Israel-Hamas war: IDF reportedly kills two Catholic women at Gaza church

A Palestinian Christian man seen at the entrance to the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Family during the Easter Mass. (Photo by Mahmoud Issa/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The Israeli military has allegedly killed two Christian women at a church in Gaza, according to reports.

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa announced on X that snipers from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) killed two worshippers in Holy Family Church, the last Catholic church in Gaza. The decedents were identified as a woman named Nahida and her daughter Samar.

Pizzaballa's report was published by the Holy See's official news agency, Vatican News.

"The Israeli military on Saturday entered the compound of the Holy Family Catholic Parish in Gaza, shooting at anyone leaving the church," the Vatican News reported. "The victims are an elderly woman and her daughter who rushed out of the building to rescue her mother. Israel has justified the attack, claiming the presence of a missile launcher in the parish."

"We cannot but express that we are at a loss to comprehend how such an attack could be carried out, even more so as the whole Church prepares for Christmas," Pizzaballa's press statement concluded. "The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem follows this developing situation with great concern and shall provide additional information as needed."