US President Donald Trump spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the Israeli army's shelling of a church in the Gaza Strip, White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt announced.
“It was not a positive reaction. He called Prime Minister Netanyahu“, Leavitt said. According to her, “it was a mistake on the part of the Israelis“. “The Prime Minister told the president“, the White House spokeswoman added, without giving further comments.
As Netanyahu said earlier, Israel deeply regrets the “accidental shelling“ of the “Holy Family“ church in Gaza. The prime minister assured that “Israel is investigating the incident“ and “remains committed to protecting civilians and holy sites“. The Israeli army press service reported that fragments of the shell hit the church by mistake.
Three people were killed in the attack on the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip and nine others were injured, three of them seriously, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the Holy Land, said on its website.
It was confirmed that parish priest Gabriel Romanelli, who suffered minor injuries, was among the injured.