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Christian holy sites in both Gaza and the West Bank have faced their felt the brunt of Israeli bombing as the siege on Gaza continues into the 20th month.
On July 17th, Holy Family Church in Gaza was supposedly bombed by an IDF missile. The bombing killed three people and injured 10 in the process, many of whom were families who had already lost their homes and were sheltering in the church. Holy Family was the only Catholic church in Gaza.
“The people in the Holy Family Compound are people who found in the Church a sanctuary – hoping that the horrors of war might at least spare their lives, after their homes, possessions, and dignity had already been stripped away,” the Patriarchate said in its statement after condemning the deadly attack.
“Sadly, this act adds to the continuous military attacks against the civilian population and places of worship in Gaza. I again call for an immediate halt to the barbarism of the war and a peaceful resolution of the conflict” is what the newly anointed Pope Leo XIV posted on X in response to the bombing.
The attack was blamed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on “stray ammunition” and called it “regrettable” adding that an investigation will supposedly be carried out. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, told Vatican News that the Catholic community’s side of the story is that an Israeli tank hit it “directly”.
“What we know for sure is that a tank—the [Israeli army] says by mistake, but we are not sure about this—they hit the church directly, the Church of the Holy Family, the Latin church,” he added.
This attack has followed a trend of vandalism against Christian communities in the West Bank as well. A week prior, Taybeh, a small Christian village in the West Bank came under assault by Israeli settlers set fire to property within the village. The fire engulfed much of the village including homes and olive groves within the village.
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem visited the village and stated that the actions and the fire “are a direct and intentional threat to our local community first and foremost, but also to the historic and religious heritage of our ancestors and holy sites”.
WaL has previously reported that the Christian heritage of the Occupied Palestinian Territories has taken irreparable damage during Israel’s genocidal siege on Gaza.
By January 2024, merely 3 months into the siege, Israel has damaged or destroyed over 100 historic and cultural sites in Gaza, several of which were listed as patrimony of the world by UNESCO.
These included the Byzantine site known as the Jabalia Church, built in the year 444 and considered during its time as one of the most important churches in the Levant.
Saint Hilarion Monastery, the spiritual hilltop retreat built by the man who is said to have founded monasticism, was in consideration to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but its status following Israeli bombing is unknown.
“Israel is trying to erase the connection of the people with their land. It’s very clear and intentional,” Isber Sabrine, president of an international NGO that documents cultural heritage, told Al Jazeera in January. “Gaza’s heritage is part of its people, it’s history and their connection”. WaL
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PICTURED ABOVE: The Holy Family Church in Gaza. PC: Dan Palraz, CC BY-SA 4.0.
