His Holiness Pope Leo XIV expressed profound sorrow and outrage following the Israeli military attack on the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza, which resulted in the martyrdom of three Christian faithful and left several others critically wounded.
Speaking during the Angelus prayer on Sunday, July 20, 2025, in Liberty Square, Castel Gandolfo, the pontiff stated:
“With deep pain, I denounce the Israeli army’s assault on the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza. This brutal attack, carried out last Thursday, claimed the lives of three Christians — Saad Issa Qustandi Salameh, Fumiya Issa Latif Ayyad, and Najwa Ibrahim Latif Abu Dawood — and seriously injured others. I hold their families and the entire parish community in my heart and prayers.”
“Tragically, this attack is yet another in a series of ongoing assaults targeting civilians and places of worship in Gaza. I again call for an immediate halt to the barbarism of the war and for a peaceful resolution of the conflict.”
“I renew my appeal to the international community to observe humanitarian law and to respect the obligation to protect civilians, as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force and the forced displacement of the population.”
Turning his attention to the Christian communities across the Middle East, the Pope added:
“To our beloved Middle Eastern Christians I say: I deeply sympathise with your feeling that you can do little in the face of this grave situation. You are in the heart of the Pope and of the whole Church. Thank you for your witness of faith. May the Virgin Mary, woman of the Levant, dawn of the new Sun that has risen in history, protect you always and accompany the world towards the dawn of peace.”
