POPE LEO HAS renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, asking the international community to respect international laws and the obligation to protect civilians.

“I once again call for an immediate end to the barbarity of this war and for a peaceful resolution to the conflict,” the pontiff said at the end of his Sunday Angelus prayer from his summer retreat in Castel Gandolfo.

Leo also expressed his “deep sorrow” for 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.

“I appeal to the international community to observe humanitarian law and respect the obligation to protect civilians as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force, and the forced displacement of populations,” the Pope 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 is investigating.

“We need to dialogue and abandon weapons,” the Pope said earlier today, after presiding over Mass at the nearby Cathedral of Albano.

“The world no longer tolerates war.”

Gaza

The bodies of Palestinians who were killed while attempting to access aid trucks entering northern Gaza through the Zikim crossing with Israel are brought to a clinic in Gaza City. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Pope Leo’s call for a ceasefire comes as at least 73 people have been killed while attempting to access aid at locations across Gaza, the health ministry in the Palestinian territory has said.

The largest toll was in the northern part of the territory, where 67 Palestinians were killed while trying to reach aid entering through the Zikim crossing with Israel.

More than 150 people were injured, with some of them in a critical condition, hospitals said.

Seven Palestinians were also killed while sheltering in tents in Khan Younis, including a five-year-old boy, according to the Kuwait Specialised Field Hospital, which received the casualties.

It was not immediately clear whether they were killed by the Israeli army or armed gangs, or both. But some witnesses said the Israeli military shot at the crowd.

The Israeli military said soldiers had shot at a gathering of thousands of Palestinians in northern Gaza who posed a threat, and that it was aware of some casualties. But it said the numbers being reported by teams in Gaza were far higher than the military’s initial investigation found.

The military added it is attempting to facilitate the entry of aid, and blamed Hamas militants for fomenting chaos and endangering civilians.