Leaders from the Catholic and Greek Orthodox Church visited Gaza’s only Catholic church on Friday, where a day earlier three people were killed in an Israeli strike. The visit is highly unusual given Israel’s tight control over access in and out of the territory.

Top church leaders visited Gaza on Friday after its only Catholic church was struck by an Israeli shell the day before, an attack that killed three people and injured 10. The wounded included a priest who had developed a close friendship with the late Pope Francis.

An Israeli shell slammed into the compound of the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip, killing three people and wounding 10 others, including the parish priest, according to church officials.