Christian Family Killed in Iran’s First Missile Strike on Israel| National Catholic Register
JERUSALEM — Members of a Christian family from northern Israel were among the victims of Iran’s wave of retaliatory assaults on Israel.
Manar Khatib, her two daughters, Hala, 20, and Shada, 13, and Manar’s sister-in-law, also named Manar, were killed when an Iranian missile struck their adjoining houses on Friday, June 13, in the Christian-Muslim town of Tamra.
A third sister of Hala and Shada survived the attack because she was in the home’s mamad, a room reinforced against rockets and missiles.
Raja Khatib, who lost his wife, two daughters and sister-in-law in the blast, told Israel’s Channel 12 news that his daughters “were like flowers. My daughter Shada, the eldest, 20 years old, was studying law at the University of Haifa. She wanted to be a lawyer, like me. A dream that will never come true. And my youngest daughter, Hala, only in 8th grade. Poor girl, poor girl. All three of them died, and also my brother’s wife. The whole house was destroyed. I lost my family.
“It’s all written in God’s plan. I hope the four of them will meet in Heaven.”
Major Escalation
In a major escalation of the confrontation between the most militarily powerful nations in the Middle East, Israel announced on Friday morning that around 200 Israeli Air Force aircraft launched or dropped 330 munitions on around 100 targets in total overnight, hitting six cities including Tehran and Iran’s nuclear facility in Natanz.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the IDF attacked Iran after intelligence revealed the Islamic regime was on the brink of creating nuclear weapons. Israeli fighter jets targeted about 100 Iranian targets, including the Natanz nuclear facility, early Friday morning. Further Israeli strikes were reported on Friday, including on Iran’s military airport in Tabriz and the Shiite holy city of Qom, and the Jewish nation has since carried out precision strikes against numerous other targets. At least 200 Iranians have been killed, according to officials there.
Iran responded to the initial June 13 attacks by firing around 100 drones toward Israel. Jordan’s military said it had intercepted a number of missiles and drones that entered its airspace, and which had been likely to fall in Jordanian territory, including populated areas.
A later salvo of Iranian missiles lit up the sky over Tel Aviv on Friday evening. Israel said fewer than 100 missiles were launched, and said most were intercepted or failed to reach their targets.
Iran has since fired hundreds of missiles at Israel. While the vast majority were intercepted either by the IDF, U.S. military forces in the region, or Arab countries in the missiles’ flight path, some have crashed into Israel and the West Bank, killing at least two dozen Israeli and Palestinian civilians. Entire city blocks have been heavily damaged.
In a departure from their criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza, several world leaders have defended Israel’s right to defend itself against Iran’s ongoing threats to annihilate Israel with nuclear weapons.
In a joint statement Monday, the leaders of the G7 countries — the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan — along with the European Union, asserted that “Iran is the principal source of regional instability and terror. We have been consistently clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.”
The leaders also doubled down on their “commitment to peace and stability in the Middle East. In this context, we affirm that Israel has a right to defend itself. We reiterate our support for the security of Israel.”
Pope Leo’s Appeal
Pope Leo XIV noted that the situation between Iran and Israel “has deteriorated drastically” in June 14 remarks following his catechesis to pilgrims attending the Jubilee of Sport. He renewed his appeal for “responsibility and reason.”
“The commitment to build a safer world, free from nuclear threats, must be pursued through mutual respect and sincere dialogue, in order to build lasting peace founded on justice, fraternity, and the common good,” the Holy Father said. “No one should ever threaten the existence of another. It is the duty of all countries to support the cause of peace, initiating paths of reconciliation and promoting solutions that ensure security and dignity for all!”
Some Jews have taken issue with the Pope’s statement because it appears to blame both countries and does not single out Iran as a destabilizing force that sponsors violent militias throughout the Middle East.
In response to a tweet from the Pope on X, Rabbi Ken Brodkin, rabbi of Congregation B’nai Israel in Manalapan, New Jersey, wrote, “A naive and morally ambiguous statement from the Pope on the middle east. Unfortunate to see this lack of leadership.”
On Monday, Israel’s Ambassador to the Holy See Yaron Sideman told Crux that although Israel appreciates the Pope’s views on the Iran-Israel conflict, negotiations and dialogue have not prevented Iran from sponsoring terror and trying to develop nuclear weapons.
“Dialogue is what went on for nearly three decades … and it failed. Of course, dialogue is always preferable if it meets the objective, but it hasn’t,” Sideman said. “We wouldn’t have engaged in such an operation [against Iran] if we had not been 100 percent sure that we’re at the 11th hour, and that the time to act is now, and a day from now it could be too late to take action,” Sideman said.
Sideman appeared to express the hope that the Pope would support Israeli efforts to stop Iran militarily.
“I think the Pope can be very influential. I don’t know if mediator is the word or another word, but I think the moral voice, the moral voice of the Holy Father, of the Holy See, of the Vatican is critically important in times like this,” the ambassador said.
