UN Secretary-General António Guterres has strongly condemned the Israeli airstrike that struck Gaza's only Catholic church, the Holy Family Church, on Thursday, killing three civilians and injuring at least ten others, according to media reports.

The church, located in Gaza City, had been serving not only as a place of worship but also as a refuge for civilians seeking shelter from the ongoing conflict.

“Attacks on places of worship are unacceptable,” said UN spokesperson Stéphanie Tremblay during the daily press briefing in New York. “People seeking shelter must be respected and protected, not hit by strikes. Too many lives have already been lost.”

Guterres reiterated the UN's urgent call for an immediate ceasefire and the unconditional release of all hostages.

In the course of its deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army has bombed several worship places, 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 is the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip, which has been sheltering many displaced Christian and Muslim Palestinians since October 2023.

The Israeli army, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 58,700 Palestinians, most of them women and children.