The Israeli government condemned an Iranian regime missile strike that not only aimed for a civilian area of Jerusalem, but damaged one of the holiest Christian churches.
Last week, I reported on an Iranian strike that hit dangerously near the Church of the Holy Sepulcher — built over Christ’s gravestone — and the Western Wall, the last remaining part of the final Jewish Temple. Just in case there was any doubt as to the Iranian Islamic regime deliberately wanting to hit important religious sites during the conflict with Israel and the USA, on March 16 shrapnel again rained down on Old City Jerusalem, damaging part of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
The state of Israel shared a photograph with an image of the shrapnel that hit the roof:
An Iranian missile exploded over Jerusalem’s Old City. Its fragments fell on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Armenian Patriarchate, the Jewish Quarter and on the Temple Mount near the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The Iranian regime is firing missiles toward Jerusalem’s holy sites,… pic.twitter.com/8vKyURiGVW
— Israel ישראל (@Israel) March 16, 2026
In case you were wondering why they distinguish the Armenian Patriarchate, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and other parts of the Christian Quarter are divided up into sections controlled by six different denominations: the Catholic Church, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Coptics, the Syriac Orthodox, and the Ethiopian Orthodox. Notice the Jewish Quarter, previously destroyed by the Jordanians, was also hit.
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Another important clarification is that Israel did intercept the Iranian missiles, but that did not entirely block the shrapnel from falling down on structures below. The Times of Israel reported:
The Fire and Rescue service says a large chunk from an intercepted missile struck a home in East Jerusalem, causing damage.
Other fragments landed near the National Library, not far from the Knesset, and at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City.
One person was lightly hurt after touching a hot missile fragment. Magen David Adom says he suffered a minor burn to his hand.
Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Oren Marmorstein published a video, in which he said, “I am here next to the church of the Holy Sepulchre. An Iranian regime missile, a ballistic missile coming from Iran hit this place. I repeat, an Iranian ballistic missile hit just a few meters next to the church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Iranian regime is targeting the holy sites of Jerusalem. This is the holy site and the Iranian regime almost destroyed it.”
Watch: The Iranian regime just fired at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem pic.twitter.com/JqSlp0vneI
— Oren Marmorstein (@OrenMarmorstein) March 16, 2026
Churches and chapels connected to Christ’s Passion, the Western Wall, and Al Aqsa mosque compound have all narrowly escaped destruction from Iranian counterstrikes. As someone who thinks the Al Aqsa mosque compound should have been removed years ago from the Temple Mount when the Israelis retook Jerusalem from the jihadi Jordanians, I would not exactly be sorry if the Iranians accidentally destroyed that mosque, except that they might take out some innocent civilians at the same time.
Iranian proxy Hamas uses Al Aqsa’s presence there as an excuse for claiming Jerusalem for Islam, hence the Oct. 7 massacre was “Al Aqsa flood.” It would be incredibly ironic, however, if the Iranian regime accidentally hit the mosque that they use as an excuse for claiming Jerusalem shouldn’t be owned by Jews.
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