According to CNN and The Times of Israel, Israeli military snipers were accused of shooting and killing two women near a Catholic church in the Gaza Strip on the 16th, and Pope Francis commented that "unarmed civilians" were targeted by guns and bombs. IDF denied the accusation on the 17th, adding that the IDF "does not target civilians."
Israeli soldiers preparing to enter the Gaza Strip Source: Visual China.
According to the report, the Bishop of the Latin Church in Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, issued a statement saying that on December 16, local time, an Israeli sniper shot and killed two women near the Holy Family Paris church in Gaza. The statement said that when the gunshots suddenly rang out, the mother and daughter were walking out of the church towards a nearby convent of nuns, "one of whom was killed while trying to take the other to safety," and seven others were injured. CNN reported that since the outbreak of the current round of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, most of the most ** civilians in the Gaza Strip have sought refuge in the church with their families.
The statement also said that "[Israeli forces] did not issue any warning and did not give advance notice ......."They were shot in cold blood in parishes where there were no belligerents. ”
Pope Francis commented on the incident on the 17th, saying at a prayer service: "I continue to receive very serious and sad news about Gaza. Unarmed civilians were targeted by bombs and guns. This even happens in the Sagrada Familia church complex, where there are only families, children, the sick and disabled, nuns, ......Let us pray to God for peace. ”
The Israeli military said on the 17th that its findings could refute the accusation. The Israeli military told AFP that the IDF "does not target civilians, regardless of their religious beliefs" and claimed that church representatives contacted them about an incident at the Sagrada Familia on the 16th, but "there was no mention of reports of attacks on churches, and there were no reports of civilians being injured or killed."
The Israeli military added that "this can be evidenced by a review of the results of the investigation of the actions of the IDF." Considering that Christians are a minority in the Middle East, the IDF takes allegations of harm to sensitive sites, especially churches, extremely seriously. ”
In addition to the incident, the Latin Church in Jerusalem said in a statement that three shells fired from IDF tanks hit Mother Teresa's convent, destroying the building's generator and fuel** and making a building housing 54 disabled people uninhabitable, "who are currently displaced, some of whom have breathing apparatus needed to survive and are not working," the report said. According to information from the Vatican, three people were injured as a result of the shelling.
We have to say that we cannot understand why such an attack was carried out, especially at this time when the entire church is preparing for Christmas," the statement reads.