An Israeli shell slammed into the compound of the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip, killing three people and wounding 10 others, including the parish priest, according to church officials.

Saad Issa Kostandi Salameh, 60; Foumia Issa Latif Ayyad, 84; and Najwa Abu Daoud, 70, were fatally wounded by shrapnel that scattered across the compound after the explosion.

Pope Leo XIV called for a ceasefire and an end to the war in Gaza. The Israeli strike July 17 hit the Holy Family Catholic Church compound that Pope Francis called daily from the start of the war until he died.