Palestinian Christians in Ramallah attended a special prayer service held to honour of the victims of a recent Israeli airstrike on an Orthodox Christian church in Gaza.

Gaza's Hamas-run government media office said 18 Christian Palestinians were killed in the bombing which happened on Thursday (October 19) night. There was no word from the church on any final death toll. The Israeli military said its fighter jets had hit a nearby command and control centre that was used to carry out attacks against Israel.

A few dozen devotees attended the service held on early Thursday evening at the Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church.

Israel has responded to the Oct. 7 attacks by subjecting Gaza to the most intense bombardment it has ever seen, putting the enclave, home to 2.3 million Palestinians, under total siege and destroying much of its infrastructure. According to Palestinian than 4000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air strikes since the start of the war.