Israeli occupation forces, besieging the neighborhood, are still targeting anyone moving within the church compound.
A mother and her daughter were killed by Israeli snipers on Saturday at the Holy Family Church in the Al Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
Eyewitnesses told WAFA that Israeli occupation forces, besieging the neighborhood, are still targeting anyone moving within the church compound.
The invading Israeli military, which has been imposing a siege around the area for several days, has demanded over 600 displaced individuals trapped inside the church compound to evacuate the premises, according to WAFA.
WAFA: A mother and her daughter were killed by an Israeli sniper at the Holy Family Church in the Al Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City.
The Holy Family Church is the only catholic church in #Gaza pic.twitter.com/KGH5CjK3yM
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) December 16, 2023
Vatican News reported that the news was confirmed by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa.
According to the Vatican outlet, the daughter was “murdered while attempting to rescue her elderly mother who had been shot by snipers.”
“There are also several wounded, one of them in very serious condition,” Vatican News reported, adding that “the still-ongoing attack was reportedly justified by Israelis who claimed the presence of a rocket launcher in the parish.”
Despite #Israeli Ban, #Gaza’s Christians Greet #Christmas with Prayers of Peace (PHOTOS) https://t.co/RmqQSnpJ1G via @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/Tgg5CjOq7U
— Ramzy Baroud (@RamzyBaroud) December 21, 2021
“Despite the Patriarchate’s intervention, the operation has not been halted. Israeli soldiers reportedly entered the parish compound and are in the parish square itself from where they are firing at civilians sheltering in the building,” Vatican News explained.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 18,800 Palestinians have been killed and more than 51,000 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7. Palestinian and international estimates say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
