Two Christian women killed in Israeli attack in Gaza, Al Jazeera and Anadolu report

Two Christian women were killed in an Israeli attack in Gaza and a funeral was held for them, according to Al Jazeera and Anadolu Agency. Both outlets attribute the attack to Israel. The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not include any Israeli comment.

Al Jazeera identified the women as Maysa Abu Daoud and her daughter, Mary al-Najjar. According to Al Jazeera, they were among five Palestinians killed on Saturday when an Israeli air attack hit the ground floor of a building in the Remal neighbourhood of Gaza City. The reports do not identify the other three people or give a number of wounded.

The funeral took place on Saturday at Saint Porphyrius Church in Gaza City's Old City, Al Jazeera reported.

Mary al-Najjar's son, 14-year-old Fouad al-Najjar, told the Anadolu news agency that the strike hit the building at about 1:30am (22:30 GMT), as relayed by Al Jazeera. "My grandmother and my mother died. May God have mercy on them," he said.

The Anadolu report was available only as a headline. The names, location and death toll therefore rest on Al Jazeera alone. The reports do not describe any independent verification of the circumstances of the strike.

What is disputed

The reports contain no competing account of the event. Al Jazeera describes the attack as the latest Israeli violation of a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement with Hamas. That is the outlet's own characterisation. The reports include no response from Israel, Hamas or the United States on this point.

What each side says

• Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, expressed "deep sorrow and grief" and extended "heartfelt condolences" to the women's loved ones and Gaza's Christian community, in a statement quoted by Al Jazeera.
• Ramzi Khoury, chairman of Palestine's Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs, called the deaths a "painful loss", according to Al Jazeera. The committee said the women helped parishioners and displaced people sheltering at the Holy Family Church.
• Fouad al-Najjar appealed for an end to the war. "We are exhausted by this war and have endured so much," he said.
• Munther Isaac, a Palestinian Lutheran pastor, wrote on X: "The genocide continues in Gaza."
• The Ministry of Health in Gaza says Israeli attacks have killed at least 74,228 people, including at least 1,445 since the ceasefire began in October 2025, Al Jazeera reported.

Background

According to Al Jazeera, the Gaza Strip is home to fewer than 1,000 Christians. The outlet reported that an attack on the Saint Porphyrius Church compound on 19 October 2023 killed at least 18 people; the reports do not say who carried it out. An Israeli strike on the Holy Family Catholic Church compound on 17 July 2025 killed three people and wounded others, including parish priest Father Gabriel Romanelli, Al Jazeera reported.

Analysis

The deaths draw attention to Gaza's small Christian community, which Al Jazeera puts at fewer than 1,000 people. Much remains unclear. The reports include no Israeli account of the attack or its target, and key details rest on a single outlet. If Israel comments, its account may differ from those reported so far. Whether the attack breached the ceasefire is a characterisation by Al Jazeera, with no response in the reports from Israel, Hamas or the United States. Church leaders' statements could prompt wider international attention, or the incident could remain one of many reported deaths since the ceasefire began.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.