On Sunday, Pope Francis lamented the deaths of two women in a Catholic parish in Gaza, where he claimed “defenseless civilians” had been targeted by gunfire and explosions.
“I continue to receive very serious and painful news from Gaza,” he said at the end of the Angelus prayer. “A mother and her daughter… were killed and other people injured by sniper fire.”
“This happened even inside the parish of the Holy Family where there are no terrorists, but families, children, sick or disabled people,” the pope stressed.
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said Saturday that a Christian mother and daughter were shot dead by an Israeli soldier on the grounds of the Gaza Strip’s only Catholic church.
“Around noon (1000 GMT) today… a sniper of the IDF (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, the patriarchate said in a statement.
“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 added.
Seven more people were wounded by gunfire as they tried to protect others, the statement said.
“Some say it is terrorism, it’s war,” the pontiff said. “Yes, it’s war, it’s terrorism…. let us pray to the Lord for peace,” he added.
The casualties were an old mother and her daughter, according to the Vatican press office, citing Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem.
According to the patriarchate, no warning was given before the killing began, and they were “shot in cold blood.”
Since Hamas’ unprecedented onslaught on Israeli territory on October 7, the Gaza Strip has been badly struck by Israeli army bombardments and ground operations.
According to the most recent Israeli government numbers, the attack killed around 1,140 persons, the majority of whom were civilians, and took 250 prisoners.
According to Hamas, Israel’s retaliatory onslaught in Gaza has resulted in the deaths of 18,800 individuals, the most of whom are women and children.