Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Pope Leo XIV on Saturday after a church in Gaza was hit, killing at least three people, in an IDF attack, the Vatican said in a statement, adding that the Pope called for a ceasefire and an end to the war and expressed his concern over the "dramatic humanitarian situation," in the Strip. He also stressed the need to protect holy sites in the West Bank and in Israel.
The IDF said the church was hit by shell fragments and Netanyahu expressed regret over the incident. "Every innocent life lost is a tragedy,” a statement from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) read. Netanyahu said that Israel was investigating the incident and remains committed to protecting civilians and religious sites.
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the highest-ranking Catholic official in Jerusalem, entered Gaza on Friday to bring humanitarian aid and comfort to victims of Israel's strike on the sole Catholic church of the Palestinian enclave.
The church has offered shelter to hundreds of Palestinians since the start of Israel's military campaign against Hamas in the enclave in October 2023, following the group's deadly attack on Israel.
Get the Ynetnews app on your smartphone: Google Play: https://bit.ly/4eJ37pE | Apple App Store: https://bit.ly/3ZL7iNv
In an interview with Italy's Corriere della Sera daily, Pizzaballa said a Catholic presence would remain in Gaza "whatever happens," and expressed doubts about Israel's comments that the strike was a mistake.
"We are not a target. They say it was an error. Even if everybody here believes it wasn't," the cardinal said.
The two religious leaders brought "hundreds of tons of food supplies as well as first aid kits and urgently needed medical equipment," Pizzaballa's Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said in a statement.
The aid is meant not only for Gaza's small Christian community but for "as many families as possible", the Patriarchate said, adding it also ensured the evacuation of those injured in the church strike.
The pope, who on Thursday said he was "deeply saddened" by the attack but declined to blame Israel for it, called the cardinal and Theophilos on Friday to convey support for their mission, Pizzaballa told Vatican media.
The pope expressed his love and affection for the Gaza parish community, "and reiterated his intention to do everything possible to stop the needless slaughter of innocents," the Vatican said.