Pope Leo XIV calls for end to 'barbarous conflict' in Gaza after church hit by IDF, 93 killed while queuing for food

Pope Leo XIV called for the “immediate halt to the barbarism” of the war in Gaza, and for a “peaceful resolution” to the conflict, days after a Catholic church in Gaza was bombed by the Israeli military, killing three parishioners.

His call came as reports emerged that Israel’s military had killed 93 Palestinians while waiting for aid trucks.

Barbarism

Leo was speaking in Latin after conducting the Angelus Prayer at Castel Gandolfo on Jul. 20, saying that “tragic news” continued to arrive from Gaza.

He expressed his “profound sadness” at the Jul. 17 attack on Holy Family Church, Gaza’s only Catholic Church.

In his speech, the Pope named the three parishioners that had been killed, Saad Issa Kostandi Salameh, Foumia Issa Latif Ayyad, and Najwa Ibrahim Latif Abu Daoud, out of 600 Gazans that had been sheltering at the complex, according to the Vatican News.

Leo said that he was “particularly close to their families and to all the parishioners”, and that the attack “adds to the continuous military attacks against the civilian population and places of worship in Gaza”.

“I again call for an immediate halt to the barbarism of the war, and for a peaceful resolution in conflict.”

"Stray ammunition"

The Holy Family Church complex was hit by an Israeli military attack on Jul. 17, with initial reports saying that a tank shell had struck the church on the roof near the church’s cross.

An IDF spokesperson later claimed that the attack had been intended for “military forces”, and blamed the strike on “stray ammunition”, and that stray fragments from a tank shell had hit the church.

The damage done was “unintentional”, and the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said it “deeply regrets” the attack.

The attack also resulted in several injuries, including to the parish priest, Gabriel Romanelli.

Romanelli gained prominence when it was revealed that while he was still alive, Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, called Romanelli every night to check on the priest’s status.

Queuing for food

The Pope’s speech came on the same day as reports that Israel’s military had killed at least 93 people who had been queuing for food.

According to The Guardian, the report was issued by Gaza’s civil defence agency, but was disputed by the IDF, which claimed that the number of reported dead was “far higher” than its own initial investigation.

Leo’s comments extended his support to Middle Eastern Christians, saying that they were in the “heart of the pope and the whole Church”, who thanked them “for your witness of faith”.

His condemnation of violence in Gaza follows his predecessor's similarly strident calls for the end of violence and conflict in the area.

He called on the international community to “observe humanitarian law and to respect the obligation to protect civilians, as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force and the forced displacement of the population.”

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Top image MARIA GRAZIA PICCIARELLA/AFP