Israel admits Catholic church in Gaza hit by rougue mortar round

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Wednesday announced that a “deviation of munitions” was the reason for the unintended strike on Holy Family Church in Gaza on 17 July. Three people died as a result of the misdirected mortar round, with nine injured, including the parish priest.

The church has served as a shelter for more than 600 people since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began in October 2023, housing mainly Catholics, but also Orthodox Christians and Muslims.

Following an inquiry by the IDF, in a 23 July statement, military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said the inquiry had found that the church was "accidentally" struck “due to an unintentional deviation of munitions", which was specified to be a mortar round.

“The inquiry revealed that during operational activity by IDF troops in the area of Gaza City, the church was accidentally hit due to an unintentional deviation of munitions,”  Shoshani said.

“During the operation, adjustments were made to improve the accuracy of fire, and following the incident, guidelines for opening fire near religious buildings, shelters and other sensitive sites were further clarified.”

He added: “The IDF directs its military strikes solely at military targets and works to mitigate harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure as much as possible, including religious institutions. The IDF regrets any harm caused to civilians."

The statement noted that the "mortar hit" had "caused damage to the structure and injured several Gazan civilians”. It also noted that “the IDF coordinated the evacuation of the injured from the incident for further medical treatment”.

The statement did not acknowledge that any deaths were caused as a result of the strike.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said it learned of the inquiry's results through media reports.

“The published findings of the investigation only underscore the grave dangers of conducting military operations in the vicinity of religious and civilian sites," the Patriarchate said in a subsequent statement on Wednesday.

It added that the findings of the inquiry “once again highlight the vital importance of upholding the principles of international humanitarian law”.

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‍Photo: The damaged facade of the Holy Family Church, a day after it was hit by the Israeli military in Gaza City, 18 July 2025. (Photo by OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP via Getty Images.)