Pope says he is saddened by attacks on Greek Orthodox Church, Anglican hospital in Gaza

Pope Francis on Sunday said he is saddened by the attacks on Greek Orthodox Porphyrius Church and an Anglican hospital in Gaza earlier this week.

"I follow what is happening in Israel and Palestine. I express my particular pain and concern, pray, and stand by the hostages, the victims, and their families. I am thinking of the serious humanitarian situation in Gaza. It hurts me that the Anglican hospital and the Greek Orthodox parish have been hit in recent days," Francis said.

"I reiterate my appeal for spaces to be opened, for humanitarian aid to continue to arrive, and for hostages to be freed," the pope added.

Calling for a swift end to the ongoing wars, Francis said: "War, every war in the world, I am also thinking of tormented Ukraine, is a defeat. War is always a defeat, it is a destruction of the human fraternity."

At least 471 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the hospital Tuesday evening, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Israel has denied any responsibility for the strike, despite forensic and circumstantial evidence to the contrary.

The hospital is known as the Baptist hospital for historical reasons, but it has been under the Anglican Church, or Church of England, since the early 1980s.

Multiple reports late Thursday said an Israeli bomb destroyed the Greek Orthodox Porphyrius Church in Gaza City, and killed more than a dozen people and wounded many others.

Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf Qudra said later that at least 16 Palestinian Christians were among those killed in direct Israeli attacks on the church.

The conflict in Gaza, under Israeli bombardment and blockade since Oct. 7, began when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, a multi-pronged surprise attack that included a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel by land, sea, and air. It said the incursion was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and growing violence by Israeli settlers.

The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.

At least 4,651 Palestinians, including 1,873 children, have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza, while the figure stands at more than 1,400 people in Israel.