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.

Israeli forces killed at least 22 people in attacks in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, including two people who died in a strike on a church that late Pope Francis used to speak to regularly, medics and church officials said.

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.