British News Agency

On Sunday, an Israeli airstrike on the Church of the Holy Family – the only Catholic church in Gaza – killed at least three people and injured 10 others. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack was an accident but pledged an investigation.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which has jurisdiction over Latin Catholics in Gaza, announced on Thursday morning that Israel had struck the Church of the Holy Family. During the 20-month war, the church had become a refuge for the area's small Christian community.

Prime Minister Netanyahu's office stated, "Israel deeply regrets that a stray munition struck the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza. Every innocent life lost is a tragedy."

In a telegram from the Vatican on Thursday, a church official said Pope Leo XIV was "deeply saddened" by the attack.

Vatican Foreign Minister Pietro Parolin described the attack as a "military assault" and said, "The Holy Father entrusts the souls of the deceased to the loving mercy of Almighty God and prays for the comfort of the mourners and the healing of the wounded."

The Israel Defense Forces admitted that the church was hit "by mistake."

In a statement on Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces said, "An initial investigation into reports of injuries at the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza City indicates that fragments of a round fired during operational activities mistakenly struck the church."