STORY: Mourners gathered at the Greek Orthodox Saint Porphyrius Church in Gaza City on Thursday (July 17) to bid farewell to two Palestinian Christians, Saad Salama and Foumia Ayyad, who medics said were killed in an Israeli strike on the Holy Family Church.

An Israeli strike on Gaza's sole Catholic Church killed three people and injured several others, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which oversees the small parish, said on Thursday.

The Patriarchate condemned "this targeting of innocent civilians and of a sacred place," saying two women and one man had died in the attack on the Holy Family Church.

The Israeli military said it was looking into the incident. Israel's foreign ministry said in a statement on X that the results of the investigation would be published. It also said the country did not target churches or religious sites and regretted harm to them or civilians.

The Patriarchate earlier said the parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli, was among those injured, and his church had sustained damage.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni blamed Israel for the strike on the religious compound.

"The attacks against the civilian population that Israel has been carrying out for months are unacceptable. No military action can justify such an attitude," she said in a statement.

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VIDEO SHOWS: VARIOUS OF MOURNERS ATTENDING THE FUNERAL OF PALESTINIAN CHRISTIANS SAAD SALAMA AND FOUMIA AYYAD, WHO WERE KILLED IN AN ISRAELI STRIKE ON THE HOLY FAMILY CHURCH, ACCORDING TO MEDICS, AT THE GREEK ORTHODOX SAINT PORPHYRIUS CHURCH, IN GAZA CITY / SOUNDBITES FROM PALESTINIAN CHRISTIAN MAN

SHOTLIST ONLY, COMPLETE SCRIPT TO FOLLOW

SHOWS: GAZA CITY, GAZA (JULY 17, 2025)(REUTERS - Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF MOURNERS ATTENDING THE FUNERAL OF PALESTINIAN CHRISTIANS SAAD SALAMA AND FOUMIA AYYAD, WHO WERE KILLED IN AN ISRAELI STRIKE ON THE HOLY FAMILY CHURCH, ACCORDING TO MEDICS, AT THE GREEK ORTHODOX SAINT PORPHYRIUS CHURCH, IN GAZA CITY / ARCHBISHOP ALEXIOS STANDING IN FRONT OF THE BODIES OF PALESTINIAN CHRISTIANS

2. ARCHBISHOP ALEXIOS STANDS IN FRONT OF THE BODIES OF PALESTINIAN CHRISTIANS

3. PEOPLE PRAYING INSIDE THE CHURCH

4. MOURNERS ATTENDING THE FUNERAL OF PALESTINIAN CHRISTIANS

5. ARCHBISHOP ALEXIOS USING A THURIBLE AS MOURNERS ATTEND THE FUNERAL OF PALESTINIAN CHRISTIANS SAAD SALAMA AND FOUMIA AYYAD

6. FUNERAL IN PROGRESS

7. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE ATTENDING THE FUNERAL

8. (SOUNDBITE)(Arabic) PALESTINIAN CHRISTIAN MAN, MUSA AYAD, SAYING:

"We are still living, for nearly two years now, in a state of starvation and lack of treatment, lack of medicine, repeated targeting, and repeated death. This people deserves to breathe the fragrance of peace and comfort, and everyone who supports human rights and supports our people's cause should stand to stop this oppression and this military mechanism that does not distinguish between civilian and military and targets every place. Therefore, it is necessary to protect the civilians whose deaths, amputations, injuries, and deaths we encounter every day, whether by direct killing or lack of treatment or various causes including hunger, pain, illness, and weak healthcare."

9. ARCHBISHOP ALEXIOS SITTING WITH MOURNERS OUTSIDE THE CHURCH

10. ARCHBISHOP ALEXIOS GREETING MOURNER, AS PEOPLE GRIEF FOR THE DEATH OF PALESTINIAN CHRISTIANS SAAD SALAMA AND FOUMIA AYYAD

11. VARIOUS OF MOURNERS SITING AS THEY GRIEF OVER THE DEATH OF PALESTINIAN CHRISTIANS

12. (SOUNDBITE)(Arabic) PALESTINIAN CHRISTIAN MAN, MUSA AYYAD, SAYING:

"We hope that God will bring peace and guide the political leaders who make these difficult decisions to pay attention to human suffering, to this loss, and to this death. Today we stood at the burial of citizen Saad Salama, who was a guard for the church and the displacement camp, and Mrs. Foumia Ayyad, an educator who was a school principal and teacher of generations. They were coming out of their prayers and then were targeted and killed."

13. VARIOUS OF MOURNERS ATTENDING THE BURIAL OF PALESTINIAN CHRISTIANS