DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli shell slammed into the compound of the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing three people and wounding 10 others, including the parish priest, according to church officials. The late Pope Francis, who died in April, had regularly spoken to the priest about the war’s toll on civilians.

An Israeli artillery shell struck the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza, the only Catholic church in the Strip, on Thursday, killing three people and injuring 10 others, including the parish priest known to have had close contact with the late Pope Francis.