Israel says that it regrets fatal attack on the Catholic Church in Gaza

The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that his country “deeply regrets that a lost ammunition” has hit the only Catholic Church in Gaza, with three people there.

“Every innocent life is a tragedy. We share the sorrow of the families and the believers,” he said in a statement.

The incident happened on Thursday when an Israeli strike hit the Holy Family Church in Gaza City. Several people were also injured, said the Latin patriarchate of Jerusalem that supervises the small parish.

Pope Leo XIV said he was “deeply sad to learn from the loss of life and injury”, The renewal of his call for a cease -the fire of a Gaza.

In his statement, Netanyahu said that Israel “investigated the incident and continues to be committed to protecting citizens and holy places”.

In a statement later on Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said: “A first investigation into reports about injured persons in the Holy Family Church in Gaza City suggests that fragments from a scale that were dismissed in the area during operational activity are accidentally assessed. The cause of the incident.

“The IDF directs its strikes exclusively on military goals and makes all the feasible efforts to reduce damage to citizens and religious structures, and regrets any unintended damage caused to them,” the statement added.

Earlier in the day, spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt of the White House said that US President Donald Trump had no “positive response” on the attack on the church.

Trump called Netanyahu to discuss the incident on Thursday morning. During the call, Netanyahu described the attack as a “error”, Leavitt called him.

The Patriarchate said that the parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli, was part of those who were injured in the attack.

It said that people found a “sanctuary” in the church “in the hope that the horrors of war could at least save their lives after their houses, possessions and dignity had already been taken away.”

It added that the “war should come to a complete end”.