On July 17, an artillery round struck the Holy Family in Gaza. Three civilians inside the church were killed. Others were injured. Outcry ensued. Accusations were hurled.
Pope Leo weighed in on X, speaking of an “attack by the Israeli army on the Catholic Parish of the Holy Family in Gaza City.” The Holy Father went on to say, “This act adds to the military attacks against civilian populations and places of worship in Gaza.” Cardinal Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem also used terminology that treats the episode as a deliberate attack. He condemned “this tragedy and this targeting of innocent civilians and of a sacred place.”
In response, the journalist Lee Smith, a staunch defender of the Israeli efforts to defeat its enemies in Gaza and elsewhere in the Middle East, described the charges made by Catholic leaders as trafficking in “blood libel,” the ancient Christian charge that the Jews deliberately shed innocent blood for nefarious purposes.
It’s been an unedifying exchange. The fog of rhetoric, like the fog of war, can obscure our vision. In the event, on July 23, the Israeli Defense Forces issued the results of its investigation into the incident. The shell was indeed fired by an Israeli battery, but not with the intent of striking the church. The mortar round went off course.