GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip, JUNE 18, 2007 (Zenit.org).- A Catholic school and convent were burned and looted during fighting between the Fatah movement and the Hamas militia.
President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah said in a statement Sunday that the "barbaric" attack was done by Hamas' militia, the Associated Press reported.
The damage had occurred Thursday.
Father Manuel Musallem, head of Gaza's Latin-rite church, said: "Gunmen used the roof of the school during the fighting, and the convent was 'desecrated.'
"Crosses were broken, a statue of Jesus was damaged, and prayer books were burned at the Rosary Sisters School and nearby convent."
On Sunday, Benedict XVI issued an urgent call for peace in the Middle East during his pilgrimage to Assisi.
"May weapons be silenced and may hate yield to love, offense to pardon, and discord to unity," he said. "Our thoughts are directed in particular to the Holy Land, a place so loved by St. Francis, to Iraq, Lebanon and all the Middle East."
ZE07061803 - 2007-06-18