At least 84 people, including 73 Palestinian civilians waiting in line for humanitarian aid, were killed in the past 24 hours in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, the enclave’s Health Ministry said Sunday. The death toll of those killed while seeking food or essential goods since May has now surpassed 900, according to local authorities.
Among the latest victims was a 35-day-old infant, and another patient who died from malnutrition at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Simultaneously, the Israeli military issued new evacuation orders for Deir al-Balah and neighboring areas in central Gaza, zones that had so far been spared the most intense bombardments. Reuters reported that the new orders triggered panic among displaced residents who had sought refuge there.
In Tel Aviv, tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets Sunday, demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Trump administration broker a ceasefire with Hamas and secure the release of the remaining hostages still held in the Strip – about 50 people, of whom only 20 are believed to still be alive. Pressure is also mounting from hostage families, many of whom fear their loved ones are now trapped in areas being bombed.
Since October 7, 2023, the date of the Hamas-led assault on southern Israel, Gazan health officials say 58,895 Palestinians have been killed and over 140,000 wounded. On the Israeli side, the initial attack left 1,139 people dead and over 200 civilians kidnapped.
On Sunday morning, in the heart of war-torn Gaza, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa presided over Mass at the Catholic Church of the Holy Family, which had been hit by an Israeli mortar strike on Thursday, July 17. The attack killed three Christian worshippers and wounded several others, including parish priest Father Gabriel Romanelli. Despite his injuries, Romanelli co-celebrated the service with the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
“You are not forgotten,” Pizzaballa told the small community of Christian refugees sheltering inside the damaged church, the only Catholic parish in the Gaza Strip.
Speaking from the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo during Sunday’s Angelus prayer, Pope Leo XIV openly condemned the assault: “We continue to receive tragic news from the Middle East, especially from Gaza. I express my deep sorrow for the Israeli army’s attack on the Catholic parish of the Holy Family, which caused the deaths of three Christians and severely wounded others.”
“I pray for the victims,” the pope added, “and I am particularly close to their families and to all the parishioners. This act adds to the ongoing military strikes against civilians and places of worship in Gaza. Once again, I call for an immediate end to the barbarity of war and for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.”
At the end of his address, Pope Leo XIV read aloud the names of the three Christian victims killed in the parish attack, stating that “in those names, all the victims of Gaza are present.” A sentiment echoed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, who, speaking from Fiera di Primiero, where he is vacationing, remarked: “In the names of these victims, all victims of the Gaza tragedy are represented. There is absolutely no distinction between them: all are victims of unacceptable violence.”
“All of them,” Parolin stressed, “are victims of a war that must end as soon as possible. We carry them in our hearts and, for all of them, we implore God’s peace.”
Pope Leo XIV also reiterated the prohibition of collective punishment and the obligation to protect civilians: “I call for the respect of humanitarian rights, especially the ban on the indiscriminate use of force and forced displacement of populations.” He concluded by thanking the International Forum of Catholic Action for organizing Sunday’s global prayer marathon: “From 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., the invitation is to stop for just one minute and ask the Lord to enlighten our leaders and inspire paths to peace.”
