The European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, condemned Israel for preventing the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass. She described the Israeli police’s action as a breach of religious freedom and a violation of established protections for sacred sites.
Kallas emphasized that worship rights in Jerusalem must be upheld without exception for all religious communities, underscoring the importance of preserving the city’s multi-faith character. Her remarks were shared via social media.
Meanwhile, violence continued in Gaza, where the civil defence agency reported that Israeli airstrikes killed nine people in the southern part of the Palestinian territory on Sunday. The previous evening, strikes targeted police posts in the Al-Mawasi area, resulting in eight fatalities, Mohammed al-Mughair, an official from the agency operating under Hamas.
Another individual died on Sunday after being hit by Israeli fire at a roundabout in Khan Yunis, al-Mughair added. Among those killed on Saturday night was a young girl, as confirmed by the Palestinian news agency Wafa. Photographs from Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis showed bodies wrapped in white shrouds being carried from the morgue and laid on the ground, while mourners expressed their grief loudly during the funerals.
Ahmed al-Sufi, a Palestinian who lost family members, lamented the ongoing violence, stating, “Each day, the enemy hunts down and kills.” The Israeli military did not immediately respond to inquiries about the strikes but released a statement claiming it had neutralized a Hamas cell of 10 armed militants operating in central Gaza overnight. It also mentioned eliminating another individual the day before who had repeatedly crossed the so-called yellow line marking the boundary behind which Israeli forces have withdrawn.
Israel and Hamas continue to accuse each other of breaching the ceasefire established on October 10, which has largely paused two years of conflict in the region.
