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Catholic leaders sheltering civilians in Gaza City have pledged to remain in place despite Israel’s evacuation orders as it expands its ground assault against Hamas.
The Emergency Committee at Holy Family Church, Gaza’s only Catholic parish, said it would continue caring for the elderly, disabled and displaced civilians sheltering at the compound, Catholic News Agency reported.
Though located in Zeitoun, a large Gaza City neighborhood now under evacuation orders, the parish itself has not been directly ordered to evacuate.
The committee called its decision both moral and pastoral, stating that its members had a duty to remain “at the forefront of service” to those in need, especially those unable to travel. In its public statement, it added that the choice to leave or stay “must be left to the conscience of every civilian.”
The statement was issued last Wednesday, one day after a joint declaration by the Latin and Greek Orthodox Patriarchates of Jerusalem warned that forced evacuations would be a “death sentence” for many, especially those taking refuge in churches and other religious institutions.
The two patriarchates stated that “the path of justice leads to life” and urged international leaders to protect civilians’ right to remain on their land. They also appealed against mass displacement policies and called for a halt to the cycle of violence.
Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, the Argentinian-born parish priest at Holy Family, told Vatican News that he and his fellow priests, nuns and volunteers would continue serving those “who are anxious, who are sad and anguished, of people with disabilities.” He said their shared conviction was that abandoning these people now would risk their survival, given their fragile health, lack of mobility and the collapse of medical systems in the city.
Romanelli said they were there to serve Jesus “in the person of the poor and the sick,” adding, “otherwise, how will those people survive, how will they manage?”
The parish is staffed by members of the Institute of the Incarnate Word and the Missionaries of Charity, who have been working together since the war began to shelter and care for displaced residents.
Romanelli said that despite the fear and danger, the church would remain open to those seeking refuge and that all within the compound continued to pray for peace, for the release of hostages and for the recovery of the sick and wounded across Gaza.
Meanwhile, Israel’s ground operations in Gaza City have escalated. On Friday, the Israel Defense Forces destroyed a multi-story building in the city’s Al-Mushtaha area, describing it as a Hamas military site.
The building, which included underground tunnels and infrastructure used by Hamas to plan attacks and stage ambushes, was evacuated shortly before the strike, The Times of Israel reported.
A displaced Palestinian woman told AFP that her husband saw residents throwing down belongings to flee before the building was bombed less than 30 minutes after receiving the warning.
The IDF has stated that it warns civilians before strikes and aims to minimize civilian casualties. It also accused Hamas of embedding fighters and military assets inside civilian infrastructure, including schools, mosques, homes and hospitals.
Officials reportedly said troops are pushing deeper into Gaza City, with military leaders framing the campaign as an effort to dismantle Hamas’ remaining urban strongholds.
As of Friday, Israeli forces reportedly control about 40% of the city.
The IDF has said that 22,000 combatants have been killed since the beginning of the war, while Hamas claims there have been over 64,000 deaths, including both civilians and militants. Israel has denied accusations of genocide and insists it facilitates humanitarian aid and tries to avoid civilian casualties.
Egypt, meanwhile, has warned that any mass displacement from Gaza would cross a red line and said it would not allow the forced removal of Palestinians from their land.
The IDF’s recent operations also included the killing of Nur al-Din Dabbaghsh, a senior Hamas operative accused of managing the terrorist group’s finances. Israeli officials said Dabbaghsh had facilitated tens of millions of dollars in transfers used for weapons, logistics and sustaining Hamas’ fighting capacity.
Military strikes have continued across the Strip, including in northern Gaza, where IDF divisions reported destroying weapons storage sites, anti-tank missile launchers and tunnel systems.
Meanwhile, the number of Palestinians defying evacuation orders has remained high, with roughly 200,000 residents choosing to stay in Gaza City despite the risks.
The Washington Examiner reported that only about 14,840 people obeyed the evacuation order in the first three days, and estimates later rose to between 70,000 and 80,000, still a small fraction of the city’s population.
The IDF says Hamas has set up checkpoints to block residents from fleeing and is ordering civilians to stay.
