The attack also caused severe damage to the church building, with an adjacent structure being completely destroyed. Photo courtesy X (formerly Twitter)
The church has been a shelter for hundreds of Palestinians displaced by Israel's brazen war on Gaza.
The strike left a "large number of martyrs and injured" at the compound of the Greek Orthodox church, the Palestinian interior ministry said.
The attack also caused severe damage to the church building, a WAFA correspondent reported.
Local sources told WAFA that the shelling also caused the collapse of another Church building housing several Palestinian families seeking shelter.
More casualties are feared trapped under the rubble, as rescue and medical teams were seen working tirelessly to reach them, the correspondent reported.
The Saint Porphyrius Orthodox Church is just meters from the Baptist Hospital, where the Israeli army committed a massacre last Tuesday, killing at least 600 Palestinians and injuring hundreds more.
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