AN ISRAELI shell has slammed into Gaza’s only Catholic church, killing two people and wounding several others, according to witnesses and church officials. 

Among the injured in Wednesday’s attack on the Holy Family Catholic church was Gabriele Romanelli, a priest who became a close friend of Pope Francis in the final months of the late pontiff’s life.

The attack sparked a fresh call from Pope Leo XIV today for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

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 church compound was sheltering around 600 people, both Christians and Muslims, including a number of children with disabilities, according to al-Ahli hospital acting director Fadel Naem.

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

Separately, another person was killed and 17 injured today in a strike on two schools sheltering displaced people in the al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, according to al-Awda hospital. 

Elsewhere, a coalition of 12 countries made a commitment to bar arms transfers to Israel, among other steps.

They announced at a meeting in the Colombian capital of Bogota that they would seek accountability for Israeli abuses in Gaza, including by preventing the transfer of weapons to Israel.

Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Indonesia, Iraq, Libya, Malaysia, Namibia, Nicaragua, Oman, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and South Africa agreed to take six measures to “restrain Israel’s assault on the occupied Palestinian territories.”

The measures also include support for “universal jurisdiction mandates,” which would allow states or international bodies to prosecute serious international crimes regardless of where they took place.

“We came to Bogota to make history,” Colombian President Gustavo Petro said in a statement. “And we did.”

British independent MP Jeremy Corbyn, who attended the conference, said: “Together, we are taking real collective action to stop this genocide, uphold international law and say to the people of Palestine: you are not alone.”

While the majority of the countries at this week’s Bogota conference did not immediately sign up to Wednesday’s measures, the Hague Group set a deadline of September 20 for others to participate, a date chosen to coincide with the start of the next session of the United Nations general assembly.