Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces opened fire on Sunday on a crowd of Palestinians waiting to collect humanitarian aid, providing a preliminary toll of at least 44 people killed. The latest deaths came as Pope Leo XIV slammed the "barbarity" of the war in Gaza in his traditional Sunday blessing.

Yesterday, it was announced that the Holy Family Church — a shelter and place of worship for Catholics in Gaza — was struck by Israel amid the continuing Israel-Palestine conflict. Three people were killed. Related: JD Vance’s Old Epstein Tweets Are Coming Back To Haunt Him In A Big Way

Pope Leo said on Thursday he hopes to travel to Turkey later this year for the 1,700th anniversary of a major Christian Church summit, in what would be the first foreign trip of his papacy.

Pope Leo XIV encouraged encounter and unity in a message to the players and spectators of a soccer game to support sick and injured children from war zones.

Reflecting on the Parable of the Good Samaritan, the Pope called for a ‘revolution of love.’ This Sunday was the first time in 12 years that a pope has led the Marian prayer from the lakeside town.