaza since Tuesday, but there were no immediate tolls from the Hamas-run health ministry or other health officials. The day before, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry reported that 77 people had been killed in the previous 24 hours.
According to one report, an Israeli strike on Tuesday on a house in the northwestern part of Gaza City killed eight people, including children.
Footage showed severely injured children after arriving at a hospital. According to the reports, the house had been sheltering displaced people from other areas.
The IDF did not issue any statement on the strike.
The strikes came as five IDF divisions continued ground operations across the Strip.
The ground operation in southern Gaza’s Rafah saw on Tuesday two combat engineers, one of them a platoon commander, seriously wounded and another soldier moderately hurt by an explosive device, the IDF announced, adding that the troops, who served with the Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade, were taken to hospitals and their families were notified.
The military operation has continued amid spiraling evidence that aid is failing to reach large segments of the population in Gaza and a mounting international outcry.
A statement with 111 signatories, including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Save the Children and Oxfam, warned on Wednesday that “mass starvation” was spreading in Gaza and that “our colleagues and those we serve are wasting away.”
The groups called for an immediate negotiated ceasefire, the opening of all land crossings and the free flow of aid through United Nations-led mechanisms.
Even after Israel began easing a more than two-month aid blockade in late May, Gaza’s population is still suffering extreme scarcities.
Israel said humanitarian aid is being allowed into Gaza and accused Hamas of exploiting civilian suffering, including by stealing food handouts to sell at inflated prices or shooting at those awaiting aid.
It also accused UN organizations of not properly distributing aid, noting hundreds of trucks are awaiting collection on the Gazan side of the Kerem Shalom border crossing.
The controversial US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said in a statement that the UN, which refuses to work with it, “has a capacity and operational problem” and called for “more collaboration” to deliver life-saving aid.
Hundreds of Palestinians have reportedly been killed while trying to receive aid at GHF sites since the organization began operating in late May.
In their statement, the humanitarian organizations said warehouses with tons of supplies were sitting untouched just outside the territory, and even inside, as they were blocked from delivering the goods.
“Palestinians are trapped in a cycle of hope and heartbreak, waiting for assistance and ceasefires, only to wake up to worsening conditions,” the signatories said.
“It is not just physical torment, but psychological. Survival is dangled like a mirage,” they added. “The humanitarian system cannot run on false promises. Humanitarians cannot operate on shifting timelines or wait for political commitments that fail to deliver access.”
In a letter sent on Tuesday to COGAT chief Maj. Gen Ghassan Alian, the Israel Medical Association urged that the entrance of humanitarian aid and basic medical supplies into Gaza be ensured.
In response to the letter, a COGAT spokesman said the IDF, through COGAT, “is working to allow and facilitate the transfer of humanitarian aid to the residents of the Gaza Strip.”
The COGAT spokesperson said that since the beginning of the war, over 45,000 tons of medical equipment have been transferred into the Gaza Strip, carried by more than 3,000 trucks.
The spokesperson added that “The IDF continuously and consistently facilitates the provision of medical services through aid organizations and the international community.”
COGAT has also helped international aid organizations to set up 13 field hospitals equipped with necessary medical supplies, the spokesperson said.
“Israel will continue to allow the entry of medical equipment and medicines into the Gaza Strip,” the spokesperson continued, “while taking all possible measures to prevent the Hamas terrorist organization from seizing the aid and using it for terrorist activity and military purposes.”
The war between Israel and Hamas broke out on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led terrorists invaded Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251. Fifty hostages remain in Gaza, 28 of whom the IDF has confirmed as dead.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 58,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 20,000 combatants in battle as of January and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.
Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.