ISTANBUL 

France on Friday condemned “in the strongest possible terms” a deadly Israeli attack that struck the Holy Family Church in Gaza, killing three and injuring around 10 others.

“The attack by the Israeli army on the Holy Family Church is unacceptable,” a French Foreign Ministry statement said.

The statement added that French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot spoke by phone with the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem to express France’s solidarity with the Christian community in Gaza.

The Holy Family parish is under France’s historical protection, based on the Constantinople Agreements of 1913, the statement noted.

“Every day, dozens of civilians are killed in Gaza by Israeli bombings and gunfire,” the ministry said.

"These attacks are unjustifiable. Civilians must never be targeted, nor must civilian infrastructure, places of worship, hospitals, and shelters in Gaza," it added.

Paris renewed its call for an immediate ceasefire and a full lifting of the humanitarian blockade, according to the statement.

It stressed the urgent need to resume "massive, dignified, and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians" through the UN and organizations that comply with international law.

On Thursday, Israeli forces attacked the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza, killing three people and injuring several others.

In its months-long deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army has bombed several places of worship, including the Gaza Baptist Church and the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius, the oldest in the Gaza Strip and the third-oldest in the world.

The Holy Family Church, the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip, has been sheltering many displaced Christian and Muslim Palestinians since October 2023, when Israel’s offensive began.

The Israeli army, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 58,600 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.