Christian patriarchs make rare visit to Gaza after deadly Israeli strike on church

By WAFAA SHURAFA JULIA FRANKEL and FATMA KHALED Associated Press DEIR AL-BALAH Gaza Strip AP Top church leaders visited Gaza on Friday after its only Catholic church was struck by an Israeli shell the day before an attack that killed three people and wounded ten including a priest who had developed a close friendship with the late Pope Francis The strike drew condemnation from the pope and U S President Donald Trump and prompted a report of regret from Israel which mentioned it was a mistake Since ending a ceasefire in March Israel has regularly launched far deadlier strikes across Gaza against what it says are Hamas frequently killing women and children Strikes killed people overnight fitness agents declared Friday Pope Leo XVI meanwhile renewed his call for negotiations to bring an end to the -month war in a phone call Friday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the Vatican reported Church leaders organize aid evacuations The religious delegation to Gaza included two Patriarchs from Jerusalem Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III The rare visit aimed to express the shared pastoral solicitude of the Churches of the Holy Land a message mentioned Israel has heavily restricted access to Gaza since the start of the war though church leaders have entered on previous occasions usually to mark major holidays FILE -Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III center arrives for Christmas celebrations according to the Eastern Orthodox calendar outside the Church of the Nativity traditionally recognized by Christians to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ in the West Bank city of Bethlehem Jan AP Photo Nasser Nasser File They visited the Holy Family Catholic Church whose compound was damaged in the shelling They were also organizing convoys carrying hundreds of tons of food clinical supplies and other equipment to the territory which experts say has been pushed to the brink of famine by Israel s war and military offensive and the evacuation of those wounded in the church strike In his call with Netanyahu Pope Leo XVI expressed again his concern over the dramatic humanitarian situation for the population in Gaza with children the elderly and the sick paying the largest part heartbreaking price the Vatican explained in a message An Israeli official who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to speak on the record substantiated that Netanyahu had placed the call and explained that the Vatican s account was accurate In an earlier comment the pope had repeated his intentions to do everything accomplishable to stop the useless slaughter of innocent people and condemned the unjustifiable attack on the church The Vatican stated the pope had also received an update on the condition of Rev Gabriel Romanelli the resident priest at the church who was lightly wounded The priest had regularly spoken by phone with Pope Francis who died in April telling the pontiff about the struggles faced by civilians in Gaza Netanyahu issued a comment Thursday saying Israel deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit Gaza s Holy Family Church The Israeli military mentioned it was still analyzing We are unable to get them out even in small pieces Israel has repeatedly struck schools shelters hospitals and other civilian buildings accusing Hamas of sheltering inside and blaming them for civilian deaths Palestinians say nowhere has felt safe since Israel launched its offensive in response to Hamas Oct terrorist attack Israeli strikes killed at least Palestinians overnight and into Friday including a strike on a home in the southern city of Khan Younis that killed four members of the same family according to morgue records at Nasser Hospital which received the bodies Associated Press footage of the aftermath of the strike revealed people digging through the rubble in search of remains They are still under the rubble stated Belal Abu Sahloul a relative of those killed Until now we are unable to get them out even in small pieces At the hospital a mother could be seen holding the hand of her daughter who had been killed in one of the other strikes and placed in a body bag Nearly Palestinian children have been killed since the start of the war according to Gaza s Soundness Ministry Israel s military reported it was operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities and that it takes feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm Three more killed seeking aid according to medical bureaucrats Nasser Hospital noted another three people were killed while heading toward an aid site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation an Israeli-backed American contractor A spokesperson for the foundation announced there was no violence at its sites overnight and that crowds were docile Related Articles China pledges to crack down on illicit exports of rare earths urges US to lift more pact controls In the current era in History July Nadia s perfect Britain will lower its voting age to in a bid to strengthen democracy Zelenskyy appoints a new prime minister for a war-weary nation At least dead and evacuated after heavy rain in South Korea Since the group s operations began in late May hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in shootings by Israeli soldiers while on roads heading to the sites according to spectators and soundness functionaries GHF s four sites are all in military-controlled zones and the Israeli military has noted its troops have only fired warning shots to control crowds There was no comment from the military on the latest deaths Hamas killed specific people mostly civilians in the Oct terrorist attack and abducted people largest part of whom have since been published in ceasefire agreements or other deals Fifty hostages are still being held less than half of them presumed to be alive Israel s retaliatory offensive has killed over Palestinians according to Gaza s Physical condition Ministry which has declared women and children make up more than half of the dead It does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its tally The ministry is part of the Hamas-run authorities but is led by curative professionals The United Nations and other international organizations consider its figures to be the the greater part reliable count of war casualties Frankel shared from Tel Aviv Israel and Khaled from Cairo AP Correspondent Colleen Barry announced from Vatican City