Pope Leo XIV receives a call from Netanyahu after the attack on the Catholic Church of Gaza

Pope Leo XIV has received a phone call from Benjamín Netyahu, prime minister of Israel on Friday, after the attack of the Israeli army that occurred yesterday, which reached the Church of the Sacred Family in Gaza.

As reported by the press office of the Holy See in a statement, the Pontiff received the call from Castel Gandolfo, where he is during his holiday period.

The Israeli army perpetrated on July 17 an attack against the parish of the Sagrada Familia de Gaza, the only Catholic Church of the Strip that was used as a refuge for more than 500 people since the beginning of the war in October 2023.

The attack caused the death of three people and left a dozen injured, some of them seriously.

During the conversation, the Holy Father renewed his call to urgently reactivate the negotiation process, in order to reach a high fire and end the war.

He expressed his deep concern for the dramatic humanitarian situation of the population in Gaza again, “whose heartbreaking price is paying, in particular, children, the elderly and the sick.”

Finally, Pope Leo XIV reiterated the urgency of protecting places of worship and, above all, to the faithful and all the people who live both in Palestine and Israel.

The Holy Father called Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, who expressed his firm conviction before the attack and said that “it is time to put an end to this massacre.”

For their part, the Israeli defense forces have declared that “fragments of a projectile shot during a military operation in the area impacted by mistake” and that the cause of the incident is currently under investigation.