Israel Shoots Civilian Mother and Daughter at Gaza Church... Pope Says "It Is Painful"

The Roman Catholic Church's Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem claimed that an Israeli sniper shot and killed an unarmed mother and daughter at a church in the Gaza Strip, Palestine. If confirmed, this is expected to increase criticism of the recent Israeli military operations.

According to major foreign media on the 16th (local time), the Latin Patriarchate of the Roman Catholic Church in Jerusalem stated in a press release, "Around noon that day, an Israeli sniper killed two Christian women inside a church in the Gaza Strip where a Christian family was taking refuge."

The Patriarchate added, "Nahida and her daughter Samar were shot and killed while walking to the convent," and "One died while trying to move the other to a safe place." The victims were reported to be an elderly woman and her daughter.

At the time of the shooting, there were other injuries besides the mother and daughter. The Patriarchate also reported that three projectiles fired by an Israeli tank fell near the convent, injuring three people and damaging a fuel supply device.

Gaza Strip burning due to Israeli airstrikes
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Pope Francis expressed deep condolences over the deaths of the two women.

At the end of the Angelus prayer on the 17th, the Pope said, "We continue to receive very serious and painful news from the Gaza Strip," adding, "A mother and her daughter have died, and others were wounded by sniper fire."

He criticized the fact that this incident occurred at the Holy Family Parish, where there are no terrorists, only families, children, the sick, and the disabled, highlighting that civilians are becoming targets of shootings and shelling.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.