Overview

• An Israeli shell struck Gaza City’s Holy Family Church on July 17, killing three worshippers and injuring ten others, among them Father Gabriel Romanelli, who suffered a minor leg wound.
• As the territory’s only Catholic sanctuary and shelter for displaced families, the church compound sustained heavy damage, provoking condemnation from Italy, the Vatican and other religious authorities.
• The Israel Defense Forces expressed regret, asserted it makes every effort to shield civilian structures and has launched a formal review of the incident.
• Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III entered Gaza to deliver food, medical aid and emergency supplies and to offer solidarity to local communities.
• Even as Gaza’s health system teeters on collapse and over two million residents are displaced, U.S.- and Arab-mediated ceasefire talks in Doha remain deadlocked over buffer zones, withdrawal maps and aid delivery.