CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy: Pope Leo has issued a heartfelt appeal for an end to the violence in Gaza, condemning what he described as the "barbarity of war."  His urging followed  last week's Israeli strike on the only Catholic church in the territory.

The attack on the Holy Family Church compound in Gaza City killed three people and injured several others, including the parish priest. Photos from the site showed damage to the church's roof near its main cross, with its stone facade scorched and windows shattered.

Addressing the faithful from Castel Gandolfo after his Angelus prayer, Pope Leo expressed his deep sorrow and named the victims of the strike.

"I appeal to the international community to observe humanitarian law and respect the obligation to protect civilians as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, of indiscriminate use of force and forced displacement of the population," he said. The pope appealed for "an immediate halt to the barbarity of the war" and for "a peaceful resolution of the conflict."

The pope later told journalists, ""We must encourage everyone to leave weapons behind, and to leave behind the money-making that is behind every war.'

The pope's remarks come amid mounting concern over civilian casualties in the region and growing calls for restraint from global leaders and humanitarian organizations.

Aside from the unprecedented death and destruction that has gripped Gaza for the past year and 9 months, people are now dying of hunger. 101 Palestinians, including eighty children, have died of starvation in recent days

Nebal Farsakh, a spokesperson for the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), a branch of the International Red Cross, said people in the enclave are facing an "unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe" and warned the "situation is only getting worse."

"Since the closure of all crossings for more than four months, there has been no food, no clean water, medicine… getting into the Gaza Strip," Farsakh said in a video.

"This has resulted to a catastrophe where people are literally starving to death," she said.

"More people are being admitted to hospitals with malnutrition, especially among children, pregnant women and elderly," she added.