Father Gabriel Romanelli, the pastor of Holy Family Parish in Gaza, reported that following the breakdown of the truce between Israel and Hamas, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have launched new attacks very close to his parish. The priest told Vatican News the bombings occurred just 300 or 400 meters (about 985 to 1,300 feet) from the church, awakening the faithful and causing a growing sense of insecurity throughout the community. “The bombings woke us up; they were very close. Fortunately, no shrapnel [hit us] and we’re fine, but throughout the Strip there is already talk of more than 350 dead and more than a thousand injured,” Romanelli said.
At the outset of the war the parish building, the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip, was converted into an improvised shelter where 500 people now live. Most are Orthodox Christians, Protestants, and Catholics, but it also serves as a shelter for more than 50 Muslim children with disabilities and their families. The priest of the Institute of the Incarnate Word emphasized that, given the continued uncertainty, some of the families who had returned to their homes after the ceasefire was declared have decided to return to the parish, feeling safer “with Jesus,” despite the fact that no place in the region is completely safe.
“Here we are together with Mother Teresa’s sisters, the male religious of my congregation of the Incarnate Word, the sisters of the same congregation, the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará. We all try to do good, to serve; we pray, we assist the elderly, the children; we also have children with special needs, and we try to make sure they don’t suffer, because children are sponges — they realize if adults are anxious,” he added.
Romanelli also referenced the support they are receiving from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, led by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, especially in channeling the humanitarian aid that has been able to enter in recent days thanks to the truce in Gaza and the West Bank. “We continue to pray to convince everyone that peace is possible, that we must work for peace, for the works of justice, hoping that the Lord will grant this part of the Holy Land a period of peace for everyone, Palestinians and Israelis,” he concluded.
