By WAFAA SHURAFA and MELANIE LIDMAN, Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli shell slammed into the compound of Gaza’s only Catholic church on Wednesday, killing two people and wounding several others, according to witnesses and church officials. Among the injured was the parish’s priest, who became a close friend of Pope Francis in the final months of the late pontiff’s life.

The shelling of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza also damaged the church compound, where hundreds of Palestinians have been sheltering from the war.

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza in response to the attack.

In a telegram of condolences for the victims sent by the Vatican’s No. 2, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Leo expressed “his profound hope for dialogue, reconciliation and enduring peace in the region.” The pope was “deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack,″ and expressed his closeness to the parish priest, the Rev. Gabriele Romanelli and the entire parish.

Romanelli was very close to the late Pope Francis and the two spoke often during the war in Gaza.

Hundreds of people sheltered at the church

The church compound was sheltering both Christians and Muslims, including a number of children with disabilities, according to Fadel Naem, acting director of Al-Ahli Hospital, which received the fatalities and people injured.

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. Parish priest Romanelli was lightly injured.

The Israeli military said it was aware of the damage caused at the church and is investigating. The Israeli military said it “makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and civilian structures, including religious sites, and regrets any damage caused to them.” Israel accuses Hamas of operating from civilians areas.

In a rare move, the Israeli Foreign Ministry posted an apology on social media. “Israel expresses deep sorrow over the damage to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and over any civilian casualty,” the ministry said.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni blamed Israel for the strike on the church. “The attacks on the civilian population that Israel has been demonstrating for months are unacceptable. No military action can justify such an attitude,” she said.

The church is just a stone’s throw from Al-Ahli Hospital, Naem said, noting that the area around both the church and the hospital has been repeatedly struck for over a week.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which also has a church in Gaza that previously sustained damage from Israeli strikes, said the Holy Family Church was sheltering 600 displaced people, including many children, and 54 people with disabilities. It said the building suffered significant damage.

Targeting a holy site “is a blatant affront to human dignity and a grave violation of the sanctity of life and the inviolability of religious sites, which are meant to serve as safe havens during times of war,” the Church said in a statement.

Separately, another person was killed and 17 injured Thursday in a strike against two schools sheltering displaced people in the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, according to Al-Awda Hospital. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strike.

Pope Francis spoke almost daily with Gaza church

In the last 18 months of his life, Francis would often call the lone Catholic church in the Gaza Strip to see how people huddled inside were coping with a devastating war.

Last year, he told CBS’ “60 Minutes” that he calls a priest daily at 7 p.m. at the Holy Family Church to hear what was happening to the nearly 600 people sheltering at the facility.

Only 1,000 Christians live in Gaza, an overwhelmingly Muslim territory, according to the U.S. State Department’s international religious freedom report for 2024. The report says the majority of Palestinian Christians are Greek Orthodox but they also include other Christians, including Roman Catholics.

Ceasefire negotiations continuing

The strikes come as Israel and Hamas continue talks for a ceasefire in Gaza, though little progress has been made.

According to an Israeli official familiar with the details, Israel is showing “flexibility” on some of the issues that have challenged negotiators, including Israeli presence in some of the security corridors the military has carved into the Gaza Strip.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were discussing ongoing negotiations, said Israel has shown some willingness to compromise on the Morag Corridor, which cuts across southern Gaza. However, other issues remain, including the list of prisoners to be freed and commitments to end the war.

The official says there are signs of optimism but there won’t be a deal immediately.

The war began with Hamas’ cross-border terrorists attack on Oct. 7, 2023. That day, terrorists killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Fifty hostages are still being held, less than half of them believed to be alive.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 58,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up more than half of the dead. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its tally.

The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government but is led by medical professionals. The United Nations and other international organizations consider its figures to be the most reliable count of war casualties.

Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Colleen Barry in Milan, Josef Federman in Jerusalem and Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut contributed.