The Last Meadow at Gaza — Innocents slain as “allies” remain silent

Time is running out for a 2,000-year-old community

In the smoking ruins of the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, the latest chapter unfolds in an assault that can only be described as a latter-day anti-crusade—not against the infidel, but against the faithful who have walked these ancient streets since Christ himself drew his first breath in Bethlehem.

The assault on the innocent at Holy Family Church is like a wolf tearing through a flock of lambs sheltered in the last meadow. Three souls perished in Thursday’s tank shell attack—Saad Salameh, a 60-year-old janitor; Fumayya Ayyad, an 84-year-old woman receiving comfort in a Caritas tent; and Najwa Abu Daoud, a septuagenarian whose only sin was seeking sanctuary in a house of God.

Among the wounded was Father Gabriel Romanelli, the Argentine priest who became the lifeline between Pope Francis and Gaza’s forgotten flock during the pontiff’s final months.

But here lies the more profound tragedy: this was no accident of war.

Among Gaza’s 2.3 million people, a mere 135 Catholics remain—a commun…