Two more civilians have been killed by sniper fire in the grounds of Holy Family Church in Gaza City.

Local church partners told Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that two women, Samar Anton and her mother Nahida, were fatally injured on Saturday (December 16) as they tried to reach safety after shooting began. Seven others were wounded.

According to a strong statement issued by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, they were killed by an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) sniper: “No warning was given, no notification was provided. They were shot in cold blood inside the premises of the parish, where there are no belligerents.”

ACN was also told that two workmen were also shot by a sniper on Thursday (December 14) as they repaired the parish water tanks, which had been damaged by shrapnel from military strikes. They later died of their injuries.

One church partner begged ACN: “Please intensify your prayers for us. God alone knows how to help.”

Earlier on Saturday, the Missionaries of Charity’s convent was hit by a rocket.

According to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem: “The convent is home to over 54 disabled persons and is part of the church compound, which was signalled as a place of worship since the beginning of the war. 

“The building’s generator (the source of electricity) and the fuel resources were destroyed, the house was damaged by the resulting explosion and massive fire.

“Two more rockets, fired by an IDF tank, targeted the same convent and rendered the home uninhabitable.

“The 54 disabled persons are currently displaced and without access to the respirators that some of them need to survive.”

Speaking on LBC’s Breakfast Programme, Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy told presenter Nick Ferrari he disputed the claims made by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

He said: “Unfortunately, we know that Hamas has a long and documented history of hiding inside sensitive sites, including religious sites, and that is, of course, one of the things that will have to be investigated.

“But a review of the operational findings simply does not support the allegations presented in that letter from the Latin Patriarchate.”

After the Angelus in St Peter’s Square yesterday, Pope Francis said: “I continue receiving very serious and sad news about Gaza. Unarmed civilians are targets for bombs and gunfire.

“And this has happened even within the parish complex of the Holy Family, where there are no terrorists, but families, children, people who are sick and have disabilities, sisters.

“Some are saying, ‘This is terrorism and war’. Yes, it is war, it is terrorism. That is why Scripture says that ‘God puts an end to war…the bow he breaks and the spear he snaps.’ Let us pray to the Lord for peace.”

ACN is supporting the provision of food and medicine for the Christian community in Gaza – as well as helping Christians in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, and Christian migrant workers in Israel affected by the conflict.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols issued a statement on the killings in the church compound.

“I am heartbroken at the information provided by Cardinal Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, of killings in the Church compound of the Catholic Parish of the Holy Family in Gaza City,” he said.
“I have immediately sent a message to His Eminence, expressing my horror at these events and assuring him of the prayers of Catholics in England and Wales.

“I have twice been warmly welcomed to this parish by its people. They are a remarkable community of faith and genuine service to their neighbours. Together with the dedicated Religious Sisters, they have continued to provide shelter and sustenance to many people during these weeks of warfare. They are a people who yearn for peace.

“The information provided by the cardinal gives a picture of seemingly deliberate and callous killing by IDF soldiers of innocent civilians: an elderly woman and her daughter in the grounds of a church. This killing has to stop. It can never be justified.

“I ask all people of faith and goodwill to continue to pray for an end to this conflict by all sides.”