2023-12-16 23:49:51
ROME – The Latin Patriarchate said in a statement this Saturday that the Israeli army brutally executed women in a Gaza parish.
Two women were killed and several others injured in a series of targeted attacks on a Catholic church and a convent by Israelis in Gaza, with the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem condemning the violence, especially in the run-up to Christmas.
In a statement dated December 16, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said that around noon this Saturday, “a sniper from the [Force de Défense Israélienne] murdered two Christian women inside the Holy Family Parish in Gaza, where the majority of Christian families have taken refuge since the start of the war.”
Currently, more than 600 people, including the majority of Gaza’s small Christian community, have taken refuge in this parish. The Patriarchate identified the victims as a mother and her daughter, Nahida and Samar. One of them was killed while trying to save the other, who had been shot. Seven other people were also shot while trying to protect worshipers inside the church.
“No warning was given, no notification was provided. They were shot in cold blood inside the parish compound, where there were no fighters,” the patriarchate said.
According to the patriarchate, earlier that day, a rocket from an IDF tank “targeted” the convent where the Missionaries of Charity, the order founded by Mother Teresa, live, which is part of the IDF complex. church and which houses 54 disabled people.
Despite being designated as a place of worship since the start of the current war, the convent’s generator, its only source of electricity, and its fuel reserves were destroyed, and the house itself was damaged by ” the explosion and massive fire” resulting from the rocket.
“Two other rockets, fired by an Israeli army tank, targeted the same convent and made the house uninhabitable,” the patriarchate said, noting that the disabled people living there are now “displaced” and have not access to convent respirators “which some need to survive.”
Additionally, three people were injured inside the church compound Friday evening following heavy shelling in the area, and the solar panels and water tanks, which the patriarchate said, “are indispensable for the survival of the community,” were destroyed.
“Together in prayer with the entire Christian community, we express our closeness and condolences to the families affected by this senseless tragedy,” the patriarchate said, saying, “we can only express that we are distraught to understand how such attack might have been carried out, especially since the whole Church is preparing for Christmas.”
The patriarchate assured believers that they are following developments in the situation “with great concern” and will provide more information if necessary.
Pope Francis said he is in daily contact with the Holy Family Parish and its pastor, Father Gabriel Romanelli, who is currently in Rome and was unable to return to Gaza following attending the consistory on 30 September when the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, received his red hat.
In Romanelli’s absence, the parish’s associate pastor cares for those taking refuge there, as well as the priests and nuns living in Gaza.
A previous bombing of the 12th-century Saint Porphyry Greek Orthodox Church in Gaza, where hundreds of people were also taking refuge, left 18 people dead, including a Caritas worker with her husband and young daughter.
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