IDF denies Pope’s accusations sniper targeted Gaza church

The IDF refuted claims made by the Latin patriarchate of Jerusalem that it targeted the Holy Family Parish Catholic church in Gaza on Saturday. An elderly Christian woman, Nahida Khalil Anton, and her daughter, Samar, were shot and killed.

The IDF statement emphasized that it “does not target civilians, no matter their religion”. The IDF told AFP that it had on Saturday been contacted by church representatives about an incident in the Holy Family Parish, but “no reports of a hit on the church, nor civilians being injured or killed, were raised.”

An initial investigation by the IDF found that IDF soldiers were targeting Hamas spotters in lookouts in at the time.

“Following the reports of two women that were shot in the area of the Latin Church in Shejaya, the IDF has finished conducting an initial review of the incident. The review found that on December 17th, in the early afternoon, Hamas terrorists launched a Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) at IDF troops from the vicinity of the church,” the IDF said.

“The troops then identified three people in the vicinity, operating as spotters for Hamas by guiding their attacks in the direction of the IDF troopers. In response, our troops fired towards the spotters and hits were identified.”

“A review of the IDF’s operational findings support this,” the Israeli military stated. “The IDF takes claims regarding harm to sensitive sites with the utmost seriousness — especially churches — considering that Christian communities are a minority group in the Middle East.”

“The IDF directs its operations against the Hamas terrorist organization and not against civilians, regardless of their religious affiliation. The IDF takes many measures to mitigate harm to civilians in the Gaza Strip.”

The statement concluded, “These efforts stand in contrast to Hamas, (which) does everything in its power to endanger civilians and exploits them, as well as religious sites, as human shields for their terrorist activities.”

The statement by the Latin patriarchate claimed that “a sniper of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) murdered two Christian women inside the Holy Family Parish in Gaza, where the majority of Christian families has taken refuge since the start of the war”.

“Nahida and her daughter Samar were shot and killed as they walked to the sisters’ convent,” the statement said. “One was killed as she tried to carry the other to safety.”

“No warning was given, no notification was provided,” the patriarchate said. “They were shot in cold blood inside the premises of the parish, where there are no belligerents.”

Vatican News on Saturday reported that the attack was allegedly “justified by Israelis” who “claimed the presence of a rocket launcher in the parish.”

Prior to the shooting, the patriarchate said, “a rocket fired from an IDF tank targeted the Convent of the Sisters of Mother Teresa (Missionaries of Charity).”

Pope Francis issued a sharp condemnation of the alleged attack following his Sunday Angelus on Dec. 17, describing the IDF’s actions as “terrorism”.

“I continue to receive very serious and painful news from Gaza. Unarmed civilians are subjected to bombings and shootings,” the Holy Father said.

“And this even happened inside the parish complex of the Holy Family, where there are no terrorists, but families, children, sick and disabled people, nuns,” he said.

“Yes, it’s war, it’s terrorism,” the pope said. He also referred to multiple “sharpshooters.”

In an interview with the British outlet Sky News on Monday, Nichols said he did not believe the denial from the IDF, calling it “hard to believe.”

“[T]he people in Gaza and the cardinal archbishop of Jerusalem, they’re not given to tell lies,” he said.

While stopping short of joining the pope’s characterization of the attack as ”terrorism,” the cardinal said: “It’s certainly a coldblooded killing, that’s the description that is given.”

Mark Regev, a senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, disputed the cardinal’s remarks during a live interview on Sky News on Monday, saying: “I would reject the categorization of the words he used: ‘coldblooded killing.’ That would indicate a deliberate targeting of civilians; that’s something we don’t do.”

“We don’t shoot people who are going to church, that just doesn’t happen. That’s not the way the IDF operates,” he added.

“To say that Israel is deliberately targeting Christian worshippers, that’s a terrible accusation that is unfounded.”

The Christian community in Gaza has approximately 1,000 members, most of whom are Greek Orthodox. Holy Family is the only Roman Catholic church in Gaza, serving Gaza’s 100 Catholics.

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