Pope Leo XIV renewed his call on Sunday for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, asking the international community to respect international laws and the obligation to protect civilians.

This is coming after the  Israeli attack on the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, which killed three people and wounded 10 others, including the parish priest.

The pope directed his appeal to the international community to protect civilians who are often than non the causalities of war, revealing that the victims of the latest crises called more closely home.

According to his post on X, he wrote: “Tragic news continues to arrive in these days from the Middle East, especially from Gaza. I express my profound sadness regarding last Thursday’s attack by the Israeli army on the Catholic Parish of the Holy Family in Gaza City, which as you know killed three Christians and gravely wounded others.

“I pray for the victims, Saad Issa Kostandi Salameh, Foumia Issa Latif Ayyad, Najwa Ibrahim Latif Abu Daoud, and I am particularly close to their families and to all the parishioners.

“Sadly, this act adds to the continuous military attacks against the civilian population and places of worship in Gaza. I again call for an immediate halt to the barbarism of the war and for a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

“I renew my appeal to the international community to observe humanitarian law and to respect the obligation to protect civilians, as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force and the forced displacement of the population.

“To our beloved Middle Eastern Christians I say: I deeply sympathise with your feeling that you can do little in the face of this grave situation.

“You are in the heart of the Pope and of the whole Church. Thank you for your witness of faith. May the Virgin Mary, woman of the Levant, dawn of the new Sun that has risen in history, protect you always and accompany the world towards the dawn of peace.” Pope Leo added.

The shelling of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza also damaged the church compound, where hundreds of Palestinians have been sheltering from the Israel-Hamas war, now in its 21st month. Israel expressed regret over what it described as an accident and said it was investigating.