OLD GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (LifeSiteNews) — Gaza’s Catholic parish priest has stated that the Catholic church in Gaza is not under a mandatory evacuation order from Israeli forces, despite comments to the contrary yesterday.
“There has been NO order of evacuation in this area of our neighborhood,” wrote Father Gabriel Romanelli to Vatican News August 19. “Our area is in the Old City of Gaza, within the larger neighborhood of Zeytoun.”
Confusion about the matter had arisen the day before, when Romanelli told prominent Italian agency Ansa that the area including his Holy Family parish church had in fact received an order to evacuate. Reporting his words, Ansa wrote:
An evacuation order has arrived for the whole neighborhood. And they said they’re starting to hand out tents. One you may think it’s good news, “How nice!” but that’s it regarding the evacuation of the entire city of Gaza … Where all the inhabitants can find space?
Vatican News – the in-house news portal of the Vatican – subsequently reported Romanelli’s statement on August 18, but that report has since been deleted.
Expanding his commentary on August 18, Romanelli told AgenSIR that the local situation “continues to be very serious here in the Gaza Strip where the war continues unabated. Every day the number of dead and injured rises, accompanied by the destruction of infrastructure.”
Repeating his statement found on Ansa, Romanelli said:
We received an evacuation order from the city and yesterday we were told that Israel would begin distributing tents. More than a million people have to leave the city to go south or center. The delivery of the tents is linked to the evacuation order.
However, as of August 19 it appears that Romanelli’s testimony has changed, with the Vatican News portals carrying only one story: namely, his statement that there is no evacuation order for the area including the Catholic church.
Romanelli is not known for delivering fake news to media outlets in order to garner headlines or controversy. The parish priest has been largely preoccupied with the aid venture being run by the Catholic Church in Gaza, as the parish is home to several hundred displaced families. For many months since the outbreak of hostilities, the Catholic church in Gaza has been more than simply a church but also a refuge for many who have been displaced due to the war.
As many as 600 people have been based at the compound, many of whom are children, with around 50 also having disabilities. As of this week, Romanelli mentioned some 450 based at the church.
Indeed, Israel has already announced plans to full take control over Gaza, thus expanding the military operation already underway. This decision from the government has garnered criticism from Catholic leaders, with Pope Leo XIV and the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem already having issued numerous calls for an end to the war while urging humanitarian solutions.
The confusion surrounding the evacuation order for Holy Family Parish appears to be linked somewhat to its placement, although Romanelli did not expand on why that information might have changed within the space of a day.
But the priest also suggested that evacuation orders are being implemented with the arrival of tents for those being displaced.
The church itself has come under fire from Israeli forces a number of times during the conflict. Last month three people were killed and 10 injured, including Romanelli, when Israeli Armed Forces hit the church. The incident was described by the army as a mistake, and was swiftly and rigorously condemned by both religious and secular leaders.
Prior to that, in late 2023, Israeli snipers were accused of murdering two women who were part of a number of refugees sheltering in the building.
Ordinance still finds its way into the compound even if it is not directly hit. “The area is dangerous. Bombings can be heard night and day. Some far away, others closer. At times, even shrapnel arrives,” Romanelli told Vatican News today.
