Pope Leo XIV has expressed his “deep sorrow” over the recent Israeli attack on the Catholic parish in Gaza, and called for “an immediate halt to the barbarity” in the Strip.

After the Holy Family church was struck on Thursday morning, three of the approximately 600 Gazans sheltering there were killed, and several others, including the parish priest Fr Gabriel Romanelli, were injured.

Speaking on Sunday after reciting the Angelus prayer at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, the Pope named the three victims – Saad Issa Kostandi Salameh, Foumia Issa Latif Ayyad, and Najwa Ibrahim Latif Abu Daoud – and said he was “close” to them and their families.

Pope Leo then stressed that the attack “is just one of the continuous military attacks against the civilian population and places of worship in Gaza”.

The Pope appealed for “an immediate halt to the barbarity of the war” and for “a peaceful resolution of the conflict”.

He urged the international community to observe humanitarian law and respect the obligation to protect civilians, “as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, indiscriminate use of force and forced displacement of the population”.

Pope Leo brought his appeal to a close with a message to “our beloved” Christian communities in the Middle East, saying he understood they felt they could “do little, in the face of this tragic situation”.

“You are in the heart of the Pope and of the whole Church,” he said. “Thank you for your witness of faith.”