Gaza church was bombed just 10 minutes after prayers ended: Official

An 'Israeli' artillery strike on the Holy Family Church (Latin Monastery) in Gaza, which killed two Palestinian women and injured several others on Thursday, occurred just minutes after prayers had concluded, according to a senior church official.

Elias Al-Jaldah, a member of the Agents Council of the Arab Orthodox Church in Gaza, revealed that the shelling took place “only 10 minutes after the prayer service ended,” warning that had worshippers still been present, “we would have witnessed a horrific massacre.”

Jaldah strongly condemned the attack, insisting it was not a mistake but “part of a systematic campaign targeting churches and their affiliated centers throughout months of this genocidal war.”

He argued that such strikes aim to pressure Gaza’s Christian community to leave, saying, “they are trying to force Christian families to abandon their land, but they have clung to it and stood firm.”

Underscoring the shared suffering of all Palestinians, Jaldah said, “Christians in Gaza, like the rest of their people, have paid the price and endured all the hardships. But they made a decisive choice: to live in their areas in the northern Strip or be buried there.”

The Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem confirmed that the strike caused significant damage to the church, which has served as a shelter for hundreds of displaced families. Among the injured was parish priest Father Gabriel Romanelli, who sustained minor leg injuries.