Two Christian women killed in Gaza City strike

Two Christian women died early Saturday, Oct. 3, when an Israeli strike hit a residential apartment in western Gaza City.

The victims, Maysaa Khader Ibrahim Abu Dawoud and Mary Hafez Michel al-Najjar, had recently moved into the apartment in the Institutions area to seek a more stable life after spending months sheltering at Holy Family Catholic Church during the war. George Anton, the director of operations for the Latin Patriarchate in Gaza, said the strike on the rented apartment has caused deep sorrow among Christian families in the Gaza Strip.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, issued a statement expressing profound grief over the deaths. He offered condolences to the families and the Christian community in Gaza. The Holy Family Catholic Parish and the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Porphyrius also mourned the women.