Israeli attack inside Gaza church left two women dead and others injured
An Israeli soldier shot dead two Christian women, an elderly mother and her daughter, on the grounds of a Catholic church in Gaza City, according to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
“Around noon [10:00 GMT] today … a sniper” of the Israeli army “murdered two Christian women inside the Holy Family Parish in Gaza” where Christian families have been sheltering since the Israel-Hamas war broke out, Aljazeera reported that the patriarchate said in a statement on Saturday.
“Nahida and her daughter Samar were shot and killed as they walked to the Sister’s Convent. One was killed as she tried to carry the other to safety,” it said.
The Patriarchate pointed out that no warning was given before the shooting started and stressed that “they were shot in cold blood inside the premises of the Parish, where there are no belligerents.”
About seven others were reported to have been wounded after the attack.
The patriarchate’s statement added that three projectiles fired by an Israeli tank also hit a Sisters of Mother Teresa charity convent, destroying its generator and fuel supply and rendering a facility housing 54 physically challenged individuals unusable.
After Saturday’s church attack, Italy’s top diplomat, Antonio Tajani issued a “heartfelt appeal to the Israeli government and army to protect Christian places of worship.”.
“That is not where the Hamas terrorists are hiding,” he said on X.
