New york: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemns the deadly strike by the Israeli occupation forces on the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip, his spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay said on Thursday. Three people were reportedly killed and at least 10 others were injured in the bombing of the Holy Family Church in Gaza City.
According to Kuwait News Agency, the church was both a place of worship and a sanctuary for civilians, Tremblay noted at a daily press briefing in New York. "Attacks on places of worship are unacceptable. People seeking shelter must be respected and protected, not hit by strikes," she stated. Emphasizing the severity of the situation, Tremblay added, "Too many lives have already been lost," and stressed the urgent need for an immediate ceasefire and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.
Meanwhile, Israeli strikes over the past 24 hours have targeted sites hosting displaced Palestinians, resulting in more injuries and fatalities. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that more than 11,500 people in Gaza were newly displaced between 8-15 July. Overall, more than 737,000 people have been uprooted since the latest escalation of hostilities on 18 March, accounting for roughly 35 percent of the population. Furthermore, nearly everyone in Gaza has been displaced, in many cases multiple times, since the war began in October 2023.