(OSV News) — Israeli authorities closed Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulcher as part of wider closures for security concerns, beginning Feb. 28, when Israel and the United States launched attacks against Iran. The Israeli Foreign Ministry reported on X on March 12 that a missile struck “a few hundred meters from the Old City, the Western Wall, al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The Holy Sepulchre is governed by the Status Quo, the 19th-century agreement that governs Jerusalem’s holy places. In addition, even residents of the Old City, including Christians, were not permitted to leave,” he said. This story was originally published in ONE Magazine of the CNEWA/Pontifical Mission for Palestine in Jerusalem and distributed through a partnership with OSV News.

Source: Ethiopian News March 20, 2026 14:49 UTC