(Adnkronos) – Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem has entered war-ravaged Gaza with 500 tonnes of aid for the civilian population after the deadly Israeli military strike on its only Catholic church on Thursday, Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani said Friday.
“I am in constant contact with Cardinal Pizzaballa who has entered Gaza. we believe that aid for its civilians is crucial,” Tajani told reporters on the sidelines of an Italy-Balkans tourism forum.
Pizzaballa journeyed to the Gaza Strip with Orthodox Patriarch Theophilus II, where local reports said they were warmly welcomed by the Palestinian enclave’s Christians.
The aid, which is not solely for Gaza’s Christians, includes hundreds of tonnes of food, for aid kits and urgently needed medical supplies.
Gaza’s Christian minority is still reeling from Thursday’s strike on the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza City, which killed three people and injured at least 10 others according to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
The church was housing dozens of displaced people, mainly children and the elderly at the time of the Israeli attack.
“The Italian government asks Israel to stop military action and fully guarantee the safety of the two envoys in their important mission,” Tajani said in an earlier statement on Friday.
“Israel and Hamas must reach a ceasefire, the war in Gaza must stop. The the path of diplomatic negotiation must be definitively chosen to stop the attacks involving the civilian population,” Tajani continued.
“All Israeli hostages must be freed to allow the essential aid to enter as soon as possible”.
