Trump Calls Netanyahu After Shell Hits Gaza Church

An Israeli shell slammed into the compound of the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing three people and wounding 10 others, including the parish priest, according to church officials. Pope Francis, who died in April, had regularly spoken to the priest about the war's toll on civilians, the AP reports. Francis had called the church daily, even when he was hospitalized. The shelling of Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza also damaged the church compound, where hundreds of Palestinians have been sheltering from the 21-month Israel-Hamas war. Israel expressed regret over what it described as an accident and said it was investigating.

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire, the AP reports. In a telegram of condolences for the victims, Leo expressed "his profound hope for dialogue, reconciliation, and enduring peace in the region." The pope said he was "deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack," and expressed his closeness to the wounded priest, the Rev. Gabriel Romanelli, and the entire parish. President Trump called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express his frustration over the strike on the church, the White House said. Netanyahu later released a statement saying Israel "deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit Gaza's Holy Family Church."

• The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which also has a church in Gaza that previously sustained damage from Israeli strikes, said Holy Family was sheltering 600 displaced people, including many children, and 54 people with disabilities. It said the building suffered significant damage.
• The Catholic charity Caritas Jerusalem said the parish's 60-year-old janitor and an 84-year-old woman receiving psychosocial support inside a Caritas tent in the church compound were killed in the attack. Romanelli was lightly wounded.
• The Israeli military said an initial assessment indicated that "fragments from a shell fired during operational activity in the area hit the church mistakenly."