Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed regret after Israeli tank fire killed three people at a Catholic church in Gaza on Thursday, blaming a “stray” round for the deaths after a phone call with US President Donald Trump.
Witnesses and the Latin Patriarch said a tank shell slammed directly into the church around 10:30 am (0730 GMT), but the Israeli military later said an initial inquiry “suggests that fragments from a shell… hit the church mistakenly”.
Israel’s military claimed it made “every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and religious structures”, while Netanyahu promised an investigation.
“Israel deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit Gaza’s Holy Family Church. Every innocent life lost is a tragedy,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
