Question

Israel kills two Christian women taking refugee in a church. Pope Francis calls it incident “terrorism”

Answer 1

This is a true statement. The attack took place in December 2023. The victims’ names are Nahida and Samar (Um Emad) Anton and they were Palestinian Christians. They were mother and daughter. Al Jazeera English, NPR, Vatican News and more reliable outlets reported on the news. 

The church where the attack took place is called the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. It released a statement on Dec. 16 on X.com, formerly known as Twitter, and on its official website about the deaths. While the Twitter link is still active, the page can no longer be found on its official site. However, I was able to relocate it using the Wayback Machine via Archive.com, which I have linked below along with the other sources. 

In regards to the Pope’s response, there is a published statement from Pope Francis on Dec. 17, in which he condemned the deaths of Nahida and Samar Anton on the Vatican’s official site.

“I continue to receive very serious and sad news about Gaza,” he said. “Unarmed civilians are targets for bombs and shootings. And this happened even within the parish complex of the Holy Family, where there are no terrorists, but families, children, people who are sick and have disabilities, sisters. A mother and her daughter, Mrs. Nahida Khalil Anton and her daughter Samar Kamal Anton, were killed, and other people wounded by snipers as they were going to the bathroom.”

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/17/israeli-forces-kill-two-christian-women-in-cold-blood-inside-gaza-church

https://www.npr.org/2023/12/22/1221362655/a-gaza-patriarchate-says-israeli-troops-killed-2-women-and-injured-7-others-at-p

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/world/news/2023-12/in-gaza-israelis-attack-holy-family-parish-two-women-killed.html

https://twitter.com/LPJerusalem/status/1736057252086268025?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1736057252086268025%7Ctwgr%5Ed342200aef4d454911b249e5a78637a857268928%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.timesofisrael.com%2Fchristian-mother-daughter-killed-while-sheltering-in-gaza-church-patriarch-says%2F

https://web.archive.org/web/20231217034256/https://www.lpj.org/posts/gaza-16th-december-2023.html?s_cat=1102

https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/angelus/2023/documents/20231217-angelus.html

Comments

I believe many civilians have died in mosques as well -- I wonder if Christians are seen in another light (versus Muslims)? https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2023/4/5/israeli-forces-carry-out-violent-raid-at-al-aqsa-mosque

Answer 2

This statement is true. In December 2023, two women were killed inside the Holy Family Parish in Gaza. The mother and daughter were walking to the convent seeking shelter and were attacked. The sniper was a part of the Israel Defense Forces ( According to CNN, they and seven others were also shot and wounded during the attack. When the Pope made a statement addressing the deaths he stated that “unarmed civilians are targets for bombs and gunfire” and that this is war and terrorism in Gaza. 

“Some are saying, ‘This is terrorism and war.’ Yes, it is war, it is terrorism. That is why Scripture says that ‘God puts an end to war… the bow he breaks and the spear he snaps,’” the Pope said, according to CNN. 

https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/16/middleeast/idf-sniper-gaza-church-deaths-intl-hnk/index.html

https://www.reuters.com/world/pope-francis-deplores-israeli-killings-civilians-gaza-church-2023-12-17/