Israeli forces killed at least 22 people in attacks in the Gaza Strip on Thursday and several were hurt in a strike on a church that late Pope Francis used to speak to regularly, medics and church officials said.
Eight men tasked with protecting aid trucks were reported among the dead in airstrikes that were carried out as mediators continued ceasefire talks in Doha.
A U.S. official said this week the talks were going well but two officials from the Palestinian militant group Hamas told Reuters they had made no progress on key issues and had stalled.
Several people were wounded in a morning "raid" on the Holy Family Church, including parish priest Gabriel Romanelli, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said in a statement in the incident at the only Catholic church in Gaza.
Father Romanelli, an Argentine, used to regularly update the late Pope Francis about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. TV footage showed him sitting receiving treatment at Al-Ahly Hospital in Gaza, with a bandage around his lower right leg.
"The attacks against the civilian population that Israel has been carrying out for months are unacceptable. No military action can justify such an attitude," Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a statement.
The Vatican did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was looking into the matter.
Palestinian medics said one airstrike on Thursday had killed a man, his wife and their five children in Jabalia in northern Gaza, and that another in the north had killed eight men who had been handed responsibility for protecting aid trucks.
Three people were killed in an airstrike in central Gaza and four in Zeitoun in eastern Gaza, medics said.
Italian PM slams Israeli forces over attack on church in Gaza
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday slammed Israel's deadly attack on a Catholic church in Gaza.
Two women were killed in the attack, according to press reports.
"Israeli raids on Gaza also hit the Holy Family Church. The attacks against the civilian population that Israel has been carrying out for months are unacceptable," Meloni wrote on X.
No military action can justify Israel's actions, she said.
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also described the attack as a "serious act against a Christian place of worship," adding that it is "time to stop and find peace."
"The attacks by the Israeli army against the civilian population in Gaza are no longer acceptable," Tajani wrote on X.
Gli attacchi dell’esercito israeliano contro la popolazione civile a #Gaza non sono più ammissibili. Nel raid di questa mattina è stata colpita anche la Chiesa della Sacra Famiglia a Gaza, un atto grave contro un luogo di culto cristiano. Tutta la mia vicinanza a Padre Romanelli,…
— Antonio Tajani (@Antonio_Tajani) July 17, 2025
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