Israeli strikes kill 22 in Gaza, church late pope often called is damaged

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Crispian Balmer

CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -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.

"The IDF is aware of reports regarding damage caused to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and casualties at the scene. The circumstances of the incident are under review," it said.

"The IDF makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and civilian structures, including religious sites, and regrets any damage caused to them."

Israel has been trying to eradicate Hamas in Gaza in a military campaign that began after the group's deadly attack on Israel in October 2023 and has caused widespread hunger and privation in the tiny enclave.

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.

CEASEFIRE TALKS

Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have hosted more than 10 days of talks on a proposed U.S. 60-day truce.

As part of the potential deal, 10 hostages held in Gaza would be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release detained Palestinians. The exact number is not clear.

Disputes remain over Israel's withdrawal maps that showed the military would remain in control over 40% of the enclave, the aid delivery mechanism, and guarantees that a deal would lead to ending the war, said the two Hamas officials who spoke to Reuters.

"We haven't received any new maps," one said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks. "There has been no progress over any of the issues under discussion, and talks have stalled."

On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, said that negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza were going well. A Palestinian official close to the talks said such optimistic comments were "empty of substance."

Israel has told the mediators it is willing to drop its demand to maintain a military presence along the so-called Morag Corridor in southern Gaza during a potential ceasefire and is prepared to show flexibility regarding the size of the security buffer it would retain near the Israeli border, according to Israeli media reports.

Channel N12 cited unnamed members of the security cabinet as saying that progress had been made after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu softened his stance on the army deployment lines.

The prime minister's office did not immediately comment on the reports.

Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.

Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, according to Israeli tallies.

(Additional reporting by Alvise Armellini in Rome, Editing by Timothy Heritage)