Israel regrets tank attack on Gaza church

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday expressed regret over the killing of three people at a Catholic church in Gaza, attributing the deaths to a "stray" round while professing respect for "innocent life".

Facing mounting international pressure, Netanyahu claimed the attack was accidental but stopped short of calling it a mistake. "Israel deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit Gaza's Holy Family Church. Every innocent life lost is a tragedy," he said, adding that an investigation would be conducted.

His remarks have drawn criticism, with many urging him and his administration to equally treasure the lives of other innocent Gazans — particularly women and children — who continue to suffer and die under the current siege and military assault.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said 10 others were also wounded in the attack on Gaza's sole Catholic church, which was sheltering about 600 displaced people, the majority of them children.

The patriarchate, which has jurisdiction over Catholics in Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Jordan and Cyprus, said it "strongly condemns this strike and this targeting of innocent civilians".

Witnesses said the tank shell slammed directly into the church around 10:30 am, but the Israeli military later said an initial inquiry "suggests that fragments from a shell ... hit the church mistakenly".

"In the morning, a tank shell targeted us and hit the church, and a number of civilians were killed and wounded," said Shadi Abu Daoud, a displaced man whose 70-year-old mother was killed in the strike.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump called Netanyahu after having "not a positive reaction" to the news of the strike, adding that Trump was not happy when he heard about what had happened.

"It was a mistake by the Israelis to hit that Catholic church, that's what the prime minister relayed to the president," she said.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the strike, spokeswoman Stephanie Tremblay said on Thursday.

"Attacks on places of worship are unacceptable," she said. "People seeking shelter must be respected and protected, not hit by strikes."

Of the Gaza Strip's population of more than 2 million, about 1,000 are Christians. Most of them are Orthodox but according to the Latin Patriarchate, there are about 135 Catholics in the territory.

In a telegram for the victims, Pope Leo XIV said he was "deeply saddened" by the attack and renewed his call for "an immediate ceasefire".

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also blamed Israel. "The attacks on the civilian population that Israel has been demonstrating for months are unacceptable. No military action can justify such an attitude," she wrote on X.

Since the conflict broke out in October 2023, Israel has repeatedly struck schools, shelters, hospitals and other civilian buildings, accusing Hamas militants of taking shelter inside and blaming them for disproportionate civilian deaths.

Throughout the crisis, the Israeli military has targeted and leveled dozens of mosques and churches, Al Jazeera reported.

The Gaza Health Ministry said on Thursday that over the past 24 hours, local hospitals received the bodies of 94 people killed in Israeli strikes and another 367 wounded.

Visa denial

Meanwhile, Israel has refused to renew visas for the heads of at least three UN agencies in Gaza, which the UN humanitarian chief blamed on their work trying to protect Palestinian civilians in the territory.

Visas for the local leaders of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the human rights agency OHCHR, and the agency for Palestinian refugees have not been renewed in recent months, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric confirmed.

Tom Fletcher, head of UN humanitarian affairs, told the Security Council on Wednesday: "Each time we report on what we see, we face threats of further reduced access to the civilians we are trying to serve. ... Visas are not renewed or reduced in duration by Israel, explicitly in response to our work on protection of civilians."

He called conditions in Gaza "beyond vocabulary", with food running out and Palestinians seeking something to eat being shot. He said Israel, as the occupying power, is failing in its obligation under the Geneva Conventions to provide for civilian needs.

There has been little visible progress in months of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas aimed at a new ceasefire and hostage release deal. Qatar, Egypt and the US presented Israel and Hamas with an updated proposal this week, Axios reported on Thursday.

Agencies contributed to this story.

cuihaipei@chinadaily.com.cn