Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Pope Leo on Friday that Israel "deeply regrets" a deadly airstrike that hit the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza, killing three people and injuring several others. The statement followed mounting international backlash, including direct pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump and the Vatican.

Pope Leo, in a phone call with Netanyahu, reiterated his appeal for a ceasefire and stressed "the urgent need to protect places of worship, the faithful, and all people in the Palestinian territories and Israel," according to a Vatican statement. The pontiff also raised alarm over the "dramatic humanitarian situation" in Gaza.

The Israeli military acknowledged it was investigating the incident. Netanyahu's office stated that "Israel deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit Gaza's Holy Family Church." The Israeli Foreign Ministry pledged to publish the results of the investigation.

The strike, part of a broader Israeli offensive in Gaza on Thursday, resulted in at least 27 deaths, according to medical and church officials. Among the casualties were two women and one man killed in the church compound, which has served as a refuge for Gaza's small Christian population.

"This targeting of innocent civilians and of a sacred place" was condemned by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which oversees the parish. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, entered Gaza on Friday in a rare visit, bringing humanitarian supplies and personally expressing solidarity with the victims.

"We are not a target. They say it was an error. Even if everybody here believes it wasn't," Pizzaballa told Corriere della Sera, casting doubt on Israel's claim that the strike was accidental.

Pizzaballa was accompanied by Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem. The two religious leaders delivered "hundreds of tons of food supplies as well as first aid kits and urgently needed medical equipment," the Patriarchate stated. They also arranged for the evacuation of the injured for treatment outside Gaza.

President Trump reportedly called Netanyahu after the church bombing and "did not react positively to the incident," according to a White House spokeswoman. "It was a mistake by the Israelis to hit that Catholic Church. That's what the prime minister relayed to the president," she added. A State Department spokeswoman echoed the sentiment, saying, "I think it's an understatement to say that he (Trump) was not happy."