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VATICAN CITY, July 17, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Pope Leo XIV said on Thursday he was "deeply saddened" by an Israel strike which hit a Gaza church, killing two people, and called for "an immediate ceasefire".

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said an Israeli strike on the Holy Family Church -- Gaza's only Catholic church -- killed two people. Israel said it "never targets" religious sites and was investigating the events in Gaza City.

"His Holiness Pope Leo XIV was deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack on the Holy Family Church in Gaza", read a telegram sent by the Vatican's secretary of state in the pope's name.

Leo "renews his call for an immediate ceasefire, and he expresses his profound hope for dialogue, reconciliation and enduring peace in the region", read the telegram, which did not mention Israel.

Out of the Gaza Strip's population of more than two million, about 1,000 are Christians. Most of them are Orthodox but according to the Latin Patriarchate, there are about 135 Catholics in the territory.

The deaths at the church compound came as Gaza's civil defence agency reported at least 20 people killed in other Israeli strikes around the Palestinian territory.