The funeral of Fumya Ayaad and Saad Salama inside the Holy Family Church on the night of July 17, 2025. Photo: Khamis Al-Rifi

Since the beginning of the genocide in Gaza, Israel has repeatedly attacked religious sites, including mosques and churches. In October 2023, only days after the brutal attacks began, the Israeli military struck the Church of Saint Porphyrius, the oldest church in Gaza, resulting in the deaths of at least 18 people.

On July 17, 2025, in what survivors describe as a blatant violation of human and religious values, an Israeli fighter jet bombed the Holy Family Church, the only Catholic church in Gaza, without any prior warning. The strike killed three people and injured at least nine others, three of them critically.

Among the dead were Saad Salama, the parish

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