The pastor of Holy Family Church, Gaza’s only Catholic parish, has shared his perspective on Israel’s July 17 attack on the church property, which killed three and left others seriously wounded, and the suffering of the refugee communities in the area.
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) reported that Fr. Gabriel Romanelli said he had just finished morning prayers and a meeting and was talking with Suhail Shadi Abu Dawoud, a postulant to the Institute of the Incarnate Word, when the attack occurred.
“We hadn’t even finished the greeting when a big explosion was heard. Screams, dust, debris… everything happened very quickly,” he said.
He recounted that he felt the explosion and saw pieces of the wall and ceiling begin to fall, and, despite being wounded in his leg and side, he rushed to help those injured by debris and shrapnel.
Suhail was seriously wounded by shrapnel and has undergone a major operation, according to ACN. CatholicVote previously reported that Suhail has spoken out about the attack from the hospital where he is recovering, thanking Catholics for supporting him through prayer and emphasizing that “love is stronger than war.”
Fr. Romanelli said that Holy Family was sheltering between 500 to 600 refugees, including children and many elderly, sick, or disabled people. The strike killed two elderly women and the church’s gatekeeper.
“To see these people leave, who were so dear and with whom we share every day… it is an enormous pain,” Fr. Romanelli said.
The priest said July 20 that the situation of the refugees in Gaza has been difficult, adding that there have been “many deaths.” The weather has been roughly 107 degrees, and bombings have continued, he noted.
Fr. Romanelli also provided updates on another young man who was seriously injured in the strike.
“Nayib, a young man in a wheelchair, with a wound in a lung, is better,” he said. “He prays; he has always been very prayerful; he continues to pray and asks for prayers; he is still hospitalized. The truth is that the conditions in the hospital where he is hospitalized are deplorable. […] Most of the hospitals in the strip have been destroyed.”
>>Names and faces of the Catholic dead and wounded from the Gaza parish struck by Israel<<
As CatholicVote previously reported, Pope Leo condemned the attack on Holy Family and has expressed solidarity with the parish and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem have also decried the attack, stating July 18 that “Houses of worship are sacred spaces that should be kept safe.”
“They are also protected under international law. Targeting a church that houses approximately 600 refugees, including children with special needs, is a violation of these laws,” the church leaders continued. “It is also an affront to human dignity, a trampling upon the sanctity of human life, and the desecration of a holy site.”
Fr. Romanelli has called for peace in Gaza, asking the faithful to pray for an end to the violence in the area.
“Here, life has become unlivable for everyone, especially for the most vulnerable,” he said. “We pray that, through prayer and help, the Christian community may continue to be a witness of hope.”