Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country "deeply regrets that a stray ammunition" hit Gaza's only Catholic Church, killing three people sheltering there. "Every innocent life lost is a tragedy. We share the grief of the families and the faithful," he said in a statement.

GAZA CITY, July 17 (Reuters) - An Israeli strike on Gaza's sole Catholic Church killed three people and injured several others, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which oversees the small parish, said on Thursday.

The Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza City is one of three operational churches in the coastal enclave and currently shelters about 600 people. More than 21 months of war have crippled the region and led to mass starvation, according to aid groups, as Israel continues its operation to dismantle Hamas’s grip on Gaza.

Among the Palestinians killed are dozens of aid seekers and eight who lost their lives due to hunger and malnutrition.

The Al-Shaer family went to bed hungry at their home in Gaza City. An Israeli airstrike killed them in their sleep.

The Israeli government said it had allowed some private businesses to resume importing goods into Gaza, which has been gripped by severe hunger.

Thirteen people were killed east of Gaza City on Wednesday in two Israeli airstrikes. Advertisement. About Our Ads; Advertisement. Advertisement