CNN
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Leaders from the Catholic and Greek Orthodox Church visited Gaza’s only Catholic church on Friday, where a day earlier three people were killed in an Israeli strike.
The visit is highly unusual given Israel’s tight control over access in and out of the territory.
Israel says it “deeply regrets” the incident, blaming stray ammunition for the strike. An investigation is underway.
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, together with Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, visited the enclave to show their support for Gaza’s Catholics, according to a statement from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
The two expressed “the shared pastoral solicitude of the Churches of the Holy Land and their concern for the community of Gaza,” the Patriarchate – which has jurisdiction for Roman Catholics in Gaza – said.
They brought in food aid and medical supplies to the territory, which is facing a humanitarian crisis. The Patriarchate also said the leaders ensured those injured in the Israeli attack would be evacuated outside Gaza for treatment.
The church in Gaza has become a shelter for the enclave’s tiny Christian community and others during the conflict.
Pope Leo received a phone call from Netanyahu on Friday in which the pontiff expressed the importance of protecting places of worship, the Vatican said.
During the call, which Netanyahu’s office is yet to comment on, Leo renewed his calls for a ceasefire to be reached by the warring sides in Gaza.
Pope Leo “again expressed his concern for the dramatic humanitarian situation of the population in Gaza, whose heartbreaking price is paid especially by children, the elderly and the sick,” according to the statement.
There has been international condemnation of the attack, including from key Israeli ally the US, which comes at a time when there has been no let up in the offensive in Gaza.
Nearly 59,000 people have died during the conflict, the Palestinian health ministry says, and ceasefire talks remain deadlocked.
Dr. Fadl Naim, Director of Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza, asked why those injured in the attack were able to leave when others are barred.
“Is it an attempt to polish the image of the occupation, or a discriminatory act — treating the wounded differently based on religion?” he asked on X.
“What about the tens of thousands of injured Palestinians who are denied their basic right to travel for treatment?”