Israel kills mother, daughter at Gaza church – patriarchate

Israel shot dead a Christian mother and her daughter on the grounds of a Catholic church in Gaza City on Saturday, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said.

“Around noon today… a sniper of the IDF murdered two Christian women inside the Holy Family Parish in Gaza,” the patriarchate said in a statement.

According to the patriarchate, the church has been sheltering Christian families since the beginning of the Israeli attacks.

“Nahida and her daughter Samar were shot and killed as they walked to the Sister’s Convent. One was killed as she tried to carry the other to safety,” it added.

The statement also added that seven more civilians were wounded during the attack as they tried to protect others.

The Israeli occupation forces said it was looking into the incident.

The patriarchate said that the victims “were shot in cold blood inside the premises of the Parish, where there are no belligerents.”

They also said that three projectiles fired by an Israeli tank struck a convent, destroying its generator and fuel supplies, along with a building housing 54 disabled people.

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

The Israeli attacks have so far killed more than 18,800 civilians, mostly women and children, with around 7,000 others still lost under the rubble.