Patriarchate of Jerusalem condemns killing of Christian mother and daughter

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem has condemned the killing of a Christian mother and daughter who had taken refuge in a Catholic church complex in Gaza.

The two women were allegedly shot dead "in cold blood" on Saturday by an Israeli military sniper while they were inside the Holy Family Parish compound.

"Nahida and her daughter Samar were shot and killed as they walked to the Sister's Convent," the office of the Catholic bishop wrote on X (formerly Twitter). 

"Seven more people were shot and wounded as they tried to protect others in the church compound… they were shot dead in cold blood inside the premises of the parish."

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

Hundreds of Christians are thought to have sought refuge in the church, the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip, since the conflict started on 7 October.   

In the same post, the patriarchate also said that rockets fired from an Israeli tank on Saturday morning had severely damaged the Convent of the Sisters of Mother Theresa, home to 54 people with disabilities. The strike had rendered the home "uninhabitable" and destroyed its generator, leaving the residents "currently displaced and without access to the respirators some of them need to survive". 

"We are at a loss to comprehend how such an attack could be carried out," the patriarchate continued. "Even more so as the whole church prepares for Christmas."

A British MP has said that her relatives are among the hundreds trapped in the church.

Liberal Democrat MP, Layla Moran, said her family were "days away from dying" without access to water or food.

Members of Moran's extended family - a grandmother, her son, his wife and their 11-year-old twins - are Christian Palestinians who sought refuge inside the church after their home was bombed in the first week of the war.

"I'm now no longer sure they are going to survive until Christmas," Moran told the BBC.

A sixth member of the family - a grandfather - died last month after not being able to get to hospital to receive medical treatment, Moran said.

On Saturday, she tweeted that the situation was going "from bad to worse".

On Saturday evening, British Conservative MP and chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Alicia Kearns, tweeted: "Explanation needed from the IDF as to how they’ve determined the Holy Family Parish in Gaza is a legitimate target."