Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem mourns “tragic” killing of two Christian women in Israeli strike in Gaza

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, expressed “deep pain and sorrow” over the “tragic” killing of two Christian women in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Friday evening, Al Jazeera reports.

In his statement, the Patriarch identified the victims as Maysa Khader Ibrahim Abu Daoud (Ayyad) and Mary Hafez Michel al-Najjar (Abu Daoud), whose funerals will be held at the Church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza. He offered his “heartfelt condolences” to the families of the two women and to the Christian community in Gaza.

The killing of the two women comes at a moment of escalation in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, taking place in parallel with the wider war in the region. According to medical sources, at least six Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes today alone, while the overall death toll since the start of the war in Gaza has reached 74,229 killed, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.