The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem has said it is "monitoring, with grave concern, the news of raids apparently launched by the Israeli army against the Holy Family School at Al-Remal in Gaza."

In the town of Abbasan in southern Gaza, an Israeli air attack on the al-Awdah school killed at least 30 people and wounded 53, most of them women and children, according to Palestinian medics, Al Jazeera reported on July 9.

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said Tuesday's strike hit next to the gate of al-Awda school in Abasan al-Kabira, east of the city of Khan Younis, the BBC reported.

One eyewitness described the number of casualties as "unimaginable."

The Israeli military said it had used "precise munition" to target a "terrorist from Hamas' military wing" who had taken part in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. It also said it was "looking into the reports that civilians were harmed" adjacent to the school.

"The Latin Patriarchate condemns in the strongest terms the targeting of civilians or any belligerent actions that fall short of ensuring that civilians remain outside the combat scene," it said in a statement on July 7.

It cited footage and reports from the Holy Family School showing scenes of civilian casualties and destruction in the compound.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem is a diocese of the Catholic Church whose territory includes Cyprus, Jordan, Israel and Palestine.

         PLACE OF REFUGE 

The school was, it said, "a place of refuge for hundreds of civilians."

The statement said: "We continue to pray for the Lord's mercy and hope that the parties will reach an agreement that would put an immediate end to the horrifying bloodbath and humanitarian catastrophe in the region."

Alistair Dutton, secretary general of Caritas Internationalis, condemned the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) bombardment of the site. "After nine months of war, the atrocities continue," he said. "Nowhere is safe in Gaza."

The European Union and Germany condemned the attack.

"People seeking shelter in schools getting killed is unacceptable," the German foreign ministry said in a statement on X. "The repeated attacks on schools by the Israeli army must stop, and an investigation must come quickly."

The attack came a week after the Israeli military ordered civilians to evacuate Abasan al-Kabira and other areas of eastern Khan Younis, prompting tens of thousands to flee.