The Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine strongly condemns the direct Israeli airstrike that struck the Holy Family Latin Church in Gaza City earlier today. The assault resulted in the killing of Saed Salameh and Fumiya Ayyad—the latter being the sister of Dr. Maher Ayyad, a member of the Committee and its representative in Gaza. It also left Father Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest, among the 13 injured, including a two-year-old child and a person with disabilities. The church building and surrounding facilities sustained extensive and deliberate damage.
The Committee considers this attack a dangerous escalation in a pattern of increasingly brazen assaults on Christian holy sites. It is a stark indication of a systematic policy of desecration, targeting both civilians and houses of worship without regard for international law, religious sanctity, or fundamental human values.
In parallel, the Committee condemned the continued settler violence in the Christian town of Taybeh, east of Ramallah. In recent days, St. George Church and the town’s Christian cemetery have been stormed by settlers, who have also engaged in organized campaigns of intimidation against local residents. These acts unfold in the shadow of a disturbing international silence and a shameful failure by global institutions tasked with protecting civilians and religious sites.
In light of these grave violations, the Committee has issued an urgent appeal to Patriarchs, Eminences, and Heads of Churches around the world, urging them to publicly and unequivocally condemn these attacks; hold the occupying power fully responsible for the repeated targeting of churches and believers; fulfill their moral and spiritual obligation toward Christian communities in Palestine, who now face a campaign of systematic terror and forced displacement; and exert immediate pressure on governments and international actors to end these violations, bring perpetrators to justice, and uphold the rule of international law.
In its concluding statement, the Committee affirmed that silence is no longer acceptable and prayers alone are not enough unless accompanied by bold and principled action. The Committee stressed that churches around the world are now called to stand firmly for the values they proclaim, in the face of a deliberate campaign to erase the deep-rooted Christian presence in the Holy Land.
